Sicilian Pasta al Forno

Sicilian pasta al forno is unlike your ordinary pasta dish. This  baked pasta is layered with eggplant; small meatballs; hard boiled eggs; ground meat; ricotta; and mozzarella. A typical Sunday lunch meal and perfect for feeding a crowd! Growing up Italian meant pasta for lunch on Sundays. But not just any ordinary pasta dish. Lunch often consisted of fresh homemade pasta such as gnocchi; maccaruna or cavatelli with a hearty meat filled tomato sauce.

And if you were lucky, it was a huge casserole of pasta al forno (Italian pasta bake) layered with lots of cheese and other goodies inside. Pasta al forno was reserved for weekends as it is lengthy to make. It's also perfect for feeding large crowds on special occasions.

But have you ever tried pasta al forno Siciliana? Trust me when I say it's just not the same!

What makes this baked pasta dish distinctly Sicilian?

Sicilian pasta al forno may vary from one province to the next within Sicily. Some versions add green peas (which you can definitely add to this recipe if you wish) and some are made with meat sauce instead of plain tomato sauce. Caciocavallo cheese is typically added in this recipe however we usually use mozzarella. But feel free to try it out!

However there are few key ingredients that distinguish Sicilian pasta al forno from others: eggplant; hard boiled eggs and small meatballs.

I have often said in Sicily the eggplant rules supreme. The eggplant is typically fried for this recipe however I oven roast it, as my mother does, until golden brown. Much easier and just as good, in my opinion.

Hard boiled eggs cut into slices are also common in Sicilian pasta al forno. You may have also seen that they found their way in my mother's eggplant parmigiana recipe. If you haven't tried this before, please do!

And finally, a baked pasta dish would not be complete without small meatballs scattered through out the dish. 

My mother's personal addition to this recipe:

While meat sauce is often used to make pasta al forno, my mother offers an alternative. A technique that she picked up from a friend that adds another layer of flavor.

Rather than adding ground meat to the tomato sauce, my mother cooks ground meat in a pan along with an onion and garlic clove. Once cooled, she stirs in mozzarella; ricotta; grated Pecorino cheese and a lightly beaten egg. This is similar to a meat filling for ravioli. She then layers this mixture in the pasta dish. 

While some pasta al forno recipes contain cured meats such as mortadella or prosciutto cotto my mother has opted for sausage. One sausage link simmers in the sauce alongside the meatballs and then is cut into rounds and layered in the casserole.

Basically just about anything goes in a baked pasta dish so feel free to experiment with different ingredients!

The following are step by step instructions with images to guide you through this recipe. You'll find the complete detailed printable recipe at the end of this post.

Step by Step Instructions:

The process for making this recipe can be lengthy. However, I have broken down the entire process into easy steps:

Begin with the preparation of the meatballs and tomato sauce:

For the meatballs: In a bowl combine 250 grams of ground meat trio (beef, veal and pork); fresh crumb from day old bread soaked in milk; grated Pecorino Romano cheese; eggs; fresh parsley; olive oil; a finely minced clove of garlic; a pinch of salt and black pepper.

Mash all ingredients together with a fork or your hands.

Roll into heaping teaspoon sized balls and place on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Bake in a 400 degrees F preheated for 10 minutes, until lightly browned.

Meanwhile, prepare a basic tomato sauce. Heat olive oil in a sauce pan, add a small diced onion and sauté until soft. Stir in a finely minced garlic clove. Add a can of whole Italian plum tomatoes. Break up the tomatoes with the back of a wooden spoon or use a potato masher. Stir in a jar of tomato passata (tomato purée).

Pour some water into the can of tomatoes as well as the jar of sauce, swirl it around to gather the remaining sauce and pour into the sauce pan. No waste! Add a pinch of red pepper flakes (optional). Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer. When the meatballs are browned, carefully add them to the sauce and cook loosely covered for 1 ½ hours. Add salt and pepper, to taste.

