Baked Ziti

Name: Baked Ziti
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 pound ziti pasta; 1 pound ground beef or Italian sausage (or a mix of both); 1 medium yellow onion, diced; 4 garlic cloves, minced; 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes; 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce; 1 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 teaspoon dried basil; 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional); 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for pasta water; 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; 1 teaspoon granulated sugar; 15 ounces whole-milk ricotta cheese; 1 large egg; 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (plus more for garnish); 3 cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese, divided; 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided; 2 tablespoons olive oil

Published by Fork Around & Find Out Kitchen — presented in the Lila editorial voice. Editorial standards

Quick Answer

To make baked ziti, cook ziti pasta al dente, mix it with ricotta, mozzarella, and meat sauce, layer it in a baking dish, top with more cheese, and bake covered at 375°F for 25 minutes, then uncovered for 15 more minutes until bubbly and golden. The whole process takes about 1 hour start to finish.

Jump to Recipe

Baked ziti is lasagna’s relaxed cousin—the one who shows up with all the cheese and none of the paperwork. Ziti gets cooked just to al dente, then layered with ricotta, mozzarella, and meat sauce so the pasta can finish cooking in the oven without turning soft and defeated. Covering the dish for the first 25 minutes at 375°F keeps the inside hot and moist; uncovering it for the final 15 lets the top bubble, brown, and become the part everybody starts picking at before dinner is officially served.

The beauty of baked ziti is that the structure is forgiving as long as the pasta is not overcooked at the start and there is enough sauce between the layers. Ricotta brings creaminess, mozzarella brings the stretch, and the meat sauce keeps the whole pan firmly in dinner territory. It feeds a crowd, travels well, and reheats without requiring a committee meeting. In other words, it is exactly what a casserole should be doing with its life.

Prep20 minutes

Cook40 minutes

Total1 hour

Serves8 servings

DifficultyEasy

Ingredients

Servings

1 pound ziti pasta
1 pound ground beef or Italian sausage (or a mix of both)
1 medium yellow onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for pasta water
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
15 ounces whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped (plus more for garnish)
3 cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese, divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

1Preheat your oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with olive oil or cooking spray.
2Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Cook the ziti for 2 minutes less than the package directions indicate — it should be firmly al dente, not fully cooked. Drain and toss with a drizzle of olive oil to prevent sticking. Set aside.
3While the pasta cooks, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
4Add the ground beef or sausage to the skillet. Break it up with a spoon and cook until browned through, about 7-8 minutes. Drain excess fat.
5Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens slightly. Taste and adjust seasoning.
6In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta, egg, chopped parsley, 1 cup of the mozzarella, and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan until combined. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
7Add the drained pasta to the meat sauce and stir to coat everything evenly.
8Spread half the pasta-sauce mixture into the prepared baking dish in an even layer. Drop the ricotta mixture in spoonfuls over the top, then spread it gently — it doesn't need to be perfectly even. Add the remaining pasta-sauce mixture on top.
9Sprinkle the remaining 2 cups of mozzarella and 1/4 cup of Parmesan evenly over the top.
10Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes, until the cheese on top is melted, spotted golden-brown, and the edges are bubbling.
11Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. This is not optional — the rest lets it set up so it scoops cleanly instead of flowing off the spatula like lava. Garnish with fresh parsley and serve.
Note Cook ground beef or sausage until browned and the meat reaches 160°F on an instant-read thermometer.

Nutrition Information

Estimated per serving: 1 of 8 servings.

670Calories

40 gProtein

54 gCarbohydrates

33 gTotal Fat

15 gSaturated Fat

4 gFiber

7 gTotal Sugars

760 mgSodium

125 mgCholesterol

Estimated from the ingredients and quantities in this recipe using standard food-composition values. Brand choices, trimming, cooking loss, optional ingredients, and actual portion size can change the numbers. How we calculate nutrition estimates.

Pro Tips

Undercook your pasta. Two minutes short of done is the rule. The pasta finishes cooking in the oven, and if you start with fully cooked noodles, you'll end up with something that could double as packing material.
The sugar in the sauce is not a mistake. One teaspoon cuts the acidity of canned tomatoes and rounds out the whole thing. I left it out once as an experiment, and the sauce tasted like it was holding a grudge.
Let it rest the full 10 minutes before you cut in. I know. The cheese is calling to you. The timer still has to run.

Substitutions

ziti → penne or rigatoni Both hold sauce well and behave almost identically in the oven — rigatoni gives you slightly more structural drama

ground beef → ground turkey or plant-based ground meat Ground turkey works well; add an extra pinch of salt since it's milder. Plant-based crumbles work but skip draining — there's less fat

whole-milk ricotta → part-skim ricotta or cottage cheese Part-skim works fine but is slightly less creamy. Cottage cheese (blended smooth) is a legitimate swap that nobody will detect

low-moisture mozzarella → provolone or fontina Provolone melts beautifully and adds a slightly sharper flavor. Avoid fresh mozzarella on top — it releases too much water

Italian sausage → mushrooms and zucchini for a vegetarian version Sauté the vegetables until their liquid cooks off before adding the tomatoes, or the sauce will be thin

Storage Instructions

Cool completely before storing. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container or covered baking dish for up to 4 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave with a splash of water to keep the pasta from drying out, or reheat the whole dish covered at 350°F for 20-25 minutes. Freeze fully assembled (baked or unbaked) for up to 3 months — wrap tightly in foil and a layer of plastic wrap. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.

Make Ahead

Assemble the entire dish up to 24 hours ahead, cover tightly with foil, and refrigerate unbaked. When ready to cook, add 10 extra minutes to the covered baking time since you're starting from cold. You can also make the meat sauce up to 3 days in advance and refrigerate it, then assemble and bake when needed.

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