My baked ziti recipe is a weeknight-friendly pasta casserole with a wealthy do-it-yourself meat sauce and three sorts of Italian cheese. This simple pasta bake is ideal for household dinners and simply as nice for entertaining. It’s able to eat in beneath an hour!
Baked ziti is a traditional Italian-American casserole constituted of tube-shaped pasta, meaty spaghetti sauce, and a melty mix of parmesan, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese. With simply 5 minutes of prep, that is the kind of dish you may whip up on the final minute, whether or not it’s a comfy weeknight dinner or vacation potluck.
Like baked mostaccioli, I like to consider a pasta bake as a deconstructed lasagna. All of the flavors and layers of meat and cheese, minus the additional effort.
What Makes This Traditional Baked Ziti Recipe So Good
- Wealthy, creamy meat sauce. I exploit inexpensive breakfast sausage and heavy cream for further richness within the sauce, however the recipe is tremendous versatile. Make it with floor beef, rooster, and adapt the add-ins to style.
- Minutes to prep. Boil the pasta when you put together the sauce, after which layer the whole lot collectively in a baking dish. And because the pasta is already cooked, the baking time is fast, too!
- Leftovers for days. Once I bake this only for the household, we at all times have sufficient for second helpings AND leftovers. Baked ziti shops and reheats properly for lunches and dinners later within the week.
Elements Wanted to Make This Recipe
These are the elements you’ll must make the very best baked ziti. Scroll right down to the recipe card for the printable listing with the quantities, adopted by step-by-step recipe directions.
- Ziti Noodles – Ziti is a tubular pasta form. It’s much like penne and rigatoni, solely with out the ridges. The truth is, these pasta shapes make a very good substitute when you can’t discover ziti.
- Olive Oil – Or use your alternative of cooking oil.
- Breakfast Sausage – I like the added taste and fattiness of budget-friendly pork breakfast sausage. When you’re utilizing hyperlinks, take away the casing. You could possibly additionally make this recipe with floor beef, rooster, Italian sausage, or a mixture of floor meats.
- Marinara Sauce – Use your favourite jar of store-bought marinara sauce or tomato sauce. You probably have a do-it-yourself recipe, that can work, too!
- Crimson Pepper Flakes – Be at liberty to depart out the chili flakes when you’re delicate to spice. You too can substitute the pepper flakes with paprika for a milder taste.
- Heavy Cream – Substitute heavy cream with half-and-half for a lighter sauce.
- Cheese – I like to make use of a mix of freshly grated Parmesan, mozzarella, and ricotta cheese. If wanted, substitute ricotta with cream cheese or cottage cheese.
- Basil – Optionally available, for garnish.
Suggestions and Variations
- Salt the pasta water. Nicely-salted water is the important thing to well-seasoned pasta. Add a beneficiant 2-3 spoonfuls of desk salt to the water you’ll use to prepare dinner the pasta, so it comes out flavorful.
- Preserve the pasta from sticking. To maintain the cooked ziti noodles from sticking after you’ve drained them, drizzle the pasta with a bit olive oil and toss to coat.
- As a substitute of marinara, you should utilize any plain tomato sauce you have got readily available. To provide it some taste, season the tomato sauce with a bit garlic powder and Italian herbs.
- Totally different sauces. Substitute the meat sauce on this recipe with do-it-yourself Bolognese or beef ragu.
- For a meat-free model, change the bottom sausage with diced veggies equivalent to mushrooms, carrots, celery, or bell peppers. You could possibly additionally merely add further marinara sauce. And when you’re in search of a fantastic vegetarian pasta bake, strive my flavorful eggplant pasta or this vegetable lasagna.
- Make it further creamy. For a creamy, lasagna-inspired model, high every pasta layer with béchamel sauce or alfredo sauce.
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Cook dinner the pasta. Cook dinner your ziti pasta in a pot of salted boiling water. Drain the pasta and place it again into the pot. Put aside.
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Prep the oven. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
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Put together the sausage. Warmth olive oil in a big skillet over medium-high warmth. Crumble the sausage into the skillet and prepare dinner till now not pink, about 5 to six minutes. Drain the surplus fats from the skillet and return the skillet to the burner.
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Make the sauce. Add the marinara sauce and pink pepper flakes to the sausage. Season to style with salt and pepper, and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes over medium warmth.
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Add the cheese. Add the heavy cream and half the Parmesan cheese into the ready sauce. Stir properly.
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Mix the sauce with the pasta. Add the sauce to the pot with the pasta and stir properly.
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Assemble. Switch half the pasta to a 9-inch baking dish. High the pasta with ricotta in small dollops, then add the remaining parmesan and half of the mozzarella cheese. Layer the remaining pasta and end off with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
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Bake. Switch the baking dish to the oven and bake the pasta for 15-20 minutes, or till sizzling and bubbly.
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End and serve. Take away the ziti from the oven and let it relaxation and funky for five to 10 minutes. Garnish with freshly chopped basil and serve.
- As a substitute of marinara, you should utilize plain tomato sauce. To provide the tomato sauce further taste, mix it with garlic powder and Italian herbs.
- You may substitute ricotta for cream cheese or cottage cheese.
- For this recipe, you may use floor beef and even floor rooster.
Energy: 730kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 32g | Fats: 44g | Saturated Fats: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 4g | Monounsaturated Fats: 16g | Trans Fats: 0.2g | Ldl cholesterol: 128mg | Sodium: 1267mg | Potassium: 740mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1358IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 300mg | Iron: 3mg
Dietary data is an estimate and supplied as courtesy. Values might differ in keeping with the elements and instruments used. Please use your most popular dietary calculator for extra detailed data.
How you can Make Baked Ziti
In about 45 minutes, you’ll have this bubbly, tacky baked ziti able to serve. Comply with these steps.
- Boil the pasta. Begin by cooking the ziti in a pot of salted boiling water. Comply with the instructions on the bundle so it’s cooked al dente, then drain the pasta and add it again to the pot. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- Cook dinner the sausage. Subsequent, crumble the breakfast sausage right into a skillet with oil. Sauté the meat till it’s now not pink. Afterward, drain the surplus grease.
- Make the sauce. Stir within the marinara sauce, and add the pink pepper flakes, plus salt and pepper to style. Simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes over medium warmth. Lastly, stir within the heavy cream and add half of the Parmesan cheese. Stir the sauce into the pot with the cooked ziti.
- Assemble. Now, scoop half of the pasta right into a 9-inch baking dish. Layer on the ricotta, remaining parmesan, and half of the mozzarella cheese. Unfold the remaining pasta on high, and end off the casserole with a layer of mozzarella.
- Bake. Bake at 425ºF for 15-20 minutes, till sizzling and bubbly. As soon as baked, enable the pasta to relaxation for 5-10 minutes, then garnish with chopped basil and serve!
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Retailer leftovers in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days.
- Reheat. Heat the casserole within the oven, or you may reheat smaller parts on the stovetop or within the microwave till heated via. I wish to put the microwave at 50% energy when reheating pasta dishes.
- Freeze. The cooled baked ziti will be double-wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for as much as 2 months. Thaw it within the fridge earlier than reheating.
