Recipe For Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti is a staple dinner recipe at our house. Our boys LOVE this cheesy baked pasta recipe. My recipe makes a full 9×13-inch pan which makes it really good for feeding a crowd or having leftovers.

Leftovers always come in handy, especially during the week and our boys are always happy to see baked ziti on the menu, even a few times in one week. It’s that good!

This baked ziti recipe is also perfect to make for someone who needs a big, comforting meal. Take it to someone welcoming a new baby, to someone who is under the weather, or to someone who just needs a delicious meal!

Easy Baked Ziti With Sausage

Ziti is a tubed pasta like penne, but the edges are cut in a straight line instead of at a slant. Look for ziti pasta in the pasta aisle. If you can’t find ziti, penne is a great option since they are very similar. If you need the recipe to be gluten-free, you can use gluten-free pasta.

We love to use our Homemade Easy Marinara Sauce or Slow Cooker Marinara Sauce for the very best flavor. Of course, if you have a favorite store bought marinara sauce you can use that in this recipe to save some time. I always keep our homemade marinara sauce in the freezer so it is ready to go! It keeps this recipe super simple!

This baked ziti recipe is made with Italian sausage. You could also use ground beef or turkey, whatever you and your family like best. If you want to make a vegetarian baked ziti, you can leave out the meat and add in your favorite vegetables. This baked pasta dish is easy to adapt to your liking.

Best Ever Baked Ziti Recipe

Baked ziti is very filling and good by itself, but if you want to serve a full meal, here are a few of our favorite side dishes to serve with baked ziti.

If you are looking for more delicious pasta recipes, we have you covered! I have a feeling you will love them all!

A big pan of Baked Ziti filled with pasta, cheese, sausage, and marinara sauce just might be the best dinner ever, especially when garlic bread is served on the side. This baked pasta is a family favorite!

Best Vegetarian Baked Ziti

Calories: 528 kcal , Carbohydrates: 42 g , Protein: 27 g , Fat: 28 g , Saturated Fat: 13 g , Fiber: 3 g , Sugar: 6 g , Calcium: 388 mg , Iron: 3 mg

I'm Maria and my husband is Josh. We share a love of cooking, baking, and entertaining. We enjoy creating recipes that are simple, fresh, and family friendly. We love sitting around the table with good food, good conversation, and good friends and family! Our kitchen is always open!Whip up my easy, crowd-pleasing baked ziti—it’s perfect for cozy weeknights yet special enough for company, and an absolute superstar at potlucks!

This baked ziti is a MAJOR crowd-pleaser. Whether I’m hosting a family gathering or cooking a meal for my 20-year-old son’s friends (I usually double the recipe in that case!), this dish always delivers. In fact, I love it so much that it’s featured proudly on the cover of my second cookbook! The secret to its uniqueness lies in using Italian sausage, which is a shortcut to incredible flavor, and skipping the ricotta cheese, which tends to have a grainy texture in traditional baked ziti. The recipe is doable on a weeknight yet special enough to serve to company, and it’s also a fantastic option for a make-ahead potluck dish.

Easy Baked Ziti Recipe

If you’re looking to save time, you can opt for pre-shredded mozzarella cheese from a bag; just make sure it’s the whole milk version (the low-fat version isn’t nearly as good). As the baked ziti works its magic in the oven, throw together a big Italian salad and warm some foccacia, and you’re ready to feast!

“Simply outstanding…I made the ziti for a huge birthday party I hosted for a member of my family. Everyone (ages 5 to 91) devoured it.” Leslie

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the 1 lb of ziti noodles according to the package instructions until a few minutes shy of al dente, about 7 minutes. (It will continue to cook in the oven, so you want to undercook it just a bit.) Drain and add the pasta back to the pot. Set aside.

Healthy Baked Ziti

Cook the sausage, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned and just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked sausage to a plate.

Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pan and set over low heat (if you don’t have enough fat in the pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil). Add the 4 cloves minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until soft but not browned, about 1 minute.

Stir in the 28-oz can crushed tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, 1½ teaspoons sugar, and ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes and simmer for 10 minutes.

Baked Ziti Recipe (easy To Make)

Spoon half of the mixture into a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the shredded mozzarella (1 cup) and half of the remaining pecorino Romano (1½ tablespoons).

Whole milk mozzarella is best. You can purchase a plastic-wrapped brick of mozzarella (usually sold in the dairy case) and shred it yourself. To make it easier to work with, pop it in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes prior to shredding. Or, to save time time, it’s perfectly fine to use pre-shredded mozzarella; just be sure it is made from whole milk. Avoid fresh buffalo mozzarella, which is best suited for salads.

Yes, the dish can be assembled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days in advance. Bake, covered tightly with aluminum foil, in a 425°F (220°C) oven for 25 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is lightly browned and the pasta is hot throughout.

Better Baked Ziti

Absolutely! Baked ziti is a great candidate for freezing, and it can be frozen for up to 3 months before or after baking. If you freeze before baking, thaw the dish in the refrigerator overnight and bake, covered tightly with aluminum foil, in a 425°F (220°C) oven for 25 minutes. Then uncover and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until the cheese is lightly browned and the pasta is hot throughout. To freeze after baking, let the dish cool completely, then cut it into individual portions or leave it whole. Wrap the portions tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil, or place them in an airtight container. To reheat, simply thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake until heated through.

I'd love to know how it turned out! Please let me know by leaving a review below. Or snap a photo and share it on Instagram; be sure to tag me @.

This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.

Vegan Baked Ziti (quick + Easy Recipe)