5 from 29 votes

Baked Ziti Recipe

By Sam MerrittPublished Feb 11, 2025

107 Comments

Servings: 8 servings

1 hr

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Please read my disclosure policy.

My homemade baked ziti recipe is made with a robustly flavored, from-scratch tomato sauce, Italian sausage, and melty, bubbly cheese. It’s comfort food at its finest! Recipe includes a how-to video!

The BEST Baked Ziti Recipe

There are a lot of different components that make this baked ziti recipe the best I’ve ever had. That gooey, melty, bubbly cheese, the creamy layer of ricotta, zesty Italian sausage…but what really makes this ziti next-level good is the sauce.

Sure, cracking open a jar of store-bought sauce would be the easiest way to make this recipe (and yeah, it’ll “work”), but you will be SO happy you made your own after tasting my version. Skipping easy and taking just a few extra minutes to make your own is a worthwhile tradeoff here. It gives you total control over the final flavor.

Close-up view of baked ziti in a baking dish.

What’s to love:

From-scratch sauce makes all the difference! We’re not using just any old jar of marinara sauce here today–we’re making my famous (well, famous in my family and soon to be yours, anyway) marinara sauce from scratch. You only need one pan to make it, and the flavor is worth the few minutes you’ll spend preparing it (and psst, if you’ve made my stuffed shells, you’ve already made this sauce!)
Make-ahead friendly, so it’s perfect for meal trains, potlucks, or busy weeks when you know getting dinner on the table will be a challenge. I include instructions for this in the FAQ section and recipe notes below.
Packed full of flavor! From the Italian sausage to the fire roasted tomatoes, each ingredient in this baked ziti recipe was carefully chosen for maximum impact.
Makes a comforting weeknight dinner, especially when paired with a big salad and some crusty sourdough bread or garlic knots for sopping up your plate.

Ingredients

Classic and simple, mostly. I’ll review a few of the important ones before we get started!

Italian sausage. You can use sweet, mild, or hot Italian sausage depending on your preference. Bulk sausage is easiest to crumble, but if you can only find sausage in casings (like mine in the photo above — all the grocery store had this day!), you can easily remove the casings before adding them to your pan.
Fire roasted diced tomatoes. These might surprise you, but trust me; they add a depth of flavor that is truly unparalleled! I use fire roasted tomatoes in everything from my cajun shrimp pasta to vegetable soup. And no, they will not make your baked ziti spicy–just super flavorful!
Cheese. Including ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan cheeses. I highly recommend grating your own mozzarella and parmesan for best results–the cheese will melt so much nicer if you do.
Fresh basil. This adds a lovely fresh flavor to this somewhat rich dish. If you don’t have fresh basil, you can use 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon of dried basil. Fresh is definitely my preference though!
Sugar. Not because I’m a demonstrable sugar addict, but because this will help to cut the acidity from the tomatoes as well as develop the flavor of the sauce (some people get worked up about this, but it works!). I use this same technique in my tomato soup, cherry tomato sauce, and pizza sauce as well with top-notch results.

SAM’S TIP: Mince your own fresh garlic! The flavor is so much better than the jarred version you can buy at the grocery store.

Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!

How to Make Baked Ziti

Cook the pasta

Cook your pasta in boiling salted water until al dente, then drain and rinse in cool water to stop the cooking process (so your noodles stay firm).

Next add a drizzle of olive oil to the noodles and toss to distribute. This prevents the noodles from sticking to each other while you prepare your sauce.

And look, I know there are purists out there who will argue against both rinsing your pasta and adding oil, and if you can time everything perfectly you can skip these steps (cook your pasta a minute short of al dente, though). For the rest of us, I recommend making the recipe as written, you won’t be disappointed in the results (I’ve never, ever had anyone complain!).

Make the sauce

Saute the onion in olive oil until softened, then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds or so (be careful not to let it burn!). Add the sausage and cook, crumbling as you go, until mostly browned, then add your spices. Adding the spices at this point will help to really develop the flavor of the sauce (I use a similar technique with my favorite chili).

Stir in the sauce, tomatoes, and sugar, then bring the sauce to a simmer. Let the sauce cook until slightly thickened, then remove from the heat and stir in your fresh basil.

Close-up view of a pot of pasta sauce made with sausage and fresh basil.

Assemble & bake

Add a small amount of sauce to the bottom of your greased baking dish–this prevents the noodles from sticking. Layer half of your noodles into the dish, breaking any clumps apart as you go. Top with half of the sauce, then add your ricotta evenly overtop.

Repeat with the remaining noodles and sauce, then sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan on top. Cover with a greased piece of foil and bake. Uncover after 20 minutes and return to the oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

6 images showcases the layering process of making baked ziti

SAM’S TIP: Just like when making manicotti, make sure you grease your foil covering your baking dish, or your cheese may end up sticking to it!

Overhead view of a baked pasta dish topped with shredded mozzarella.

Frequently Asked Questions

Would ground beef work instead of sausage?

Yes! Or you could use a blend of the two, if you’d like. If you decide to use all ground beef instead of sausage, you may want to amp up the seasonings just a bit, as ground beef isn’t quite as flavorful.

Can I make baked ziti ahead of time? How about freezing?

Yes! To do this, assemble your baked ziti, then cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for up to two days prior to baking. I recommend letting the dish sit on the counter while your oven preheats, and you will likely need to bake it just a bit more longer.

To freeze, follow my instructions for freezing in the recipe notes below.

Can I use penne instead of ziti?

Yes! Look, there are plenty of ingredients worth being snobbish about (like using real lemons to make my homemade lemonade), but using ziti vs penne in baked “ziti” is not one of them. In fact, just about any shape of pasta will work well with this recipe if you can’t find ziti.