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.
5 out of 6 in the family love it. It is great the next day for leftovers.
Crowd favorite! Doubled the recipe to make two 9×13 pans. Used 1lb hot Italian sausage and 1lb lean ground beef. Didn’t find it necessary to add water to the sauce, so left that out. Made the rest of it true to recipe and it’s excellent!
Tasted amazing! My 8 year old and I made this together, and he thoroughly enjoyed helping.
Very tasty
Easy and full of flavor
great recipe, I really liked the addition of the ricotta layer in the middle. I thank that really made this dish.
I added about 1/2 jar of Calabrian chili paste to the meat sauce to bring the heat up.
I don’t know who your feeding but 8 servings? I can feed double that with the quantity this made. and no way this fits in a 9×13 dish, I used a large lasagna pan and it fit perfectly.
thanks for the recipe!
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!!!