Baked Ziti is one of those easy casseroles that tastes like you’ve been cooking all day long but it’s surprisingly quick!
Layers of tender ziti noodles, with a meaty zesty Italian sausage sauce and a cream creamy ricotta cheese layer.
Top it all with a generous helping of mozzarella cheese and bake until bubbly. An amazing meal in about an hour!
Why We Love Baked Ziti
Rich, zesty, cheesy and best of all, it’s easy!
- Baked ziti with ricotta is an easy twist on a classic lasagna recipe.
- Instead of long lasagna noodles, we use ziti pasta and bake it with meat sauce and lots of cheese.
- It rivals any restaurant pasta for less cost and it has heaps of flavor!
- Adding Italian sausage to this ziti recipe (or any pasta sauce) makes a quick sauce taste like it’s been cooking for hours!
- This ziti dish is perfect to make ahead and it reheats and freezes well. Cook once and enjoy for days!
Ingredients
SAUCE: The sauce is made with Italian sausage which adds lots of flavor. You can swap it for ground beef (or ground turkey) but be sure to add extra seasonings or spices (and some chili flakes for heat) and a tablespoon of olive oil for flavor. To make this dish vegetarian, use finely minced vegetables like mushrooms, eggplant, and/or zucchini.
I like the addition of pasta sauce since it’s already seasoned but feel free to use tomato sauce and add a bit of Italian seasoning if it’s what you have on hand
PASTA – Ziti is our pasta of choice but any medium pasta will work. Swap out with penne or turn it into rigatoni pasta.
CHEESE – Ricotta cheese makes up the creamy cheese layer. You can swap it out by blending cottage cheese with an egg until smooth. I stir in some cheese, spinach or additional herbs can be added.
TOPPING – More cheese. Mozzarella is the perfect topper and I always garnish with a pinch of freshly grated parmesan cheese and some fresh herbs like parsley or basil.
Variations
Swap up this baked ziti recipe to your liking with the following:
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- Swap the sausage with turkey sausage or another ground meat of your choice. Add extra seasonings, salt, and a clove of garlic if not using sausage.
- Add more ‘heat’ by adding a dash of red pepper flakes…just a little spicy.
- Add 1/2 cup heavy cream to the simmering tomato sauce if desired.
- Extra fresh herbs can be added to the cheese mixture or on top before serving.
How to Make Baked Ziti
- Brown the sausage and onion over medium-high heat (per the recipe below). Add sauce ingredients and simmer.
- Cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water.
- Combine the cheese mixture in a small bowl.
- In a greased baking dish, layer sauce, ziti, and the ricotta mixture.
- Top with the remaining shredded mozzarella and bake until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
How Long to Cook Baked Ziti
This easy Baked Ziti recipe is basically cooked so the baking is to blend the flavors, heat everything through and of course, melt the cheese. Cook it uncovered until the top looks bubbly and browned!
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- 350°F for 30-35 minutes
- 375°F for 25-30 minutes
- 400°F for 20-25 minutes
Tips for a Great Baked Ziti
- Use a large sauté pan so the sauce can simmer without overflowing.
- Cook the pasta al dente (a little undercooked) as it will continue to cook as it bakes.
- This dish can be baked in any large casserole dish.
- Top with fresh basil or parsley for serving.
- To make Baked Ziti ahead of time, prepare as directed and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. You may need to add an extra 5-10 minutes baking time if your recipe is chilly from the fridge.
- If desired, this can be divided into two 9-inch baking dishes and half can be frozen. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bake until hot and bubbly.
To Reheat Baked Ziti use either the microwave or pop it back in the oven on low, slow heat. Reheating baked ziti doesn’t change the texture or the flavor, but adding an extra layer of shredded mozzarella to the top freshens it up just a bit!
More Italian Inspired Favorites
- Easy Chicken Parmesan – 5 Star Recipe
- Easy Shrimp Scampi Recipe
- Easy Vodka Sauce
- Sausage and Peppers – Perfect with pasta or in Italian rolls
- Skinny Alfredo Sauce
- Minestrone Soup
- Chicken Piccata – Restaurant quality at home
Did you enjoy this Baked Ziti? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Easy Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 small onion diced
- 28 ounces pasta sauce or marinara sauce
- 14 ounces diced tomatoes undrained
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ cup water
- 16 ounces ziti
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley
- 1 egg
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Brown ground sausage and onion breaking up until the sausage is fairly fine. Drain any fat.
- Add in Italian seasoning, water, tomatoes and pasta sauce. Simmer 10-15 minutes or until thickened.
- Meanwhile, boil ziti in salted water until al dente. Drain and rinse.
- In a small bowl, mix ricotta, egg, parsley, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese.
- Add a thin layer (about 1 cup) of sauce to the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Layer half of the ziti, top with all of the ricotta, and half of the sauce.
