Baked Ziti Recipe

Ever wondered how to make a very tasty Baked Ziti dish for dinner? This Baked Ziti recipe will guide you on all the necessary steps. I will also visually demonstrate how I cooked this dish through the video below. I think that these resources are enough to get you going.

I love pasta and noodles. In fact, this pasta dish is my next go to comfort food next to chicken noodle soup. The climate in my location has something to do with it. Anyway, before we proceed, let me quickly talk about some of the ingredients used in the recipe. The Ziti is the regular pasta in a box that you can purchase in the supermarket. Cook it according to package instructions. The pasta sauce used for this recipe is traditional. You can use meaty sauces or even the tomato and basil varieties. Speaking of basil, I also incorporated some dried basil and oregano. It helps the dish taste and smell fresh.

The secret to a tasty Ziti dish (aside from the sauce) is to use the proper meat. Sure – you can use regular ground beef, but it won’t give you the taste that ground Italian sausage can. I highly recommend using this if you want your dish to stand out.

This Baked Ziti recipe version uses a variety of cheeses to make it rich and flavorful. These are Ricotta, Mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses. The recipe below will show you when each cheese should be added.

Try this Baked Ziti Recipe. Enjoy!

Watch the Video on How to Make Baked Ziti

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4 from 1 vote

Baked Ziti Recipe

This is a recipe for baked ziti. It will give you a fresh tasting and creamy pasta dish.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 10 mins

Course: Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 5

Author: Chef Speedy

Ingredients

• 1 lb. ziti
• 1 lb. ground mild Italian sausage
• 2 24 oz. bottles traditional pasta sauce
• 1 medium yellow onion diced
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 cup Ricotta cheese
• 1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• ¾ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons canola oil

Instructions

• Heat oil in a pan.
• Add the ground sausage. Cook until it turns light brown.
• Stir the onion and garlic in the pan. Continue to cook for 5 minutes.
• Pour the pasta sauce in and then stir. Let boil.
• Add dried basil and oregano. Stir. Cover and cook in low to medium heat for 20 minutes. Stir every 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, cook the Ziti based on package instructions. Once cooked, drain the water and arrange in a baking pan.
• Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Pour half of the cooked pasta sauce over the Ziti. Add Ricotta cheese and half of the Mozzarella cheese and then gently fold. Make sure that all the ingredients are well incorporated.
• Pour the remaining pasta sauce over the Ziti and top with Parmesan and remaining Mozzarella
• Bake for 30 minutes.
• Remove from the oven and let it cool. Enjoy!