The Best Homemade Baked Ziti Recipe
This is The Best Baked Ziti Recipe you will ever try. Made with hearty pasta, ground beef, flavorful marinara, layered with mozzarella, ricotta, and parmesan cheese. This Italian comfort food will become one of your family's favorite casserole dinners.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ziti pasta noodle
- 1 lb. ground beef or ground sausage
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 3 tsp. minced garlic
- 2 tsp. Italian seasoning, divided
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt, divided
- 1 1/2 tsp. black pepper, divided
- 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
- 45 oz. bottle marinara sauce
- 14.5 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 16 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 15 oz. ricotta cheese
- 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and spray a 9×13 casserole dish with baking spray
- Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and set aside.
- In a large skillet add ground beef and chopped onion and cook over medium heat. Drain any excess grease.
- Stir in minced garlic, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. black pepper, 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes until well combined.
- Add crushed tomatoes and marinara sauce. Bring to a simmer stirring occasionally for 5-6 minutes.
- While sauce is simmering, prepare cheese filling. In a medium size mixing bowl combine ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, 1 tsp. Italian seasoning, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper and egg until well combined.
- In a prepared 9×13 baking dish spread 1 1/2 cups meat sauce evenly on the bottom of the dish.
- Spread 1/2 of the cooked pasta over sauce.
- Dollop Spoonfuls of ricotta cheese mixture over noodles and spread.
- Spread half of the marinara sauce over cheese and top with remaining noodles.
- Spread remaining sauce over noodles and top with remaining shredded mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese.
- Spray aluminum foil with nonstick cooking spray, cover and bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove cover and bake an additional 10 minutes or until the cheese has completely melted.
- Serve immediately. Enjoy
Notes
*Nutrition Disclaimer: All information presented on this site is intended for informational purposes only. Nutrition facts are an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate. I am not a certified nutritionist and any nutritional information shared on Modernmealmakeover.com should only be used as a general guideline.
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