Baked Ziti

A family favorite! Baked ziti made using pasta, cheeses, and marinara sauce. Great for everyday or a holiday.

Sometimes it can be difficult to please everyone’s palate for the holidays. This baked ziti delivered, and everyone was full and happy. My youngest daughter said this was restaurant quality which coming from her was quite the compliment.

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One of the best things about this baked ziti is you can go from oven to table and serve it family style. This will be my go-to pasta dish. I have made lasagna several times and it is so much work. This delivered on the lasagna flavors, and I wasn’t ready for bed before the lasagna was done cooking.

I purchase everything except the basil (blessed that I have basil growing all year long in my garden) and the spices.

My oldest daughter has a big dislike for fennel seeds so I made my own sausage. I started with ground pork and used this seasoning blend but omitted the fennel.

I made 2 ziti’s using the same ingredients except the marinara sauce. I just wanted to see if one sauce was better than the other. This recipe reheated really well. I have some in the freezer and I look forward to reheating this for a quick weeknight meal.

There are so many flavor combinations for this ziti, that it can quickly become a weekly family meal. Make it spicy using spicy sausage, chicken, or ground beef for proteins or leave out the meat. Use different pastas but I did find that the smaller sized pasta makes it easier to eat. Add broccoli, zucchini or your favorite veggies.

Baked Ziti

A family favorite! Baked ziti made using pasta, cheeses, and marinara sauce. Great for everyday or a holiday.

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 55 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Servings 10 servings

Ingredients

  

Ground Pork Seasoning

• 1 lb ground pork or Italian sausage
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp minced garlic

Ziti

• 1 tsp dried onions
• 16 oz ziti or penne
• 1 tbsp olive oil plus mor for drizzling
• 32 oz marinara sauce
• 15 oz ricotta cheese
• 1 lg egg
• 2 cups mozzarella cheese-divided
• 3/4 cup parmesan cheese shredded-divided
• 2 tbsp fresh basil-chopped
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• salt and pepper to taste
• chopped basil-garnish

Instructions

 

• Mix the ingredients for the ground pork in a bowl. Then add the ground pork and mix together until incorporated. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 375'. Spray a 9×13 casserole dish with cooking spray.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta until al dente per package instructions. Remember that the pasta will continue to cook in the oven. Use a colander to drain the pasta, drizzle with a little olive oil so isn't doesn't stick together. Pout the pasta into a large bowl and set aside.
• In a large pan heat the oil over medium heat and cook the sausage. Breaking up the meat until it is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes. Discard the fat and set aside.
• In a medium bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, egg, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, basil, Italian seasoning and crushed red pepper. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the ricotta mixture to the pasta. Then add the marinara sauce, sausage and stir until combined. Stirring gently, trying not to break up the pasta.
• Pour the pasta into the casserole dish and top with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup parmesan.
• Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown and bubbly. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh basil and serve.

Keyword baked ziti, casserole, easy and good, pasta