Baked Mushroom Pasta -

A delicious baked pasta with caramelized mushrooms and onions

I don’t have a ton of 9×13 recipes here on The Rose Table. Maybe this will be the year when I finally add some more to my repertoire! This vegetarian baked pasta is easy, flavorful, and a total crowd-pleaser.

I came up with this recipe for my Maleficent Mistress of Evil party because I wanted something that would celebrate the flavors of the forest floor. Mushrooms with rosemary is such an earth combination and make for a beautiful winter dish that feeds a crowd!

Mushroom Baked Pasta — Don’t skip the gruyere on top – it adds a lot!

The Rose Table Disney Dinners: Maleficent Mistress of Evil is sponsored by Disney’s Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, out on DVD and blu-ray January 14, 2020.

While throwing this dish together takes no time at all, you will want to start your onions hours in advance if possible. You can rush it at a higher heat in a pinch I suppose but it’s really best to let the mushrooms and onions caramelize for hours at a super low temp for the best flavor and texture.

This is a great make-ahead dish! I had the noodles cooked and the mushrooms and onions hanging out on low long before my guests arrived. Then I just whisked together the egg, ricotta, Romano cheese, and milk for the sauce, stirred everything together, and threw it in the oven.

Baked Mushroom Pasta
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, divided
2 medium yellow onions, sliced
1 lbs baby bella or crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 15-oz carton ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
3/4 cup milk
4 large eggs, beaten
1 box rigatoni
4 oz gruyere cheese
Italian parsley for garnish

Melt 2 Tbsp buter in a large sauce pan. Add onions and sauté on very low heat for as long as you can. (Seriously, I put them on the lowest setting and walk away for two hours, stirring occasionally.) After onions are good and brown and buttery, add 4 Tbsp butter and sliced mushrooms. Remove leaves from rosemary sprigs and chop fine. Add chopped rosemary to mushrooms and onions. Sauté on low for another hour or so until mushrooms and onions are caramelized.
Combine cheeses, milk, and eggs, and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook pasta according to package instructions. Drain.
Combine rigatoni, mushrooms and onions, and cheese mixture. Pour into a greased 9×13” baking dish. Grate gruyere and sprinkle on top of pasta. Cover and bake for 25 minutes. Serve with chopped parsley and parmesan.

Add a bit of whimsy

For my Maleficent dinner party, I tossed grated parmesan with red food coloring to tint the cheese red. I then tied a tablespoon of cheese up in cheesecloth and tied each packet with black ribbon. I served these red “bombs” with the pasta to be symbolic of the scene in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil where our heroine is bombed.