Easy Baked Ziti Recipe

This Easy Baked Ziti Recipe is known as Grandma’s Baked Ziti among our friends. It’s an old recipe from Joann’s grandma and it’s worth a share here! It’s seriously an easy baked ziti recipe so I’ve shared it today with a video and step by step. Comfort food at its best!

So excited to share another family recipe—this time my friend’s Grandma’s Baked Ziti. Italian comfort food at its best! Who can resist baked pasta with a delicious marinara sauce, a creamy melty cheese, a secret creamy ingredient, and fresh basil?

Baked ziti is the ultimate Italian-American comfort casserole. Tender tubular pasta tossed with tomato sauce, a creamy cheese component, and baked until bubbly and golden.

What is Baked Ziti?

Baked ziti (or ziti al forno) is short tubular pasta baked in a sauce with cheese. Classic versions layer cooked pasta and a ricotta-tomato mixture, this version is slightly different and uses sour cream.

It’s one of the most forgiving, easy and scalable pasta dishes, similar to our Stuffed Shells Recipe. This version is from Grandma Joan and has become a staple for many of us!

Why You’ll Love this Baked Ziti

• It’s the ultimate Comfort Food!
• Think of it like a free-form lasagna. It has layers of ziti pasta, three types of cheeses, creamy sour cream, sausage or beef crumbles, lots of herbs and marinara sauce.
• Flexible & forgiving recipe. You can swap proteins (sausage, ground beef), cheeses, or make it vegetarian.
• Make-ahead friendly! Who can resist this? You can assemble it in advance and freeze for easy weeknight dinners.
• Luscious textures of creamy, saucy and chewy!
• You can make this into a super saucy dish, or gratin like pasta dish. So feel free to elevate this and make a bechamel like we did with our Mac And Cheese Recipe.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Ziti (or other short tubular pasta: penne, rigatoni, mostaccioli). Choose noodles that hold in the sauce.
• Marinara (homemade or jar) — for depth, combine canned tomatoes with sautéed aromatics and herbs.
• Cheese options: ricotta,  mozzarella, grated Parmesan or Pecorino, fresh mozzarella cubes (for pockets).
• Protein (optional): Italian sausage, ground beef.
• Egg. If using ricotta, egg may be essential to bind the filling.
• Flavor enhancers: garlic, onion, red pepper flakes, fresh basil, parsley, lemon zest (optional). Italian seasoning.
• Sour cream is not so common, but it’s how this grandma baked her ziti. It makes for a luscious creamy texture and feel to the pasta.
• All the herbs — you have basil and thyme. She probably added them for flavor, but also, they add lots of freshness to the dish.

How to Make baked Ziti

1. Brown the beef and onions together with Italian seasoning over medium heat. Uses your favorite spices like Italian blend or simply garlic powder.
2. Add the marinara sauce, stir and cook for 15 minutes. The meat sauce is now ready.
3. Boil water and cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water of medium-high heat.
4. Drain the cooked pasta well.
5. Mix the cheeses in a bowl.
6. Assemble the casserole.

1. Half of the cooked pasta at the bottom.
2. Sliced cheese and sour cream.
3. Half of the meat sauce mixture.
4. Remaining pasta on top and sprinkle a layer of mozzarella cheese.

1. Remaining meat sauce.
2. Parmesan, herbs and bake in a preheated oven.
3. Serve and ENJOY!

Tips for Easy Baked Ziti Recipe 

1. Use a quality-tasting Marinara Sauce.
2. Undercook your pasta tremendously to avoid mushy baked ziti casserole.
3. You can skip the beef and make this a vegetarian dish by substituting sliced mushrooms.
4. Using sour cream instead of ricotta in this baked ziti recipe helps the sauce blend better.
5. Use your favorite combination of cheeses, but try to make them three different types.
6. For a saucy baked ziti, don’t skimp on the sauce! Add enough to keep your casserole saucy.
7. If you want a pink-sauce baked ziti, you can add 1 cup of heavy cream to the marinara.
8. This is a great dish to serve with garlic bread.
9. Freeze the assembled casserole before baking, to save for busy days. Simply bake from frozen (adding 20-25 minutes more) or defrost the casserole and bake it thawed for an extra 10 minutes.
10. You can also freeze the fully baked casserole and reheat in the oven (frozen or thawed), adjusting the time to vary between 10-20 minutes.

Variations

• Meaty ragu baked ziti . brown ground beef or Italian sausage as we did today.
• Béchamel . Make béchamel instead of ricotta. Use our Mac And Cheese Recipe or Butternut Squash Lasagna guides for making bechamel.
• No-boil / soaked pasta. Serious Eats’ shortcut uses soaked pasta + mozzarella cubes. A must read article!
• Vegetarian. Add roasted vegetables and spinach.