Prepare remaining ingredients while the sauce is simmering:

Sausage: Once the meatballs are out of the oven, bake an Italian sausage link (or more if you prefer) for about 20 minutes. Then add to the sauce to simmer along with the meatballs.

Eggplant: Peel off about half the skin (or peel completely if you prefer) from a medium sized eggplant (about 350 grams). Slice lengthwise into ½ cm strips. Place on a parchment paper covered baking sheet, Brush both sides with olive oil and salt lightly. Bake at 425 degrees F for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Hard boiled eggs: boil eggs for 10 minutes. Let cool, peel and slice thinly.

Ricotta: measure 1 ½ cups ricotta

Mozzarella: 1 -260 gram ball of mozzarella, shredded, or more as desired.

Ground meat: heat olive oil in a small skillet. Sauté a small diced onion, a small minced garlic clove and remaining ground meat trio (from total package of 500 grams).Add a pinch of salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until no longer pink. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

Once cooled add 1 lightly beaten egg; ½ cup mozzarella (taken from the total amount in the recipe); 2 tbsps. grated Parmesan cheese and 1 tbsp. ricotta (taken from total amount).  Stir together until well combined.

To assemble: 

When the sauce with the meatballs and sausage is ready, transfer the sausage to a cutting board and cut into rounds. Spoon out the meatballs into a small bowl.

Boil the pasta: Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than indicated on the package. Drain and return to the pot. Stir in a generous amount of sauce, leaving a few ladleful's behind to add to the casserole when assembling the dish.

You are now ready to assemble this dish!

Spoon ⅓ of the pasta into a 16"X9"  baking dish.

In no particular order layer ½ of the filling ingredients over the pasta: sausage; meatballs; ground meat mixture; eggplant; hard boiled eggs; dollops of ricotta; ⅓ of the mozzarella and about 2 tbsps. of grated Parmesan. Drizzle some sauce over the ingredients.

Add half the remaining pasta and layer the remaining ingredients (sausage to ricotta); half of the remaining mozzarella and 2 tbsps. grated Parmesan. Drizzle with tomato sauce.

Top with the remaining pasta; tomato sauce; mozzarella and sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.

To bake:

Cover with foil and bake in a 350 degrees F preheated oven for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for 20-30 minutes more, depending on how crisp you like your pasta.

Let sit tented with foil for about 15 minutes before serving.

Can this dish be made ahead?

The preparation of this dish can be lengthy however it can be broken down into manageable steps. I recommend assembling the dish right before baking for best results.

However some steps may be prepared a day ahead such as the meatballs and sausage in the tomato sauce and the roasted eggplant. The following day, boil your pasta, assemble and bake. 

What types of pasta are ideal for making pasta al forno?

In general any medium length pasta shape such as rigatoni (my top choice); penne; fusilli or rotini are ideal for making pasta al forno. These shapes are perfect for 'catching' the sauce, cheeses and other ingredients in this dish.

More tips and suggestions:

• Try replacing the mozzarella with caciocavallo cheese.
• Add about 1 cup of frozen peas to the sauce as is common in Sicily.
• Instead of sausage add cured meats such as prosciutto cotto or mortadella cut into cubes.
• This pasta is delicious reheated the following day!
• Keep leftovers refrigerated for up to 3 days. 

If you give this amazing recipe a try, let me know how it turned out by rating it in the recipe card below. Feel free to Pin it for later. Buon appetito!

Here are a few more typical Sicilian pasta recipes for you to try out!

• Sicilian Pasta with Cauliflower
• Pistachio Pesto Shrimp Pasta
• Pasta with Ricotta 
• Sicilian Pasta with Anchovies and Breadcrumbs
• Homemade Sicilian Maccaruna
• Eggplant Involtini with Maccaruna
• Sicilian Pasta with Sardines
• Pasta alla Norma
• Sicilian Pasta with Creamy Pistachio Sauce
• Pasta with Potatoes in Tomato Sauce