As quickly because the climate turns cool, I seize the comfortable sweaters and begin cooking all of the consolation meals, like this Simple Baked Ziti recipe. It’s wealthy and gooey with its layers of pasta, do-it-yourself purple sauce with Italian sausage, and mix of melty cheeses. It’s whole consolation in a bowl. And the very best half is that do-it-yourself Baked Ziti is just not fussy in any respect. You don’t have to fret about delicate sheet pasta or tedious layering. It’s all the good flavors of lasagna in a freeform scrumptious casserole!
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“Holy moley…That sauce!!! Clearly this may be made with out do-it-yourself sauce, however wow, it utterly made the dish! I fed my household of seven with this and so they can not cease raving about it. I make Price range Bytes dishes on a regular basis, and there hasn’t been one which I don’t like, however I feel this takes the cake for the very best recipe I’ve tried. Thanks a lot for this!”
Danielle Metal
What Is Baked Ziti?
Baked ziti is an excellent cozy pasta casserole made with ziti pasta (a clean tube-shaped pasta), purple sauce, and a mixture of cheeses (ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan). It has most of the similar elements as a basic lasagna, however the construction is way more freeform, making it actually quick and straightforward to make.
Right here’s all you’ll must make our superior baked ziti recipe:
- Italian Sausage: This recipe begins with a do-it-yourself meat sauce that’s made with floor Italian sausage. The sausage is filled with tons of herbs and spices, which brings a variety of taste to the dish. You need to use scorching, delicate, or candy Italian sausage.
- Onion: A little bit onion cooked down into the purple sauce offers it a scrumptious delicate sweetness.
- Tomato Paste and Crushed Tomatoes: We use two sorts of canned tomatoes to present the purple sauce a wealthy taste and texture. The crushed tomatoes create the physique of the sauce with out being too chunky whereas concentrated tomato paste thickens the sauce and makes the tomato taste additional wealthy.
- Italian seasoning: To maintain this recipe easy, we use an Italian seasoning mix to season the sauce moderately than a number of particular person herbs and spices.
- Ziti: It is a clean, tube-shaped pasta that’s good for this cozy casserole. In case you can’t discover ziti pasta at your native retailer, I’ve shared a few of my favourite substitutions under!
- Cheese: This hearty pasta casserole comprises a mix of a number of cheeses: ricotta, mozzarella, and a shredded Italian cheese mix.
- Parsley (non-obligatory): For additional shade, you may prime baked ziti with chopped parsley. In case you occur to develop basil, you may garnish with chopped basil for additional shade and taste.
Ziti Pasta Substitutions
I often discover ziti down the pasta aisle, however when you can’t discover it at your native retailer, strive these substitutions:
- Rigatoni: Rigatoni has the same form to ziti however has a ridged texture on the surface.
- Penne: Penne is a tubular-shaped pasta with angled ends and can work simply advantageous in a pinch!
- Mostaccioli: Mostaccioli appears to be like virtually an identical to penne and is an effective substitute if it’s what you must hand. Though, if that’s the case, I like to recommend you strive our baked mostaccioli recipe as a substitute!
However actually, any pasta form will work on this recipe. I boil the pasta till tender (or al dente) based on the package deal instructions. So, you may want to regulate the baking time when you select a thinner or smaller pasta, however any sort will work.
Can I Add Greens?
Sure! I virtually at all times add additional greens to no matter I’m cooking, however in the present day I made a decision to go together with the basic type of Baked Ziti. If I had been so as to add greens, I might most likely add some contemporary spinach into the sauce and stir till it’s wilted. Or, roast some broccoli, zucchini, or eggplant, after which toss that into the sauce.
I’ve made this recipe SO many occasions since I first shared it, and I’ve picked up a couple of suggestions alongside the way in which (with a few of them coming from readers such as you!):
- Store gross sales + coupons: I at all times replenish on canned tomatoes once they go on sale. And when you’ve got a coupon? That might make this already budget-friendly recipe even cheaper!
- Make it forward: This recipe is nice for prepping as much as 24 hours forward of time. Assemble as directed, let the pasta and sauce cool, then cowl tightly with foil and refrigerate. You’ll simply want to extend the baking time (whereas coated with foil) as wanted because you’re baking the dish from chilled.
- Bulk elements are cheaper: Test the value per unit to see if it’s value shopping for in bulk. If I do know that I’ll use a variety of one thing (like dried herbs), then it is smart to purchase in bulk.
- Double the sauce: The quantity of sauce on this recipe was greater than sufficient for me, however some readers doubled the sauce for a saucier pasta bake. In case you like issues additional saucy, then go forward and double it. I’d nonetheless solely use the 1lb of floor sausage, although, to maintain it budget-friendly.
- Use floor sausage: I take advantage of floor Italian sausage as a result of it’s already seasoned and provides nice taste to the dish. You can too use common Italian sausage in a pinch; simply slice open the casings and squeeze the sausage out! Simply use no matter you have already got or can get the very best deal on. 🙂
What to Serve with Baked Ziti?
Do-it-yourself Garlic Bread is superior with this recipe, however if you’d like some greens on the facet I might go together with one thing like Oven Roasted Frozen Broccoli, or a easy facet salad.
Retailer the Leftovers
Leftovers will preserve within the fridge for 4-5 days. I extremely counsel dividing the leftovers into single servings so that they cool shortly within the fridge. This recipe makes 8 massive servings, so as soon as the servings are cooled utterly within the fridge, you may switch a couple of to the freezer for longer storage. Then every serving is only a fast microwave away from being a filling last-minute dinner!
