My baked ziti recipe is a weeknight-friendly pasta casserole with a rich homemade meat sauce and three kinds of Italian cheese. This easy pasta bake is perfect for family dinners and just as great for entertaining. It’s ready to eat in under an hour!
Baked ziti is a classic Italian-American casserole made from tube-shaped pasta, meaty spaghetti sauce, and a melty blend of parmesan, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese. With just 5 minutes of prep, this is the type of dish you can whip up at the last minute, whether it’s a cozy weeknight dinner or holiday potluck.
Like baked mostaccioli, I like to think of a pasta bake as a deconstructed lasagna. All the flavors and layers of meat and cheese, minus the extra effort.
What Makes This Classic Baked Ziti Recipe So Good
- Rich, creamy meat sauce. I use affordable breakfast sausage and heavy cream for extra richness in the sauce, but the recipe is super flexible. Make it with ground beef, chicken, and adapt the add-ins to taste.
- Minutes to prep. Boil the pasta while you prepare the sauce, and then layer everything together in a baking dish. And since the pasta is already cooked, the baking time is quick, too!
- Leftovers for days. When I bake this just for the family, we always have enough for second helpings AND leftovers. Baked ziti stores and reheats well for lunches and dinners later in the week.
Ingredients Needed to Make This Recipe
These are the ingredients you’ll need to make the best baked ziti. Scroll down to the recipe card for the printable list with the amounts, followed by step-by-step recipe instructions.
- Ziti Noodles – Ziti is a tubular pasta shape. It’s similar to penne and rigatoni, only without the ridges. In fact, those pasta shapes make a good substitute if you can’t find ziti.
- Olive Oil – Or use your choice of cooking oil.
- Breakfast Sausage – I love the added flavor and fattiness of budget-friendly pork breakfast sausage. If you’re using links, remove the casing. You could also make this recipe with ground beef, chicken, Italian sausage, or a combination of ground meats.
- Marinara Sauce – Use your favorite jar of store-bought marinara sauce or tomato sauce. If you have a homemade recipe, that will work, too!
- Red Pepper Flakes – Feel free to leave out the chili flakes if you’re sensitive to spice. You can also substitute the pepper flakes with paprika for a milder flavor.
- Heavy Cream – Replace heavy cream with half-and-half for a lighter sauce.
- Cheese – I like to use a blend of freshly grated Parmesan, mozzarella, and ricotta cheese. If needed, substitute ricotta with cream cheese or cottage cheese.
- Basil – Optional, for garnish.
Tips and Variations
- Salt the pasta water. Well-salted water is the key to well-seasoned pasta. Add a generous 2-3 spoonfuls of table salt to the water you’ll use to cook the pasta, so it comes out flavorful.
- Keep the pasta from sticking. To keep the cooked ziti noodles from sticking after you’ve drained them, drizzle the pasta with a little olive oil and toss to coat.
- Instead of marinara, you can use any plain tomato sauce you have on hand. To give it some flavor, season the tomato sauce with a little garlic powder and Italian herbs.
- Different sauces. Replace the meat sauce in this recipe with homemade Bolognese or beef ragu.
- For a meat-free version, replace the ground sausage with diced veggies such as mushrooms, carrots, celery, or bell peppers. You could also simply add extra marinara sauce. And if you’re looking for a great vegetarian pasta bake, try my flavorful eggplant pasta or this vegetable lasagna.
- Make it extra creamy. For a creamy, lasagna-inspired version, top each pasta layer with béchamel sauce or alfredo sauce.
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Cook the pasta. Cook your ziti pasta in a pot of salted boiling water. Drain the pasta and place it back into the pot. Set aside.
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Prep the oven. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
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Prepare the sausage. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crumble the sausage into the skillet and cook until no longer pink, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the excess fat from the skillet and return the skillet to the burner.
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Make the sauce. Add the marinara sauce and red pepper flakes to the sausage. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes over medium heat.
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Add the cheese. Add the heavy cream and half the Parmesan cheese into the prepared sauce. Stir well.
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Combine the sauce with the pasta. Add the sauce to the pot with the pasta and stir well.
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Assemble. Transfer half the pasta to a 9-inch baking dish. Top the pasta with ricotta in small dollops, then add the remaining parmesan and half of the mozzarella cheese. Layer the remaining pasta and finish off with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
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Bake. Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake the pasta for 15-20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
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Finish and serve. Remove the ziti from the oven and let it rest and cool for 5 to 10 minutes. Garnish with freshly chopped basil and serve.
- Instead of marinara, you can use plain tomato sauce. To give the tomato sauce extra flavor, combine it with garlic powder and Italian herbs.
- You can substitute ricotta for cream cheese or cottage cheese.
- For this recipe, you can use ground beef or even ground chicken.
Calories: 730kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 44g | Saturated Fat: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 16g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 128mg | Sodium: 1267mg | Potassium: 740mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1358IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 300mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Baked Ziti
In about 45 minutes, you’ll have this bubbly, cheesy baked ziti ready to serve. Follow these steps.
- Boil the pasta. Start by cooking the ziti in a pot of salted boiling water. Follow the directions on the package so it’s cooked al dente, then drain the pasta and add it back to the pot. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- Cook the sausage. Next, crumble the breakfast sausage into a skillet with oil. Sauté the meat until it’s no longer pink. Afterward, drain the excess grease.
- Make the sauce. Stir in the marinara sauce, and add the red pepper flakes, plus salt and pepper to taste. Simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes over medium heat. Lastly, stir in 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 into a 9-inch baking dish. Layer on the ricotta, remaining parmesan, and half of the mozzarella cheese. Spread the remaining pasta on top, and finish off the casserole with a layer of mozzarella.
- Bake. Bake at 425ºF for 15-20 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Once baked, allow the pasta to rest for 5-10 minutes, then garnish with chopped basil and serve!
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Reheat. Warm the casserole in the oven, or you can reheat smaller portions on the stovetop or in the microwave until heated through. I like to put the microwave at 50% power when reheating pasta dishes.
- Freeze. The cooled baked ziti can be double-wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for up to 2 months. Thaw it in the fridge before reheating.
