Baked Ziti 🍝🧀

Baked Ziti 🍝🧀

This Baked Ziti is a cozy, crowd-pleasing dish made with tender pasta, rich marinara sauce, creamy ricotta, and melty mozzarella baked to perfection. It’s perfect for family dinners, meal prep, or feeding a crowd.

Serves

6–8 people

Ingredients

For the pasta

• 12 oz ziti or penne pasta

• Water and salt for boiling

For the sauce

• 1 lb ground beef or Italian sausage

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 small onion, diced

• 1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce

• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon black pepper

For the cheese layer

• 1 cup ricotta cheese

• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

• ½ cup grated parmesan cheese

• 1 egg

• 1 teaspoon dried parsley

For topping

• 1–1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven

Preheat oven to 375°F and lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish.

2. Cook the pasta

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain and set aside.

3. Cook the meat

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add ground beef or sausage and cook until browned. Drain excess grease.

4. Add onion and garlic

Stir in diced onion and cook for 2–3 minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds.

5. Make the sauce

Add marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Mix cheese layer

In a bowl, combine ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, parmesan, egg, and parsley.

7. Assemble

In the baking dish, layer:

• Half the pasta

• Half the meat sauce

• All of the ricotta mixture

• Remaining pasta and sauce

8. Top

Sprinkle remaining mozzarella cheese evenly over the top.

9. Bake

Bake for 25–30 minutes until bubbly and golden.

10. Serve

Let cool for 5–10 minutes before serving.

Serving Ideas

• Garlic bread

• Caesar salad

• Roasted vegetables

Quick Tip

For extra flavor, mix a little parmesan into each layer as you assemble.