How long do you bake baked ziti?

Bake at 350–375 degrees F for 20–30 minutes until bubbly; broil 1–2 minutes for a browned top. Thicker casseroles or chilled/frozen pans will require more time.

Do you boil ziti before baking?

Yes,  boil ziti to very-al dente form before baking. But no-boil or soaked-pasta methods from Serious Eats) allow you to skip the boil by hydrating the pasta in sauce/cream prior to baking.

 Why is my baked ziti dry?

Some of the common causes would be overcooked pasta. Or too little sauce, overly dry ricotta mixture. To fix it, reserve pasta water to loosen sauce, add extra sauce or a splash of cream.

What is the best cheese combo for baked ziti?

A blend of mozzarella for melt, grated Parmesan or Pecorino for savory depth, and ricotta or sour cream creaminess.

Do you cover ziti when baking?

Yes, for the first 20 minutes until it starts to bubble and then uncover and cook for 10 minutes longer.

Is Baked Ziti the same as lasagna?

It’s very similar in flavors and layering, except the lasagna has its own pasta sheets while the ziti is made using ziti pasta. So this is like a free-form lasagna where it’s not served in chunks, but rather served loose.

Should I undercook pasta for baked ziti?

YES!! This is key to avoid mushy pasta casserole! I cook my pasta for 4 minutes only, even though on the box it says 8 minutes for al dente.

How do you keep baked ziti moist?

Sauce, sauce and more sauce! Be generous with your sauces, cheese, cream and more!

How do you freeze baked ziti?

To freeze this baked ziti recipe, you have two options. First is to freeze the fully assembled dish prior to baking. Wrap it in foil and freeze it until ready to bake. On baking day, you can defrost the dish (either the day before in the fridge, or same day on the counter) or bake frozen. Adjust the baking time if you’re baking it frozen by adding 20-25 minutes.

The other option is to fully cook the baked ziti and then wait until it cools down. At that point, wrap it similarly with foil and freeze it for later. On the day you’re serving it, either defrost the dish (fridge overnight or countertop for a few hours) or warm it up frozen. You’ll need 5-8 minutes of oven time to warm up the ziti.

How long can you keep baked ziti in the fridge?

Leftovers can last for 3-5 days in the fridge. Otherwise, it’s best to freeze.

Baked Ziti with Ricotta?

So classically, baked ziti has a good load of cheeses, including all the cheeses I mentioned above: sliced provolone or havarti, parmesan and mozzarella. Another one is ricotta, and in some cases cottage cheese. This baked ziti recipe, however, uses sour cream instead of ricotta cheese—which is smoother and creamier, and blends better in the oven with the red sauce.

Pasta Recipes

• Mac And Cheese Recipe
• Broccoli Pesto Pasta Recipe
• Lobster Pasta
• Shrimp Pasta
• Stuffed Shells Recipe
• Clam Pasta
• Pasta Primavera
• Burrata Pasta

5 from 9 votes

Print

Easy Baked Ziti Recipe

This Baked Ziti Recipe is known as Grandma’s Baked Ziti among our friends. It’s an old recipe from Joann’s grandma and it’s worth a share here! So I’ve shared it today with a video, and you’ll see how easy and delicious it is!

Course Comfort Meals, Main Course, Main Dish

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Baked Ziti, Baked Ziti recipe, How to Make Baked Ziti

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 747 kcal

Author Mahy

Ingredients

Sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 red onion minced
• 1 pound ground beef or sausage or 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms for vegetarian option
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 2 jars Prego®+ Hidden with Super Veggies pasta sauce

Assemble and Layer

• 1 pound ziti pasta cooked at 4-5 minutes only
• 3-4 slices provolone or havarti cheese
• 2 cups sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese grated
• 1/4 cup basil leaves chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

Instructions

1. In a large skillet or cast iron pan, preheat the olive oil and add the onion and beef.
2. Season the mixture with all the seasonings and cook until the beef starts to crumble and cook through.
3. Add the Prego®+ Hidden with Super Veggies pasta sauce and cook for 15-20 minutes longer over medium low heat.
4. Assemble the baked ziti. Start by preheating the oven to 375º F.
5. Layer a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with half the cooked pasta.
6. Top the pasta with the sliced cheeses and spread the sour cream over it.
7. Add half the pasta sauce and spread it evenly over the sour cream.
8. Now top that with the remaining pasta.
9. Then add the mozzarella cheese.
10. And finally add the remaining Prego®+ Hidden with Super Veggies sauce over the cheese.
11. Finish off the casserole with parmesan cheese and half the herbs.
12. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then uncover and bake for an extra 10 minutes until the baked ziti is bubbly.
13. Remove the dish from the oven and serve with extra parmesan cheese and fresh herbs.
14. ENJOY