Simple Baked Ziti
This Simple Baked Ziti recipe has layers of pasta, do-it-yourself purple sauce with Italian sausage, and three sorts of melty cheese!
Stop your display from going darkish
- 1 lb. floor Italian sausage (candy, delicate, or scorching) ($4.99)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.27)
- 3 oz. tomato paste ($0.50)
- 1 28oz. can crushed tomatoes ($1.89)
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning mix ($0.30)
- 1/2 cup water ($0.00)
- 1 lb. ziti ($1.67)
- 1/2 Tbsp salt (for pasta water) ($0.05)
- 15 oz. ricotta ($3.39)
- 1 cup Italian cheese mix* ($1.24)
- 1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.05)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella ($2.29)
- 1 handful chopped parsley (non-obligatory, for garnish) ($0.20)
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Brown the sausage in a big skillet or pot over medium warmth, till it is brown and crispy on the sides (pork sausage comprises a variety of fats, so I did not add any additional to the skillet).
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Whereas the sausage is browning, finely cube the onion. Add the onion to the skillet as soon as the sausage has browned, and proceed to sauté over medium warmth till the onion is smooth and translucent.
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Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and ½ cup water to the skillet with the sausage and stir to mix. Place a lid on the skillet and permit it to return as much as a simmer. As soon as simmering, flip the warmth down and permit it to proceed to simmer when you cook dinner the ziti. Stir the sauce often because it simmers.
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After getting the sauce began, start the ziti. Convey a big pot of water with ½ Tbsp salt to a boil over excessive warmth. As soon as boiling, add the ziti, and let it proceed to boil till tender (about 7-8 minutes). Drain the pasta in a colander. Shake the colander a bit to shake extra water out of the pasta.
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Whereas the pasta and sauce are cooking, put together the cheese filling. Add the ricotta, Italian cheese mix, and a few freshly cracked black pepper (about 10 cranks of a pepper mill) to a bowl and stir to mix. Start to preheat the oven to 350ºF.
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After draining the ziti, return it to the pot and add 1 cup of the purple sauce. Stir to coat the cooked pasta in sauce.
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Pour half of the ziti to a 9×13″ baking dish. Add half of the ricotta combination on prime of the pasta in small dollops. Lastly, spoon half of the purple sauce and sausage over the pasta and ricotta. It is okay if the elements do not cowl in a strong layer. Repeat these layers with the second half of the pasta, ricotta combination, and sauce. Lastly, prime with 2 cups shredded mozzarella.
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Cowl the baking dish with foil, ensuring it is barely tented in order that it would not contact or persist with the melted cheese. Switch the coated casserole to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
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After baking for 20 minutes, take away the foil, and switch the oven on to broil (preserve the casserole on the center rack, about 10-12 inches from the broiler). Broil for five minutes, or simply till the cheese is barely browned. Preserve an in depth eye on the baked ziti because it broils, as a result of broilers can fluctuate in depth. Prime with chopped parsley, if desired, then serve.
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*Rather than Italian cheese mix you need to use a mixture of mozzarella and Parmesan.
Serving: 1ServingEnergy: 676kcalCarbohydrates: 56gProtein: 33gFats: 36gSodium: 881mgFiber: 5g
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Scroll down for the step-by-step pictures!
Make Baked Ziti – Step by Step Images
Start by browning 1 pound Italian sausage in a skillet till it’s brown and crispy on the sides. Pork sausage has fairly a little bit of fats in it by itself, so I didn’t add any additional to the skillet.
Whereas the sausage is browning, finely cube a yellow onion. Add it to the skillet with the browned sausage and proceed to sauté for a couple of minutes extra, or till the onion is smooth and translucent.
Add 3 oz. tomato paste (half of a 6 oz. can – don’t neglect to freeze the remainder of the can!), 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning mix, one 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes, and 1/2 cup water. Stir to mix, place a lid on the skillet, and let it come as much as a simmer. As soon as simmering, flip the warmth all the way down to low and let it proceed to simmer, stirring often, when you start cooking the ziti.
As soon as the sauce is simmering away, start cooking the ziti. Convey a big pot of water with 1/2 Tbsp salt to a boil over excessive warmth. As soon as boiling, add 1 lb. ziti. Proceed to boil the pasta till tender, then drain in a colander. Shake the colander a bit to shake out the surplus water.
Whereas the ziti is boiling and the sauce is simmering, make the ricotta cheese mix. Add 15 oz. ricotta, 1 cup Italian cheese mix, and a few freshly cracked black pepper to a bowl. Stir to mix. Additionally start to preheat the oven to 350ºF on the time.
After draining the ziti, return it to the pot and add 1 cup of the purple sauce. Stir to coat the pasta within the sauce.
Pour half of the sauce coated ziti right into a 9×13″ casserole dish. Add half of the ricotta combination on prime of the pasta in small dollops, then add half of the purple sauce on prime. Don’t fear if the layers don’t cowl one another in a strong layer. It doesn’t need to be good!
Repeat with a second layer of pasta, ricotta combination, and sauce, then prime with 2 cups shredded mozzarella.
Cowl the casserole with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Make sure that the foil is barely tented so it doesn’t contact the cheese and stick when it melts.
After baking for 20 minutes, take away the foil, flip the oven to broil, and return the casserole to the oven (preserve it on the center rack, about 10-12 inches from the broiler). Broil for about 5 minutes, or simply till the cheese is brown on prime. Preserve an in depth eye because it broils as a result of broilers can fluctuate in depth.
Garnish with a bit of chopped parsley, if desired, then serve!
This Baked Ziti recipe was initially revealed 10/16/19. It was up to date and republished 12/18/24.
