Looking for an easy and delicious weeknight meal? Prepare to indulge in my Baked Ziti. This meaty, cheesy, pasta bake is a dish your whole family will love. Made with spiced herb roasted marinara sauce, scoops of ricotta and mozzarella baked until bubbly perfection. It comes together pretty easily and a great meal to eat throughout the week.
Similar to lasagna, this Baked Ziti offers all the classic flavors without the extra hassle. This dish combines tender ziti pasta with a creamy, herb-spiced marinara meat sauce, dollops of seasoned ricotta cheese, and layers of melty mozzarella. It’s baked to cheesy, bubbly perfection for a meal that’s as comforting as it is delicious!
Why you’ll love this Baked Ziti?
- Crowd-Pleaser: Perfect for family dinners, potlucks, or gatherings—everyone loves it!
- Customizable: Add veggies, switch up the protein, or make it vegetarian to suit your taste.
- Reheats Well: It’s perfect for meal prep and tastes just as good (if not better) throughout the week.
- Easy to Make: Simple ingredients and minimal prep make it great for any skill level.
- Make-Ahead Dish: Prep it in advance and bake when you’re ready.
Ingredients for Baked Ziti:
here’s what you’ll need to make this baked ziti pasta
- Ziti Pasta noodles: feel free to use any short sturdy pasta.
- Ground beef: you can also use ground turkey, or Italian sausage
- Your favorite jar sauce: I used this roasted garlic marinara sauce.
- Yellow onion: diced
- Bell pepper: optional but I like to add green bell pepper.
- Garlic: minced. The more the better.
- Seasonings: I used a variety of pantry staples: onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, oregano, fennel seeds, Badia complete, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper
- Sugar: this helps balance out the acidity of the marinara sauce + cuts the heat.
- Heavy cream: or you can use half and half for a lighter option.
- Roasted Beef Bouillon: I added a little to my marinara sauce for depth of flavor.
- Ricotta: I prefer using whole milk ricotta.
- Mozzarella: I like using the thick shreds for better cheesy goodness.
- Parmesan: grated.
- Parsley: adds the perfect pop of color + gives it a herby flavor.
- Egg: this acts as a binder for the ricotta mixture.
- Olive oil: use a good quality olive oil.
Baked Ziti FAQ
Can I make Gluten free? of course, just swap out for your favorite gluten free ziti pasta.
Can I make meatless? Yes! feel free to swap the ground beef for mushrooms or kale.
Leftovers? Just like any pasta, this Baked Ziti tastes even better as leftovers. The flavors blend beautifully, resulting in an even more delicious meal the next day. Enjoy this pasta bake throughout the week; it reheats wonderfully and retains its deliciousness.
what to serve baked ziti with?
- Shaved Brussels Sprout Caesar Salad Recipe
- Dinner Rolls
- Kale salad
- Roasted veggies
- Quick and Easy Air Fried Asparagus
More Pasta Recipes To Try
Chicken Rasta Pasta
Pan Roasted Zucchini Pasta
Creamy Cajun Pasta
Easy Asparagus & Cherry Tomato Pasta w/ Shrimp
Spicy Harissa Pasta
If you try these Easy Baked Ziti, please be sure to leave a comment, and or tag me on Instagram @cookwithci. I would love to see your recreations and hear your thoughts.
Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- 1 box Ziti Pasta
- 1 lb Ground beef
- 1/2 yellow onion diced
- 1/2 green bell pepper diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 24 oz Marinara sauce
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/3 cup heavy cream optional
- 1 tsp roasted beef bouillon optional
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp Tony's No Salt creole seasoning optional
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp Badia complete
- 1/2 tsp fennel seeds optional
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- salt to taste
- 2 tsp sugar
Ricotta Mixture
- 16 oz whole milk ricotta
- 1 egg optional
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/3 cup parmesan
- 1/4 cup parsley chopped + more for topping
- 1 tsp garlic paste optional
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp Badia Complete
- 1/4 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning
- salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil then cook ziti pasta al dente, about 9 minutes.
- Once cooked through, drain pasta, add a drizzle of olive oil to prevent the pasta from sticking and set aside.
- In a skillet, brown the ground beef. Once it's almost cooked add in the diced onions and bell pepper. Cook until fragrant about 3 minutes, then add in minced garlic. Sautè for 2 more minutes.
- Add in seasonings and toasted for a few minutes before adding in the Marinara sauce and water.
- Stir in roasted beef bouillon base, if desired. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Sprinkle in sugar, if desired to balance the acidity in the sauce. taste and adjust if needed.
- Carefully pour in heavy cream, if desired and mix to combine. Allow the sauce to simmer for about 5-10 minutes.
- While the pasta simmers, in a bowl combine ricotta and egg. Mix until smooth then add in mozzarella, parmesan cheese, parsley and season with salt, pepper, Badia complete, oregano, and garlic powder. Mix until well combined.
- Add a few spoonfuls of the tomato sauce to the pasta and combine.
- To a baking dish, add a layer of pasta and spread it evenly. Add scoops of the ricotta mixture and spread it out with a silicone spatula. Then layer with more mozzarella cheese. Repeat the same steps until the pasta is gone. Top with the remaining tomato sauce then finish with a top layer of mozzarella.
- Loosely cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes then remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove from the oven, serve with your favorite salad and bread. Enjoy!
Notes
Did you make it?
Tag @cookwithci on Instagram and hashtag #CookwithCi
