Easy Baked Ziti

This baked ziti is loaded with Italian sausage, a delicious red sauce, and a smooth ricotta layer. It's an easy dinner that everyone is bound to love!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 25

Cook Time 20

Total Time 45

Servings servings

Calories 560kcal

Author Whitney Wright

Equipment

13"x9" glass baking pan

Ingredients

1 lb Italian sausage
1/2 sweet onion diced
24 oz marinara sauce
14 oz fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1/2 cup water
16 oz ziti noodles
15 oz ricotta cheese
2 tablespoons parsley chopped
1 large egg
3 cups shredded mozzarella divided
1/2 cup parmesan cheese shredded

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F, lightly grease a 13”x9” pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
In a skillet over medium heat add the sausage and diced onion. Cook, breaking up the sausage as you go. Once sausage is fully cooked. Drain fat, if any.
Add the marinara, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and water to the skillet. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the ziti pasta to 1 minute under al dente. Drain the pasta and set aside.
In a medium sized bowl combine the ricotta, parsley, egg, and 1 cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup parmesan. Stir to combine.
Add 1 cup of the sauce to the bottom of the baking dish. Add half of the ziti pasta to the dish. Top with all of the ricotta, doing your best to spread it in an even layer. Top with half of the remaining sauce.
Add the rest of the ziti, the remainder of the sauce, and then top with 2 cups of shredded mozzarella.
Bake for 20 minutes or until warm and bubbly.

Notes

Bake uncovered.

You don't have to use ziti. Use your favorite pasta!

To freeze, assemble as instructed but instead of baking, cover tightly in 1 layer plastic wrap, 1 layer aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months. Remove from the freezer. Take the plastic wrap OFF and then replace with the aluminum foil. Bake at 350ºF for 1 hour.

recipe adapted from Spend With Pennies

Nutrition