Baked ziti is an easy casserole that tastes like you’ve been cooking all day, 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!
Everyone Raves About This Baked Ziti Because…
- The flavors are similar to a classic lasagna recipe, but it’s easier to make.
- It has tons of zesty flavor.
- Adding Italian sausage 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.
Ingredients for Baked Ziti
Meat: Italian sausage adds great flavor to the sauce. Feel free to replace it with ground beef (or ground turkey).
Sauce: This should be browned before adding to the casserole. Add more seasonings, 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, or zucchini.
Pasta: I use ziti in this recipe however, penne, rigatoni, or other tube-shaped pasta can be used in place.
Cheese: Ricotta cheese makes the creamy cheese layer in this recipe. Replace it by blending cottage cheese with an egg until smooth. Feel free to add spinach or additional herbs to the cheese mixture.
Topping: I sprinkle mozzarella cheese overtop for a browned bubbly topping. Just before serving, I love to add freshly grated parmesan cheese and some fresh herbs like parsley or basil.
Variations
- Swap the sausage with turkey sausage or another ground meat of your choice. Add extra seasonings, salt, and a couple of cloves garlic if not using sausage.
- Add 1/2 cup heavy cream to the simmering tomato sauce if desired.
- More fresh herbs can be added to the cheese mixture or on top before serving.
How to Make Baked Ziti
- Brown the sausage and onion (per the recipe below) in a large sauté pan. 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 casserole dish, layer sauce, ziti, and the ricotta mixture.
- Top with the remaining shredded mozzarella and bake.
Serving Suggestions
This easy baked ziti recipe is a hearty meal on its own, but I often add sides to stretch it a bit further (and to ensure we have leftovers for two meals!).
- Salad: Add a tossed salad with Italian dressing or Caesar salad.
- Bread: I love serving baked pasta with bread. Try garlic bread, dinner rolls, our my favorite artisan bread.
- Veggies: If you’d like to add a veggie side, this pairs well with steamed broccoli or buttery green beans.
Tips for a Great Baked Ziti
- Use a large skillet for browning meat so the sauce can simmer in the same pan.
- Cook the pasta al dente (firm) as it will continue to cook as it bakes.
- To make baked ziti ahead of time, prepare as directed, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. Remove it from the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking, and add 10 to 15 minutes of baking time.
- If desired, this pasta casserole 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.
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 yellow onion diced
- 28 ounces pasta sauce or marinara sauce
- 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juices, 1 can
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ cup water
- 16 ounces ziti
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- thinly sliced fresh basil leaves or chopped fresh parsley for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x13inch baking dish.
- In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, brown the sausage and onion, breaking it up with a spoon until the sausage is fairly fine. Drain any fat.
- Add the pasta sauce, tomatoes, water, and Italian seasoning. Simmer uncovered for 12 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper to taste,
- Meanwhile, boil ziti in a large pot of salted water until al dente. Drain well.
- In a small bowl, mix ricotta, egg, parsley, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese.
- Add 1 cup of sauce to the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Layer half of the ziti, top with all of the ricotta mixture, and half of the sauce.
- Add remaining ziti, remaining sauce, and top with remaining mozzarella cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until golden and bubbly.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole, 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.
I always love your recipes. This has been my go to for baked ziti for a while. Although I read what others say, and their suggestions, I follow your directions exactly and I am never disappointed.
It says 28oz pasta sauce but the jars some in 24oz.. did you mean 24 or how do you get 28 oz lol
I use 28 oz, you can buy some jars that are larger than 24 oz. If you have only a 24 oz jar, you can top up the extra 4oz with tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes.
Wonderful recipe. I made some changes based on what I had in the kitchen, plus my vegetarian diet… it was gobbled up by my meat eating friends and family. I used a bag of frozen veggie crumbles instead of meat, and mascarpone+cottage cheese instead of ricotta which I didn’t have. Will go into recipe rotation!
This baked ziti is a hit in my household! I use ground beef and add the minced garlic and extra Italian seasoning as recommended. I also use jarred prego sauce and omit the water added because I feel it’s not necessary. Thank you Holly for another recipe to add to my rotation!
Love this recipe. Make it for the grandkids When they visit. Does the parsley have to be fresh or can you substitute parsley flakes?
So glad your grandkids enjoy this recipe! You can use parsley flakes, reduce it to 1 tablespoon.