Description
Classic Baked Ziti is a hearty and comforting Italian-American pasta dish featuring ziti noodles layered with a rich meat sauce, creamy ricotta mixture, and gooey melted cheese.
Ingredients
Scale
Pasta:
- 1 pound ziti pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Meat Sauce:
- 1 pound ground beef or Italian sausage
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jar (24 ounces) marinara sauce
- 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Cheese Mixture:
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
- Preheat oven and cook pasta: Preheat oven to 375°F. Cook ziti until al dente, then toss with olive oil.
- Prepare meat sauce: Cook ground beef or sausage with onion, add garlic, marinara sauce, tomato sauce, herbs, salt, and pepper. Simmer.
- Mix cheese layer: Combine ricotta, egg, 1 cup mozzarella, 1/4 cup Parmesan, and parsley.
- Layer and bake: Spread meat sauce in baking dish, layer ziti, ricotta mixture, and sauce. Repeat layers, top with cheese. Bake covered, then uncovered until bubbly.
- Rest and serve: Let the ziti rest before serving.
Notes
- For a vegetarian version, replace meat with sautéed mushrooms and spinach.
- This dish can be assembled ahead and refrigerated overnight or frozen before baking.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups
- Calories: 480
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 890 mg
- Fat: 21 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 9 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 48 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg
