Baked Ziti is an easy to make casserole that reminds me of lasagna. Enjoy it with our homemade sauce, or cut prep time down by using your favorite jar of marinara.
Why this recipe works
My kids have always been huge pasta fans, and baked ziti is definitely their favorite meal for dinner. When they all lived at home they asked for this dish what seemed like every other night. Luckily, it’s pretty simple to make.
This recipe requires easy to find ingredients that you can find at most grocery stores. In fact, the most exotic ingredient is ricotta.
After you put the ingredients together and get it in the oven, sit back and enjoy the aroma of fresh baked ziti while it cooks.
Ingredients you will need
How to Make Homemade Baked Ziti
In this baked ziti recipe, we are providing a homemade sauce. If you prefer a really easy baked ziti, you can absolutely cut down the prep time by using your favorite jarred sauce.
These step by step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. You can Jump to Recipe to get the printable version of this recipe, complete with measurements and instructions at the bottom.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a skillet, add the olive oil and the diced onion. Cook for 5 minutes, or until translucent, soft and fragrant.
- Add in the ground beef and spices, cook until no pink remains, about 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat.
- In a saucepan, add the tomato sauce and the whole tomatoes. Using a slotted spoon, scoop in the cooked ground beef, draining the excess fat as you go. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 20-25 minutes.
- While the tomato sauce mixture is simmering, cook the pasta noodles until just slightly al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.
- In a large bowl, combine 3 cups of the mozzarella cheese, 1 ½ cup of the parmesan cheese and the ricotta.
- Add in the noodles and stir to combine.
- In a 9×13 casserole dish, spread 1 cup of the meat mixture in the bottom of the baking dish. Scoop in ½ of the cheese and pasta mixture over the meat sauce.
- Add another layer of meat sauce, using ½ of the remaining meat sauce. Cover with the second ½ of the pasta and the remaining meat sauce.
- Top with the rest of the mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until the cheese is melted, starting to brown and the sauce is bubbling up on the sides.
- Remove from oven, allow to cool, and enjoy.
Frequently Asked Questions
When we make this, we enjoy the leftovers for a few days. Store leftovers in an airtight container with a lid. You can also leave it in the casserole dish and cover it tightly with aluminum foil. Leftover ziti will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator with the proper covering.
We use the microwave to reheat individual servings, however you could add a tablespoon of water to the pan, cover it with foil, and reheat in the oven as well.
You need 2 pounds of ground meat for this recipe. If you prefer, instead of ground beef you can use ground pork, ground chicken or ground turkey. Classic baked ziti uses sausage, so feel free to use whatever suits your tastes.
Ziti is a tube-shaped pasta, similar to rigatoni and penne, but with straight cut ends instead of angled. You can use any tube pasta you like.
Yes, you can freeze baked ziti. Allow the cooked casserole to cool completely. Cover with aluminum foil, making sure to wrap it tightly around the casserole dish. Place in the freezer for up to a month. To reheat the dish, allow to thaw in the refrigerator then place in the oven to heat through. You can reheat at 375 degrees for 10-15 minutes, or until bubbling.
We love this baked ziti served with salad and warm, fresh Italian bread. A real crowd pleaser, this baked casserole it pure comfort food.
More Dinner Recipes
- Macaroni and Cheese Casserole with Ham and Peas
- John Wayne Casserole
- Homemade Green Bean Casserole
- Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta
- Cheesy Garlic Bread
- Chicken Alfredo
- Lasagna Roll Ups
- Million Dollar Spaghetti
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Baked Ziti
IMPORTANT – There are often Frequently Asked Questions within the blog post that you may find helpful. Simply scroll back up to read them!
Print It Rate ItIngredients
- 1 large onion diced (1 cup)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 tablespoons garlic powder
- 2 tablespoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 29 ounces tomato sauce Two 14.5 ounce cans
- 28 ounce whole tomatoes canned
- 31 ounces mozzarella cheese divided (4 cups)
- 7 ounces grated Parmesan cheese divided (2 cups) see notes
- 15 ounces whole milk ricotta
- 16 ounces ziti noodles or similar pasta
- Fresh parsley
Things You’ll Need
Before You Begin
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- In a skillet, add the olive oil and the diced onion. Cook for 5 minutes, or until translucent, soft and fragrant.
- Add in the ground beef and cook until no pink remains, about 5-7 minutes.
- Add in the spices, stir to combine and cook for another minute. Remove from heat.
