Baked ziti is cheesy, saucy, and baked until bubbly, for the kind of cozy dinner that always disappears fast. With layers of ziti, creamy ricotta, and hearty sausage sauce, it’s an easy pasta bake that is perfect for weeknights, potlucks, and make-ahead dinners.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Savory Italian sausage, tangy tomato, and creamy ricotta melt together with mozzarella for a rich, comforting dish.
- Why Make It: This is an easy-to-make-ahead casserole that serves 8 with a thick and hearty sausage sauce.
- Serving Suggestions: This baked ziti has quickly become my go-to for feeding teens and house guests, especially paired with garlic bread and a Caesar or Italian salad.
Best Ingredients for Baked Ziti
- Meat: Choose mild or hot sausage. This can be replaced with ground beef or ground turkey. Add 2 cloves of minced garlic and 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning to the meat.
- Pasta Sauce: Choose your favorite pasta sauce, as it is the main flavor of the dish.
- Pasta: I use ziti in this recipe; however, penne, rigatoni, or other tube-shaped pasta can be used in place.
- Cheese: Ricotta adds a creamy layer to this recipe. You can replace it by blending cottage cheese with an egg until smooth.
- Topping: Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top for a browned, bubbly topping. Just before serving, add freshly grated Parmesan cheese and some fresh herbs like parsley or basil.
- Variations: Add chopped spinach to the ricotta mixture (squeezed dry). Stir sautéed mushrooms or diced zucchini into the sauce for extra veggies.
How to Make Baked Ziti
- Prepare the sausage sauce and the cheese mixture in separate bowls (full recipe below).
- In a large pot, cook the pasta al dente.
- Layer the sauce, pasta, and cheese in a greased dish.
- Top with mozzarella and bake.
For cleaner slices, let baked ziti rest 10 to 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
Fridge, Freezer, Reheat
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Baked or unbaked ziti will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat, cover with foil and warm at 350°F until hot throughout. Add a splash of water or sauce if it looks dry. To reheat single portions, microwave in short bursts, loosely covered, stirring once if possible.
Italian Comfort Classics
Did you enjoy this Baked Ziti? 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.
Delicious! The family loved it!
I made this for a potluck dinner the other night with Gluten free noodles (Banza) and it was a hit with everyone! I’m not huge on the fennel flavor in sausage, so I halved the portion for the recipe and subbed in some lean ground beef. It’s like lasagna! We have tons of leftovers but my gluten free sister is happily gobbling up the closest she’s had to “homemade lasagna” in a while :)
I want to try making this in a crock pot! Do I need to modify it at all?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure Joy. I think it would work, and you can use this Crock Pot sausage pasta recipe for guidance on times. If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
I ended up using a very similar recipe to yours (without the egg) for crockpot ziti and it turned out amazing!!! I cooked the noodles al dente and browned the meat then combined all the ingredients in the crock pot on high for about an hour or two. Definitely a keeper!
This recipe made a ton of food, my family devoured it. I made it with 1 lb of beef but, I will make this again with hot italian sausage, petite diced green pepper and onion. My husband had FOUR helpings. I couldn’t believe how quickly it disappeared. This was delicious, creamy, hearty and very easy. My family likes alot of sauce so I will add more next time. This is honestly a “restaurant-yummy” dish you can make, save money and stay home! If you’re considering making this, do it, you will be very pleased.
The best baked ziti I ever had !
Just pulled it from the oven. Couldn’t wait to taste it. Awesome is an understatement. Even the hubby said, “this is really good”. Served it with some Texas Toast.
Just pulled it from the oven. Could wait to taste it. Awesome is an understatement. Even the hubby said, “this is really good”. Served it with some Texas Toast.
So happy to hear that, Leesa!
Made your baked ziti, and it was delicious! Loved the perfect balance of flavors, and so easy to make!
Thanks for your great recipes, always superb!
Thank you so much Linda!
Was delicious. Made a few modifications as far as using ground beef since that’s what I had in the freezer and added more sauce and some more seasonings to the ground beef while cooking it. Also, I’ve always covered my baked ziti or lasagna with foil to prevent the cheese on top from drying out and from burning then take the foil off like the last 5-10 minutes. However, I was following these directions more and it didn’t say to cover. I should have because the cheese completely burnt. My kids would not eat it.
Thanks for trying it, Jessica!
I am using your recipe with a different assembly method and using ground beef instead of sausage. I read a lot of the comments, keeping in mind that it probably needs more sauce. I am using Rao’s marinara and I got some fresh Basil to top it after it comes out of the oven. I had baked ziti at a wedding once and I fell in love with it. I am hopeful that this will be just as good, if not better than the first time. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of it, Donna!
I made this tonight for dinner it was just awesome. My son who is so picky is coming for seconds later. Thank you Holly for such a great recipe. I even like it better than lasagna it’s a real keeper!
So happy you enjoyed it, Josey!
The flavor was good but not saucy enough for me. Next time I will put in less pasta. Thank you for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Gloria!
After preparing the meat mixture there is no instruction when to layer it in so I layered Zita then meat both times
Hi Dana, you will find the instructions on how to layer baked ziti in step 6 and 7. Start by adding 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 mixture, and half of the sauce. Then add the remaining ziti, then the remaining sauce, and top with remaining mozzarella cheese. I hope that helps!
I made this with gluten free penne because I couldn’t find gf penne – it was delicious and a big hit at the church supper I took it to. I’m making it again tonight for a break from the holiday food.
It came out perfect
I used a pound of penne (our store doesn’t carry ziti) and next time I’ll half it. It was delicious but I would rather it be more “saucy”, mine didn’t look like yours, too much pasta. I used half Italian sausage and 1/2 ground beef.
Husband declared the recipe a keeper.
So happy you enjoyed it, Virginia!
this is a great and simple recipe! Chef, the instructions indicate to add all cheese, including ricotta together with egg, but instructions also indicate to apply all ricotta in one layer and tip with cheese. For less experience cooks would you kindly update for clarity?
thanks for a great recipe!
Hi Nikkie, instructions say to add ricotta with egg, 1 cup of Mozzarella, and Parmesan. Then at the end you add remaining Mozzarella on top. Hope that helps!
I made this tonight and it was delicious. Just the right balance of flavors, sauce, cheese , pasta and meat. I’ll freeze half for Christmas Eve dinner add a salad and garlic bread and voila. I would post a pic of it but can’t figure out how to do that. Recipes on this site are really good and many times a lot healthier versions of the same out there. I appreciate that. I used ground turkey and added my own sausage spices to the meat. I used an upscale jarred marinara. Thanks for a great dish.
So glad you enjoyed it, Jill!
delicious! my family loves it ❤️
Hi!
Question: -for a group of 10 people:Can I double and put it all in a deep dish disposable foil pan? Do I cook longer? So happy I found this recipe!!:)
This should work just fine, foil pans do not conduct heat the same way so it will need extra cooking time. I do recommend setting the foil pan on a baking sheet if possible.