Recipe Video

Recipe Notes

Tips for Easy Baked Ziti Recipe 

1. Use a quality-tasting Marinara Sauce.
2. Undercook your pasta tremendously to avoid mushy baked ziti casserole.
3. You can skip the beef and make this a vegetarian dish by substituting sliced mushrooms.
4. Using sour cream instead of ricotta in this baked ziti recipe helps the sauce blend better.
5. Use your favorite combination of cheeses, but try to make them three different types.
6. For a saucy baked ziti, don’t skimp on the sauce! Add enough to keep your casserole saucy.
7. If you want a pink-sauce baked ziti, you can add 1 cup of heavy cream to the marinara.
8. This is a great dish to serve with garlic bread. 
9. Freeze the assembled casserole before baking, to save for busy days. Simply bake from frozen (adding 20-25 minutes more) or defrost the casserole and bake it thawed for an extra 10 minutes.
10. You can also freeze the fully baked casserole and reheat in the oven (frozen or thawed), adjusting the time to vary between 10-20 minutes.

Variations

• Meaty ragu baked ziti . brown ground beef or Italian sausage as we did today.
• Béchamel . Make béchamel instead of ricotta. Use our Mac And Cheese Recipe or Butternut Squash Lasagna guides for making bechamel.
• No-boil / soaked pasta. Serious Eats’ shortcut uses soaked pasta + mozzarella cubes. A must read article!
• Vegetarian. Add roasted vegetables and spinach.

How long do you bake baked ziti?

Bake at 350–375 degrees F for 20–30 minutes until bubbly; broil 1–2 minutes for a browned top. Thicker casseroles or chilled/frozen pans will require more time.

Do you boil ziti before baking?

Yes,  boil ziti to very-al dente form before baking. But no-boil or soaked-pasta methods from Serious Eats) allow you to skip the boil by hydrating the pasta in sauce/cream prior to baking. 

 Why is my baked ziti dry?

Some of the common causes would be overcooked pasta. Or too little sauce, overly dry ricotta mixture. To fix it, reserve pasta water to loosen sauce, add extra sauce or a splash of cream.

What is the best cheese combo for baked ziti?

A blend of mozzarella for melt, grated Parmesan or Pecorino for savory depth, and ricotta or sour cream creaminess. 

Do you cover ziti when baking?

Yes, for the first 20 minutes until it starts to bubble and then uncover and cook for 10 minutes longer.

Is Baked Ziti the same as lasagna?

It’s very similar in flavors and layering, except the lasagna has its own pasta sheets while the ziti is made using ziti pasta. So this is like a free-form lasagna where it’s not served in chunks, but rather served loose.

Should I undercook pasta for baked ziti?

YES!! This is key to avoid mushy pasta casserole! I cook my pasta for 4 minutes only, even though on the box it says 8 minutes for al dente.

How do you keep baked ziti moist?

Sauce, sauce and more sauce! Be generous with your sauces, cheese, cream and more!

How do you freeze baked ziti?

To freeze this baked ziti recipe, you have two options. First is to freeze the fully assembled dish prior to baking. Wrap it in foil and freeze it until ready to bake. On baking day, you can defrost the dish (either the day before in the fridge, or same day on the counter) or bake frozen. Adjust the baking time if you’re baking it frozen by adding 20-25 minutes.

The other option is to fully cook the baked ziti and then wait until it cools down. At that point, wrap it similarly with foil and freeze it for later. On the day you’re serving it, either defrost the dish (fridge overnight or countertop for a few hours) or warm it up frozen. You’ll need 5-8 minutes of oven time to warm up the ziti.

How long can you keep baked ziti in the fridge?

Leftovers can last for 3-5 days in the fridge. Otherwise, it’s best to freeze.

Baked Ziti with Ricotta?

So classically, baked ziti has a good load of cheeses, including all the cheeses I mentioned above: sliced provolone or havarti, parmesan and mozzarella. Another one is ricotta, and in some cases cottage cheese. This baked ziti recipe, however, uses sour cream instead of ricotta cheese—which is smoother and creamier, and blends better in the oven with the red sauce.

Nutrition Facts

Easy Baked Ziti Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 747 Calories from Fat 333

% Daily Value*

Fat 37g57%

Saturated Fat 19g119%

Cholesterol 125mg42%

Sodium 699mg30%

Potassium 605mg17%

Carbohydrates 63g21%

Fiber 3g13%

Sugar 5g6%

Protein 39g78%

Vitamin A 986IU20%

Vitamin C 6mg7%

Calcium 436mg44%

Iron 4mg22%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

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