Baked Ziti

My homemade baked ziti 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!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1

Servings servings

Calories 634kcal

Author Sam Merritt

Equipment

Ingredients

1 lb (455 g) Ziti or Penne noodles
2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil divided
5 cloves minced garlic 1 heaping Tablespoon
1 onion finely chopped (about 1 cup)
1 lb (455 g) Italian sausage I’ve used Sweet Italian and Mild
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon onion powder
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
29 oz (822 g) tomato sauce
14 oz (400 g) can fire roasted diced tomatoes undrained
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil loosely packed
1 (280 g) heaping cup ricotta cheese
1 ½ cups (170 g) shredded Mozzarella cheese
⅓ cup (25 g) grated parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly butter the sides and bottom of a 9x13 casserole dish. Set aside.
Prepare pasta according to package instructions, cook al dente. Drain, rinse under cold water, and mix with two teaspoons of olive oil.
1 lb Ziti or Penne noodles, 2 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
Meanwhile, prepare your sauce. Heat 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add onion and cook until translucent (3-5 minutes). Add garlic and cook until fragrant (30 seconds).
5 cloves minced garlic, 1 onion
Add Italian sausage and cook, crumbling, until mostly browned. Once sausage is mostly browned, add Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes, stirring and cooking until sausage is entirely browned.
1 lb Italian sausage, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon onion powder, ¾ teaspoon garlic powder, ¾ teaspoon salt, ¾ teaspoon pepper, ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Add tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and sugar. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened.
29 oz tomato sauce, 14 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes, 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
Remove from heat and stir in basil.
¼ cup thinly sliced fresh basil
Spread a small amount of pasta sauce (several spoonfuls, enough to just lightly cover the bottom) on the bottom of prepared casserole dish.
Layer the sauce with half of the noodles (if some have stuck together while sitting, they should be easy to break apart with your hands). Top with half of the remaining sauce and use a spoon to spread evenly over noodles.
Dollop ricotta evenly over sauce. Top evenly with remaining noodles and then remaining sauce.
1 heaping cup ricotta cheese
Top with mozzarella cheese and grated parmesan. Lightly grease a piece of foil with butter or oil, cover ziti and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and continue to cook another 5-10 minutes or until bubbly.
1 ½ cups shredded Mozzarella cheese, ⅓ cup grated parmesan cheese
Serve warm & enjoy!

Video

Notes

Storing

Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. The ziti may also be prepped in advance, follow the steps through assembly then cover tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days before baking according to instructions (note that it may need to bake a bit longer this way).

Freezing

If you'd like to freeze this recipe you may do so before or after baking. If before baking, follow steps through assembly, allow the dish to cool completely, then wrap it tightly with plastic wrap and then aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months.

If freezing after baking, allow ziti to cool completely then cover tightly with plastic wrap and aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months.

To bake from frozen, bake covered for about 60-75 minutes then uncover and bake 15 minutes or so until bubbly and cooked through.

Alternatively, thaw overnight in the refrigerator then bake as indicated (may take 10 minutes or so longer to bake all the way through).

Nutrition