- Add remaining ziti, remaining sauce, and top with cheese.
- Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
Video
Notes
- Use a large saute pan so the sauce can simmer without overflowing.
- Cook the pasta al dente (a little undercooked) as it will continue to cook as it bakes.
- If using ground meat besides sausage, add additional seasonings, salt & a tablespoon of olive oil to the sauce.
- Top with fresh basil or parsley for serving.
- To make Baked Ziti ahead of time, prepare as directed and refrigerate for up to 24 hours. You may need to add an extra 5-10 minutes baking time if your recipe is chilly from the fridge.
- If desired, this can be divided into two 9-inch baking dishes and half can be frozen. Thaw overnight in the fridge and bake until hot and bubbly.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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To Freeze Baked Ziti
Like most casseroles, baked ziti can be frozen successfully. If you are freezing the entire casserole in one piece, be sure to line the dish with aluminum foil before assembling and baking, then, once it is chilled, freeze in the pan and then remove the casserole and wrap it in aluminum foil and plastic wrap, label, and place in the fridge.
Or, portion into smaller pieces and put in freezer bags, label, and freeze! Easy peasy lunch for school or work!
I made this last week and also made it again today. Recipe is outstanding and delicious. Did not have to add anything.Thank you,please keep the great recipes coming. I’ve made so many of your recipes and all are perfect.
I am so glad you are enjoying the recipes Ric!
This was good but was a little to heavy in the cheese mixture in comparison to the tomatoes/red sauce. I also think it could have used more spice. Next time I plan to reduce the cheese mixture and add another can of diced tomatoes. I will also add some Arlie and red peppers to the red sauce.
Love this recipe! The flavors meld together so well… adding the egg to the ricotta cheese really works wonderfully… it is incredibly versatile recipe ..depending on what I have on hand, I have used sausage or ground beef and once a combo of both …sometimes I have had to use cottage cheese instead of ricotta..a few times I used feta cheese when I was out of Parmesan ..also have used macaroni when I was out of ziti (I just told the fam it was a “Pasta Bake”). Anyway, I love this recipe and have used it so many times I thought I should leave a review. Thank you for giving me one of my favorite go-to-recipes!
I am so happy to hear you love this recipe Shannon!
Just found this recipe and it is absolutely amazing. It was very easy to prepare and very easy to double for my large family. Thanks for posting this!
fabulous recipe and very easy. it’s a keeper!
Your baked ziti recipe is ‘Cest Magnifique, it’s the best baked ziti recipe I ever made. My very fussy family loved it. Your cooking advice and guidelines are very helpful. Thank you.
I am so happy to hear you found this recipe helpful Irene!
This is an absolutely delicious recipe! I made a few minor modifications, which I think really made it that much better. I diced up one red bell pepper and Zucchini and broiled them until there was a little char. I then added those veggies to the sauce. I also omitted the egg because I wanted it to be less firm/more cheesy and creamy. What really took this recipe to the next level was buying a block of Mozzarella and shredding it myself and then adding about an extra cup. The cheese melts so much better when you don’t buy the pre-shredded stuff. Everybody absolutely loved this recipe! Thanks!!
Just making this. Haven’t eaten it yet. I got most of the way through the recipe and realized that the recipe NEVER says what to do the meat mixture. When do you add this? It doesn’t say anything other than brown it, add seasoning, tomatoes and simmer. When do you add to the 9×13 with the rest of ingredients. I guess mine is going on top.
Hi Keith, in step 6, it says Add a thin layer (about 1 cup) of sauce to the bottom of a greased 9×13 pan. Layer half of the ziti, top with all of the ricotta, and half of the sauce.
In step 7, you Add remaining ziti, remaining sauce, and top with cheese.
Hope that helps!
We all liked the recipe, but I was a bit confused when I read “CHEESE – Ricotta cheese makes up the creamy cheese layer. You can swap it out by blending cottage cheese with an egg until smooth”. We personally don’t like Ricotta cheese. I did swap the Ricotta cheese out for cottage cheese, but then was confused. Do I need to add an addt’l egg or were you referring to the egg in the recipe?
I believe you mean to use the egg in the recipe, not add an addt’l egg. Possibly the sentence should read “CHEESE – Ricotta cheese makes up the creamy cheese layer. You can swap it out by blending cottage cheese with THE egg IN THE RECIPE until smooth”. Hope this makes sense.
Sorry for the confusion Lynn, I don’t add an additional egg when using cottage cheese, I just blend it with the egg to create a smoother consistency.
needed more garlic but other than that is was great!
Delicious! My go-to for my family and when making a meal for others.
Easy casserole and so good.
I’ve had better ziti recipes. Disappointed it wasn’t worth making and a waste of money.
Absolutely delicious!!! And it’s pretty easy to throw together!! Thanks for a great recipe!!! Making again for our son for his birthday dinner!!! I know our grandchildren will love it too!!!