This hearty, but easy baked ziti is made in just one pan! It’s the perfect weeknight dinner!
In our house there are two things I can make for dinner that everyone will eat without question, every single time. That would be anything pasta or a casserole of some sort. When I can combine the two and make a pasta casserole (better known as this easy baked ziti) it’s a real win!
This week was filled with lots of running around and extra trips out of the house for me, so our dinners had to be easy. This hearty baked ziti is one of my favorites, not just because it’s easy to make, but because it’s absolutely delicious and freezes great!
The best way I can describe this dish is a cross between ziti and lasagna. In fact maybe I should have titled this zitagna (um no, that sounds gross) or laziti (and no again, that’s just plain weird haha). Anyway, this dish has got all the goodness of baked ziti, but also has the creamy ricotta layer like lasagna! It’s Italian through and through.
Other than the fact that it’s delicious, filling, and ooey-gooey with cheese, did you hear me say it’s easy too? It really is, you can make this in pretty much one pot. I say ‘pretty much’ because I do boil the noodles in another pot, but that hardly counts, right?
Useย your favorite Dutch oven (I love mine; it’s from Revol) to do the cooking, stir in the cooked pasta, top with the cheeses, and throw the whole thing in the oven. Dinner done!
Hearty Baked Ziti
PrintIngredients
- 16 ounces penne pasta
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef
- 1/2 pound ground Italian sausage
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 jar spaghetti sauce
- 1 16 ounce container ricotta cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente.
- Heat dutch oven or skillet over medium heat and add olive oil and chopped onion.
- Add ground beef and sausage and cook thoroughly.
- Add garlic and cook 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in spaghetti sauce until fully combined.
- In a glass bowl mix ricotta cheese, sour cream, parmesan, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
- It not using a dutch oven, transfer meat mixture to an oven-safe dish. Stir pasta into meat mixture and mix well.
- Top pasta and meat with ricotta mixture, spreading evenly.
- Top with shredded mozzarella cheese and sprinkle with Italian seasoning.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly and brown around the edges.
- Let stand for 10 mintes prior to serving.
And you’ll also love this crock-pot classic chili or these bacon wrapped pesto chicken breasts!
Love the use if Italian sausage and ricotta cheese. Delicious
Thank you so much Bintu! ๐
You can call this what ever you like anything that sounds this good cannot be damaged by a name even one as bizarre as Zitagna ๐
I like your style Brian! Haha! Thanks for the chuckle. ๐
Baked ziti is a family favorite and I don’t nearly make it as often as I should! But with the cooler weather, I’m craving it. Yours looks absolutely marvelous and you have a beautiful site! Glad to have discovered it. xo, Catherine
Hi Catherine! You are too kind, thank you so much! I agree about ziti, I don’t make it as often as I should either. Have a wonderful day, and weekend!! ๐
Beautiful photography! Cheesy, tomatoey dishes are hard to photograph, but this looks so lovely.
Oh Julie, thank you so much!! I agree, sometimes these are a challenge because they’re so messy. I did let it cool significantly before cutting and photographing. I think that really helps! ๐
Looks and sounds so good, especially on an a Fall day in WI! Thanks.
Thank you so much! It is about as comfort food as you can get. ๐
Using pasta in a casserole dish is always a crowd pleaser! And a sure-sign of a genius. ๐ This looks absolutely delicious!
I agree Sarah, thank you so much!
Talk about fall comfort food! You hit the mark on that one with this beautiful dish!
Thank you so much Kathi! It’s always a big hit over here. Happy fall!
Thank you for sharing your baked ziti, we usually make it a little different in our family, however, I am always up to trying new easy methods on a busy night. I am so picky about the sauce being my mom is from Italy, which jarred sauce do you recommend? Let me know when you can, thank you for sharing your recipe!!Your photos look wonderful and the food just jumps right out. I would definitely try a bite of yours.
Hi Heidy! Oh my gosh, I bet you know some good sauce! I usually buy an organic tomato basil one from Sprouts or if I have some of my homemade tomato sauce, I’ll use that and spice it up a little. What do you use?
Beautiful photos and I’m loving that thick layer of cheese on top. My kids would especially love this meal ๐
Thank you so much Jill! It may not be the healthiest of meals, but it sure is delicious! ๐
That looks so good and so incredibly cheesy!! ๐
Thank you Mindy! Haha, it is super cheesy! ๐