- In a saucepan, add the tomato sauce and the whole tomatoes. Using a slotted spoon, scoop in the cooked ground beef, draining the excess fat as you go. Bring to a simmer and allow to cook for 20-25 minutes.
- While the tomato sauce mixture is simmering, cook the pasta noodles until just slightly al dente. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.
- In a large bowl, combine 3 cups of the mozzarella cheese, 1 ½ cup of the parmesan cheese and the ricotta. Add in the noodles and stir to combine.
- In a 9×13 casserole dish, spread 1 cup of the meat mixture in the bottom of the baking dish. Scoop in ½ of the cheese and pasta mixture over the meat sauce.
- Add another layer of meat sauce, using ½ of the remaining meat sauce. Cover with the second ½ of the pasta and the remaining meat sauce.
- Top with the rest of the mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 25 minutes or until the cheese is melted, starting to brown and the sauce is bubbling up on the sides.
- Remove, allow to cool and enjoy.
Nutrition
This post was originally published on this blog on May 2, 2010.
Amanda Davis
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Dee Mitch says
This is hands down the best bake ziti I have ever had and it’s so simple, I used diced tomatoes though because I don’t like large chunks go tomato in anything. I used Rotel (died tomatoes with jalapeños to add a little zing. I made this for a small crowd and three people asked for the recipe.
Amanda Davis says
Awesome, so glad you loved it Dee!
Kelly says
This was really good. It made a ton so we got several meals out of it and I fed a couple of coworkers. We used Ragu jarred sauce. Overall it needed a little salt but otherwise was really good. Maybe using a different sauce would have prevented that.
Amanda Formaro says
Thanks so much Kelly, I’m glad you liked it! :)
Elena says
Can you use already pasta sauce and no onion in the ziti leave out beef,egg in the pasta?
Amanda Formaro says
Jarred pasta sauce is fine, no onion is fine. You don’t have to use the beef. The egg helps hold the ricotta cheese together.
Here are some suggestions for substituting the egg, however I have never tried this. If you do, please let me know how it goes:
“Second, substitute the eggs (yolks…) with whipping cream, equal amount (about 3 tbsp for a whole egg and about 1 1/2 tbsp per yolk). The addition of eggs to a Lasagna is to make it a richer and creamier filling. You can also use more Ricotta Cheese (or try some Mascarpone…)”
Vickie says
The recipe and directions do not mention eggs at all. Did I miss something?
Amanda Formaro says
You didn’t miss anything, there’s no egg. If you were looking at the comments from a long time ago that mention egg, I have changed the recipe since then.
Tracy says
I’m a dingbat . . . how much ziti do you use? I can’t seem to find it on the recipe?
Amanda Formaro says
You are not a ding bat! Somehow that important item was omitted from the recipe when we redid the photos. Thanks so much for pointing that out! It’s a one pound box of ziti. I’ve corrected the recipe and printable version. Thanks!
Natalie says
Do you heat it all together when you combine the ritcatta,egg etc. and ground meat?
Amanda Formaro says
Yes! Just pop it in the oven as the recipe directs :)
selah earel says
besides spaghetti, my next favorite food is ziti. i have never made it but bought the stuff at the store to bake and serve. however after reading your recipe, i have DECIDED TO MAKE YOURS TOMORROW FOR EVENING MEAL. IT SOUNDS SO SCRUMPTIOUS. thanks for your recipe.
Amanda Formaro says
I hope you enjoyed it! It’s one of our favorites :)
Melanie says
This looks delicious! I am going to make it with my Morningstar crumbles instead of beef! Thank you!
Amanda says
Sounds like a great, healthy substitution!
Amanda says
I'm so glad you liked it Gila, and your changes sound great!
Gila says
Thanks for the recipe, Amanda! I found it from your list of Top 10 Recipes of 2010 and made it this weekend. I did tweak the recipe a bit– I used macaroni since I didn't happen to have any ziti on hand. I also used Romano cheese instead of Parmesan, and Morningstar Farms Recipe Crumbles instead of the ground beef since I'm a vegetarian. For a healthier dish, I used nonfat cottage cheese instead of ricotta. Finally, I used dried parsley flakes instead of fresh. It came out great! I used jarred marinara sauce because I was pressed for time, but next time I want to try your homemade version. I did notice that the yield was very large. I had to use a wok to stir everything together, and then the mixture barely fit into my 13×9 pan. But aside from that, I was very happy with the recipe :-)
Amanda says
Oh right you are, so sorry about that! I edited the instructions, but you simply sprinkle the parmesan along with the mozzarella.