Basic Baked Ziti Recipe | Diethood
My baked ziti recipe is a weeknight-friendly pasta casserole with a wealthy selfmade meat sauce and three sorts of Italian cheese. This straightforward pasta bake is ideal for household dinners and simply as nice for entertaining. It’s able to eat in beneath an hour!
Baked ziti is a traditional Italian-American casserole made out of tube-shaped pasta, meaty spaghetti sauce, and a melty mix of parmesan, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese. With simply 5 minutes of prep, that is the kind of dish you’ll be able to whip up on the final minute, whether or not it’s a comfy weeknight dinner or vacation potluck.
Like baked mostaccioli, I like to consider a pasta bake as a deconstructed lasagna. All of the flavors and layers of meat and cheese, minus the additional effort.
What Makes This Basic Baked Ziti Recipe So Good
- Wealthy, creamy meat sauce. I take advantage of reasonably priced breakfast sausage and heavy cream for further richness within the sauce, however the recipe is tremendous versatile. Make it with floor beef, hen, and adapt the add-ins to style.
- Minutes to prep. Boil the pasta whilst you put together the sauce, after which layer every thing collectively in a baking dish. And because the pasta is already cooked, the baking time is fast, too!
- Leftovers for days. After I bake this only for the household, we all the time have sufficient for second helpings AND leftovers. Baked ziti shops and reheats nicely for lunches and dinners later within the week.
Components Wanted to Make This Recipe
These are the components you’ll must make the perfect baked ziti. Scroll all the way down to the recipe card for the printable listing with the quantities, adopted by step-by-step recipe directions.
- Ziti Noodles – Ziti is a tubular pasta form. It’s much like penne and rigatoni, solely with out the ridges. The truth is, these pasta shapes make a great substitute in case you can’t discover ziti.
- Olive Oil – Or use your selection of cooking oil.
- Breakfast Sausage – I like the added taste and fattiness of budget-friendly pork breakfast sausage. For those who’re utilizing hyperlinks, take away the casing. You might additionally make this recipe with floor beef, hen, Italian sausage, or a mix of floor meats.
- Marinara Sauce – Use your favourite jar of store-bought marinara sauce or tomato sauce. When you have a selfmade recipe, that can work, too!
- Purple Pepper Flakes – Be at liberty to go away out the chili flakes in case you’re delicate to spice. It’s also possible to substitute the pepper flakes with paprika for a milder taste.
- Heavy Cream – Exchange heavy cream with half-and-half for a lighter sauce.
- Cheese – I like to make use of a mix of freshly grated Parmesan, mozzarella, and ricotta cheese. If wanted, substitute ricotta with cream cheese or cottage cheese.
- Basil – Non-compulsory, for garnish.
Suggestions and Variations
- Salt the pasta water. Nicely-salted water is the important thing to well-seasoned pasta. Add a beneficiant 2-3 spoonfuls of desk salt to the water you’ll use to prepare dinner the pasta, so it comes out flavorful.
- Maintain the pasta from sticking. To maintain the cooked ziti noodles from sticking after you’ve drained them, drizzle the pasta with somewhat olive oil and toss to coat.
- As an alternative of marinara, you should utilize any plain tomato sauce you’ve got available. To present it some taste, season the tomato sauce with somewhat garlic powder and Italian herbs.
- Completely different sauces. Exchange the meat sauce on this recipe with selfmade Bolognese or beef ragu.
- For a meat-free model, change the bottom sausage with diced veggies reminiscent of mushrooms, carrots, celery, or bell peppers. You might additionally merely add further marinara sauce. And in case you’re in search of an amazing vegetarian pasta bake, strive my flavorful eggplant pasta or this vegetable lasagna.
- Make it further creamy. For a creamy, lasagna-inspired model, prime every pasta layer with béchamel sauce or alfredo sauce.
Pin this now to seek out it later
-
Prepare dinner the pasta. Prepare dinner your ziti pasta in a pot of salted boiling water. Drain the pasta and place it again into the pot. Put aside.
-
Prep the oven. Preheat your oven to 425°F.
-
Put together the sausage. Warmth olive oil in a big skillet over medium-high warmth. Crumble the sausage into the skillet and prepare dinner till not pink, about 5 to six minutes. Drain the surplus fats from the skillet and return the skillet to the burner.
-
Make the sauce. Add the marinara sauce and pink pepper flakes to the sausage. Season to style with salt and pepper, and simmer the sauce for 10 minutes over medium warmth.
-
Add the cheese. Add the heavy cream and half the Parmesan cheese into the ready sauce. Stir nicely.
-
Mix the sauce with the pasta. Add the sauce to the pot with the pasta and stir nicely.
-
Assemble. Switch half the pasta to a 9-inch baking dish. Prime the pasta with ricotta in small dollops, then add the remaining parmesan and half of the mozzarella cheese. Layer the remaining pasta and end off with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
-
Bake. Switch the baking dish to the oven and bake the pasta for 15-20 minutes, or till scorching and bubbly.
-
End and serve. Take away the ziti from the oven and let it relaxation and funky for five to 10 minutes. Garnish with freshly chopped basil and serve.
- As an alternative of marinara, you should utilize plain tomato sauce. To present the tomato sauce further taste, mix it with garlic powder and Italian herbs.
- You may substitute ricotta for cream cheese or cottage cheese.
- For this recipe, you’ll be able to use floor beef and even floor hen.
Energy: 730kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 32g | Fats: 44g | Saturated Fats: 21g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 4g | Monounsaturated Fats: 16g | Trans Fats: 0.2g | Ldl cholesterol: 128mg | Sodium: 1267mg | Potassium: 740mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 1358IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 300mg | Iron: 3mg
Dietary information is an estimate and offered as courtesy. Values might fluctuate in keeping with the components and instruments used. Please use your most well-liked dietary calculator for extra detailed information.
Tips on how to Make Baked Ziti
In about 45 minutes, you’ll have this bubbly, tacky baked ziti able to serve. Observe these steps.
- Boil the pasta. Begin by cooking the ziti in a pot of salted boiling water. Observe the instructions on the bundle so it’s cooked al dente, then drain the pasta and add it again to the pot. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 425ºF.
- Prepare dinner the sausage. Subsequent, crumble the breakfast sausage right into a skillet with oil. Sauté the meat till it’s not pink. Afterward, drain the surplus grease.
- Make the sauce. Stir within the marinara sauce, and add the pink pepper flakes, plus salt and pepper to style. Simmer the sauce for about 10 minutes over medium warmth. Lastly, stir within the heavy cream and add half of the Parmesan cheese. Stir the sauce into the pot with the cooked ziti.
- Assemble. Now, scoop half of the pasta right into a 9-inch baking dish. Layer on the ricotta, remaining parmesan, and half of the mozzarella cheese. Unfold the remaining pasta on prime, and end off the casserole with a layer of mozzarella.
- Bake. Bake at 425ºF for 15-20 minutes, till scorching and bubbly. As soon as baked, permit the pasta to relaxation for 5-10 minutes, then garnish with chopped basil and serve!
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
- Refrigerate. Retailer leftovers in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 4 days.
- Reheat. Heat the casserole within the oven, or you’ll be able to reheat smaller parts on the stovetop or within the microwave till heated by means of. I prefer to put the microwave at 50% energy when reheating pasta dishes.
- Freeze. The cooled baked ziti will be double-wrapped in plastic wrap and frozen for as much as 2 months. Thaw it within the fridge earlier than reheating.
