This Baked Ziti is a cozy pasta casserole that’s hearty, saucy, and wonderfully cheesy. Pasta is layered with savory Italian sausage, rich tomato sauce, and a creamy ricotta mixture for an easy dinner that has all the comfort of lasagna without all the work.
It’s a family favorite for busy weeknights, Sunday dinners, or anytime you need a comforting meal that feeds a crowd.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Baked Ziti
Baked Ziti is a classic pasta dish that’s easy to put together and is always a hit. I love this recipe so much that it was one of the few recipes from the site that made it into my cookbook, Everyday Comfort.
Why Make It: This baked ziti feeds a crowd, can be assembled ahead of time, and bakes into rich, sturdy layers that hold together beautifully when served.
Time-Saving Tip: Save time by using pre-shredded mozzarella, jarred marinara sauce, and pre-chopped onion to cut down on prep work.
Freezing: Assemble ahead and freeze before baking for an easy future dinner.
Serving Suggestions: I like to serve this baked ziti with homemade garlic bread and a crisp green salad or caesar salad.
Total Time: 1 Hour 10 Minutes Serves: 8
Ingredient Notes
- Italian Sausage: Mild sausage is family-friendly, hot sausage adds extra heat, and bulk sausage helps save prep time. If using links, remove the casings before browning.
- Pasta Sauce or Marinara: Choose a sauce you enjoy on its own, since it’s the base of the casserole. Marinara tends to be brighter and more tomato-forward, while tomato basil or garlic sauces add extra depth of flavor.
- Diced Tomatoes: These add texture and help keep the sauce from tasting flat. Petite diced tomatoes blend in more seamlessly, while fire-roasted tomatoes bring a deeper, slightly smoky flavor.
- Italian Seasoning: This enhances the jarred sauce with a blend of herbs. Add a little extra if using ground beef, turkey, or a very simple tomato sauce.
- Ziti: Cook just to al dente so it holds its texture after baking. Penne, rigatoni, mostaccioli, or medium pasta shells also work well as substitutes.
- Ricotta cheese: Whole milk ricotta creates the creamiest, richest layer. If the ricotta seems watery, drain it before mixing, or substitute cottage cheese for a lighter option.
- Mozzarella Cheese: For the best melt and texture, shred mozzarella from a block. Low-moisture mozzarella is ideal to help prevent the casserole from becoming watery.
Variations
Spicy: Add red pepper flakes to the sauce or use hot Italian sausage for extra heat.
Meat Swap: Ground beef or turkey can be used instead of sausage, with added garlic and Italian seasoning for flavor.
Vegetable Add-Ins: Spinach, mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, or chopped kale all work well. Cook watery vegetables first to prevent the casserole from becoming thin.
Lighter: Use turkey sausage, cottage cheese, and part-skim mozzarella for a lighter version.
Make it Meatless: Omit the sausage and add sautéed mushrooms, spinach, or roasted vegetables for a flavorful vegetarian option.
How to Make Baked Ziti
- Brown the sausage and onion in a skillet. Simmer with pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, water, and Italian seasoning.
- Boil the ziti just until al dente and drain.
- Mix the ricotta, egg, parsley, mozzarella, and Parmesan in a bowl.
- Layer sauce, pasta, ricotta mixture, more pasta, more sauce, and mozzarella.
- Bake (full recipe below).
Save It For Later
- Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Reheating: Reheat individual portions in the microwave or cover and warm in the oven until heated through.
- Freezing: Assemble the casserole, cover tightly, and freeze for up to 4 months before baking, or freeze leftovers for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking or reheating.
- For Best Results: Remove a refrigerated casserole from the fridge about 30 minutes before baking. If it is cold from the refrigerator, it may need extra baking time.
More Cozy Pasta Bakes
Did you enjoy this Baked Ziti Casserole Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 1 (28 ounce) jar pasta sauce or marinara sauce
- 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juices
- ½ cup water
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 16 ounces ziti
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- 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 9×13-inch baking pan.
- In a large skillet, over medium-high heat, brown the sausage and onion, breaking it up with a spoon. 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 pan. 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, Dinner, Entree, 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.
