This Baked Ziti recipe is so classic and delicious and the perfect make ahead weeknight meal. You can totally make your own sauce but you can also buy a great quality jar from the store to keep things simple. We love this jarred marinara sauce.
I added a little bit of diced bell pepper to this easy baked pasta. It adds nice texture to the dish. You can totally omit it though, and make this dish even more simple. Our baked ziti so comforting, delicious and makes enough to feed a crowd.
This recipe also makes really great leftovers for the next day. It reheats really well and you don’t have to worry about this dish drying out since we’ve made ours pretty saucy.
How to make Baked Ziti
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add a small handful of salt and pasta to water and stir. Boil pasta for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until pasta is al dente. Drain, toss with a teaspoon of oil, pour into a large mixing bowl.
- Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a large sauté pan and place over medium- high heat. Add sausage and break apart with a wooden spoon. Cook sausage for about 5 minutes or until evenly browned. Drain and add to pasta.
- Discard grease and add remaining oil to pan. Add onion, bell peppers and garlic to pan and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour onion mixture over sausage and pasta mixture and toss together.
- Add marinara, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and ¼ cup parmesan and gently fold together until fully incorporated. Adjust seasonings as needed.
- Pour mixture into a lightly greased 8”x 8” baking dish and top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cheese bubbles and browns.
- Allow ziti to cool for 5 to 7 minutes before serving.
FAQs
Baked Ziti is a classic American Italian dish. It is made in a casserole dish, and typically uses a tomato sauce, and cheese, as well as other ingredients to suit your taste. It is prepared with cooked ziti pasta, and then baked in the oven
Yes! Prepare the recipe as directed, until it’s time to place it in the oven. Tightly wrap the ziti in foil and place it in the refrigerator for up to three days.
When ready to serve bake the ziti, with the foil, for 15 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until completely heated through.
Yes! Prepare the recipe as directed, until it’s time to place it in the oven. Tightly wrap the ziti in foil and place it in the freezer for up to three months.
When ready to serve place frozen ziti directly into a hot oven, with foil, for 45 minutes. Remove foil and continue to bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until completely heated through.
Variations
- The Italian pork sausage can be swapped out for turkey sausage.
- Sautéed mushrooms can also be swapped into for the sausage for the vegetarian friendly option.
- Sautéed spinach or kale can be added to the mixture to get more vegetables into the dish.
- Trying stirring a small amount of cream into the sauce before combining with the other ingredients for a richer sauce.
We love this baked ziti recipe so much. It’s simple, cozy and delicious. We also love that it only requires a handful of ingredients and that it’s a flexible recipe based on what you have on hand.
If you love baked pasta recipes as much as we do, we suggest checking out some of our other baked pasta recipes like our Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll Ups, our Baked Bucatini and Meatballs, or our Baked Turkey Sausage and Mascarpone Stuffed Shells. Enjoy!
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Baked Ziti
EQUIPMENT
- casserole dish
INGREDIENTS
- 8 ounces ziti pasta
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 spicy Italian sausages casings removed
- ½ small yellow onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper seeded and diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 cups marinara sauce homemade or store bought
- 2 cups part-skim mozzarella cheese divided
- ½ cup parmesan grated
- salt and pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add a small handful of salt and pasta to water and stir. Boil pasta for 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until pasta is al dente. Drain, toss with a teaspoon of oil, pour into a large mixing bowl.
- Pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil into a large sauté pan and place over medium- high heat. Add sausage and break apart with a wooden spoon. Cook sausage for about 5 minutes or until evenly browned. Drain and add to pasta.
- Discard grease and add remaining oil to pan. Add onion, bell peppers and garlic to pan and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour onion mixture over sausage and pasta mixture and toss together.
- Add marinara, 1 1/2 cups mozzarella and ¼ cup parmesan and gently fold together until fully incorporated. Adjust seasonings.
- Pour mixture into a lightly greased 8”x 8” baking dish and top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cheese bubbles and browns.
- Allow ziti to cool for 5 to 7 minutes before serving.
Did you make this recipe? We want to see!
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Everything looks great, but I ad seasoned Ricotta cheese.
Ricotta cheese seasoned with Garlic powder, parsley, Basil, Oregano, grated Locatelli Pecorino Romano, and 1 egg. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix all together and add to ziti before baking. It is fantastic
I made this today and added provolone and ricotta cheese! Super cheesy and super delicious! Thanks for great recipe!
The styling on this is fantastic! This recipe looks wonderful, too!
This was awesome – and I loooove your pictures
Just made this tonight and my hubby and I both loved it! The spicy sausage was perfect and the cheesy baked pasta was super yummy! We’ve had this at restaurants but we both liked this version best. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, I totally hear you on the scarf thing. I’ve run out of “scarf storage room” but I can’t seem to stop buying them. They’re just too much fun and too easy. Plus, a nice big scarf is perfect for hiding a bloated belly from eating too much baked ziti. Which, now that I have this recipe, is obviously what I plan on doing pretty soon.
I live in LA too and I’m with ya on the boots, scarves and sweaters! Even if it’s going to be 75+ I feel like I need all three. Also with you on the food front, long live pasta!
Yes, winter food all the time!! I’ve gotten used to everyone in the house groaning as I turn the oven on during a hot summer afternoon, and I don’t care! Warm, gooey, heavy food is just comforting, and I’m down for that any time of year. :)
Yes, I’m with you! Pasta and chowder all year!
This is a perfect omforting dish for the cooler weather…my family will love this ish so I am going to try it out.
This was soooooo good! Pasta and cheese, what else do we need to survive? lol
I love winter and can completely relate. This ziti looks like it makes the spring resistance totally worth it!
I have never seen Baked Ziti look so pretty!
I adore that wooden spoon! Totally loving these photos, per usual…and all that cheesy goodness. :)
I recently moved to LA from San Francisco, and my scarves are atrophy-ing in my closet. :( Now I feel the need to bake some ziti and get them out! *sigh* I miss them…
Such a classic! This was the best ziti!
You just turned a messy casserole dish into something beautiful. Amazing.
girl, just get a lighter summer scarf :) that’s what i’d do anyway…that and a big fat bowl of baked ziti!
I live in Florida. But I love scarves! and I wish I had more opportunities to wear them.
I feel the same way about having to ditch my scarf…I hate it! I kinda feel naked without it.
Sooo cheesy – yummm!! When I was younger and eating my mothers home cooked meals every night (ohh I long for those days sometimes) ziti night was my faveee! And I so get you on that no light spring/summer food – I’m all about that! I like “real” food (haha).
I want pasta always and ice cream always too. I totally get it. This looks so good, too! I’m hungry knowing it exists. :)
So pretty I might die. Gorgeous, cheesy, yummmm!
Yum this was fantastic. Right now my office is freezing, and it makes me want a heaping pile of this pasta!
I’m a sweater girl too – I just get light sweaters to layer over dresses and flats for the warmer weather.
xoxo,
mon amy
I’m totally with you on the heavy winter foods: all. year. long. The scarfs aren’t an issue here in Montana – I can wear them all year and nobody bats an eye! Haha! There are plenty of cute, light, summery scarves – I have no doubt you’ll be fine.
Thanks for the recipe!