Baked Ziti

This recipe for Baked Ziti is the ultimate comfort food. Made with ground sausage, tomatoes, and loaded with cheese. This warm and cheesy dinner recipe is best served with homemade garlic bread and a dinner the entire family will love.  

What is Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti is classic American comfort food. It’s made traditionally with a meat sauce, ziti pasta, and loaded with cheese. It is made with traditional Italian ingredients, but it is not considered a traditional Italian dish.

How to make Baked Ziti:

The preparation of Baked Ziti is a little bit more involved than some of the other meals I have on the blog. Your prep work will be in 3 main steps.

Cook: You will need to cook your Ziti paste according to the box directions. You want the noodles to be al dente, as they will be baked later and cook more.

Prep: You will need to prepare your ricotta cheese blend and mixture and prepare your meat sauce.

Layer: Once everything is prepared and made you will need to layer the ingredients much like my Easy Classic Lasagna. Layer your ingredients with the sauce first, then noodles and then cheese.

Bake: Do this until your baking dish is full. Top with shredded mozzarella before baking.

Ingredient Notes:

• Ziti – Ziti is a small tube-shaped pasta. You can easily make this with whatever pasta you have on hand.
• Ricotta cheese – the best choice of cheese in a layered pasta dish.
• Egg – is a binder for the ricotta cheese so it holds together.
• Oil – for cooking the sausage. Use any oil you typically use while cooking.
• Mild Italian Sausage – adds a great flavor to the dish than just ground beef.
• Crushed Tomatoes – 1 large can, unseasoned.
• Petite Diced Tomatoes – 1 large can, unseasoned.
• Seasoning – I used oregano, basil, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper.
• Shredded Mozzarella – I used a bag of shredded mozzarella for this dish.

Directions

Step One: Get started by preheating your oven to 350° F. Then go ahead and prepare a 9×13 casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.

Step Two: Next cook your ziti according to package directions. Once it’s cooked drain and set aside.

Step Three: Now in a separate bowl mix together your ricotta cheese, egg, and oregano.

You can go ahead and set aside for later.

Step Four: Now you are going to work on your simple meat sauce. Start by heating your oil on the stovetop in a large skillet or pot.

Then add in your mild Italian sausage and cook and crumble. While cooking go ahead and drain fat as needed. Draining will depend on how much fat is in your meat.

Step Five: To your sausage add in crushed tomatoes and petite diced tomatoes.

Then you want to season it with basil, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper. You can add more or less of each to taste.

Once it’s all seasoned allow simmering for 10-15 minutes

Step Six: Now we want to start layer the ingredients starting with ½ of tomato sauce.

Then we are going to add ½ of ziti on top of the sauce. Next, add all ricotta cheese mixture and spread evenly over pasta.

Step Seven: To finish off your recipe add the remaining cooked ziti and then the remaining tomato sauce to the casserole.

And last we just top it with shredded mozzarella.

Baking Directions

Step Eight: Bake for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Then you can remove it from the oven and serve.

Tips and FAQ

Can I uses Ground Beef instead? Yes, you can use ground beef in the place of ground sausage. You can even do a half and half mixture.

Can I use another pasta? Yes, you can easily use penne pasta in the place of ziti. You can really toss any pasta you enjoy with this or use whatever you have on hand.

How to make Baked Ziti ahead of time:

Cook your sauce and pasta then allow them to cool completely. Once they are cooled assemble your ingredients and place it in a fridge or freezer-safe casserole dish.

Cover it and keep it in the fridge for 2-3 days or in the freezer for 2-3 months. Once your baked ziti is thawed you can bake it according to the directions until it is warm throughout.

Try some of my other favorite pasta dishes:

Cheesy Taco Pasta – This Cheesy Taco Pasta is SO simple to make and SO delicious! With just 5 ingredients this recipe is made in less than 30 minutes and one that your entire family will love. 

Pasta Bake – The perfect simple dinner recipe! This Pasta Bake is a favorite with my family and it’s so simple to make. 

Homemade Alfredo Sauce – Nothing is better than homemade. This simple recipe for Homemade Alfredo Sauce is my favorite thing to serve with pasta. It is rich and creamy and a perfect traditional Italian Alfredo Sauce.

 

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