Baked Ziti receipt is amazing!!!! Super easy and delicious. I make a lot of your recipes Tomorrow will be your coleslaw recipe with fresh cabbage from the local farm stand Thanks!!!
This is the BEST Baked Ziti recipe I ever made. Made it last week and making it again tonight by request from my family. I am such a fan of your recipe. You are my go to site when I need dinner ideas. I belong to a Farm Share at a local farm. Getting lots of great veggies! Making your coleslaw tomorrow!!
Makes my day Laurie!
I have made this recipe several times, we all love it. Thank you for this great recipe.
You’re welcome Cora!
LOVE this recipe. Absolutely delish and loved by my family!!
I would like to make a meatless baked ziti. Can I just omit the meat, and maybe most of the Italian seasoning?
Hi Sandy, we haven’t tried making this recipe meatless but that should work. Or you could try a meat substitute.
I just came across your comment and I’ve done this for a vegetarian (my brother. Will eat fish and dairy) we use veggie stock and roasted eggplant for the sauce to “beef” it up a bit. It’s incredibly versatile and frankly, as a meat eater, I really enjoy
this version as well!
For all the work that went into this “easy” ziti i was extremely disappointed in the outcome. Won’t be making this again
Oh no, sorry to hear that Joyce! Is there anything specific we can help with?
You’re coming across as a little but rude Joyce
I like to add pepperoni when I make Ziti.
What kind of parmesean cheese??? Grated or shreaded???
Hi Carrie, we use grated parmesan cheese.
Your recipe is a little confusing. you first say, put a cup of sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 but immediately after that you say to put the pasta in the bottom of a greased pan. what?
The sauce goes in and then the pasta goes in on top of the thin layer of sauce.
Excellent recipe!!! I realized I had zero mozzarella in the house after I already started, so I used Colby Jack, Grated Asiago and Parm. Also used cottage cheese with the extra egg. It was SO SO GOOD! I’m probably never making spaghetti again bc this will be my go to from now on. I did find it to be too much for my standard glass 9×13, so before I did the second layer I had to transfer it to my deeper casserole dish. No biggie, now I know
Very disappointed in the end result. I’m not sure if it was the ziti pasta, or using a glass rather than a metal pan. I would just rather use lasagna noodles
Sorry to hear that MaryAnn, this recipe is usually a reader favorite!
Not sure about this recipe-followed recipe but overflowed in oven and way too much pasta
Oh boy Latoya, we have never had that happen before! Did you bake it in a 9×13 pan? It shouldn’t have overflown.
what a delicious dish. Great flavor. I will make this again!
This is so delicious. I’m making it again, right now. Yum.
Made tonight. No Italian sausage, so used ground beef. Excellent. All 5 of us loved it, till it was gone! Very tasty!
Great recipe. I substituted the ground Italian sausage with Ground Chihuahua. Magnifico!!!
I am going to give this a whirl tonight. I have one question do you think stewed tomatoes with store bought sauce would work?
I think it’d work great!
Can you use store-bought pasta sauce? If so, do you have a recommendation? Thanks!
Hi Carissa, you can use store-bought if you prefer. For this recipe I would just choose your favorite marinara sauce or pasta sauce.
Can you list portion size with nutrient est? Importantant coupled with carb count for type 1 diabetes vigilance. Thanks, looks great, anxious to make it.
Hi Gerry, our nutrition information is just an estimate and will vary based on the ingredients you use. For the most accurate information you will want to input the brand of ingredients you are using on an app like MyFitnessPal or something similar to calculate nutrition. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
BEST baked ziti recipe I’ve ever had! I was wanting to make something like this for a while, but lasagna and some other recipes can be expensive and time consuming to make. This was the best Italian cassarole-style dish I’ve ever had/made and it was easy AND affordable! I’m a huge fan, this is definitely going to become a regular dinner in my household! Thank you, Holly!
Yay! So happy to hear that Lauren.
The directions were easy. The ziti turned out amazing! Loved it!!!
I am so glad you enjoyed the ziti Amanda!