Baked Ziti Recipe
Baked ziti, ten ways — classic Baked Ziti, Million Dollar Baked Ziti, Lazy Baked Ziti, and Easy Baked Ziti with Meatballs for busy weeknights.
★ dinner
dinnerBaked Ziti
A classic Italian-American baked pasta dish with layers of ziti, meat sauce, and cheeses, baked to perfection.
Renae ThurmanIngredients
- 1 pound Ziti pasta
- 1 pound Ground beef or sausage
- 2 cups Marinara sauce
- 1 cup Ricotta cheese
- 2 cups, shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 0.5 cup, grated Parmesan cheese
- 1, chopped Onion
- 3 cloves, minced Garlic
- 2 tablespoons Olive oil
- to taste Salt
- to taste Black pepper
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- for garnish Fresh basil (optional)
Instructions
- 1Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- 2Cook pasta: Boil the ziti until al dente, then drain and set aside.
- 3Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until softened.
- 4Brown the meat: Add ground beef or sausage, cook until browned, and drain excess fat.
- 5Combine sauce: Mix marinara sauce with the cooked meat and seasoning.
- 6Layer: In a baking dish, layer half of the pasta, meat sauce, dollops of ricotta, and shredded mozzarella. Repeat the layers and finish with Parmesan.
- 7Bake for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and golden on top. Garnish with fresh basil if desired.
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Open in Pepper →The Pan That Feeds Everybody
Baked ziti is the dish you make when you need dinner to stretch. One pan of pasta, sauce, and cheese covers a hungry family, a neighbor going through it, and lunch the next day.
Cooks on Pepper reach for these on the nights practice runs late, when company is coming and nobody wants to fuss, or when there's a pound of ground beef in the fridge and no plan.
Every recipe here is a real version somebody makes: the classic Baked Ziti with marinara and ground beef, Baked Ziti with Meat layered with whole milk ricotta, Baked Ziti with Ground Beef and Alfredo Sauce, a bright Lemon Baked Ziti with pancetta, and Easy Baked Ziti with Meatballs straight from the freezer bag.
Quick Tips
- 1
Undercook the pasta
Pull the ziti 2 to 3 minutes shy of al dente. It keeps cooking in the sauce and won't turn mushy after 30 minutes in the oven.
- 2
Save a cup of pasta water
Stir 1/2 to 1 cup of the starchy water into your sauce so the noodles stay saucy instead of drying out in the oven.
- 3
Brown the meat first
Cook ground beef or Italian sausage over medium-high for 6 to 8 minutes until it's got real color, then drain the fat before adding sauce.
- 4
Cover, then uncover
Bake covered with foil at 350°F for 25 minutes, then pull the foil and go 10 to 15 more so the top cheese browns and bubbles.
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