Baked Ziti

This Baked Ziti Pasta is made with ziti noodles, sausage, marinara sauce, fresh basil, spices, whole milk mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, and heavy cream and baked until the cheese is melted. The best-baked ziti recipe! This is a perfect recipe to freeze or make ahead of time.

This Cheesy Baked Ziti Pasta Recipe is my go-to recipe if I want to take in dinner to friends or family. It is the perfect baked pasta that can be made ahead of time, will keep in the refrigerator for days, and can be frozen to be heated up later. Whenever a friend of mine has a baby, this is my staple recipe to bring to them. Baked Pasta is the ultimate comfort food!

Baked ziti is a classic Italian-American dish that combines the heartiness of pasta with layers of rich, savory flavors. A big bowl of pasta is phenomenal on its own but when you add layers of melted cheese to it and baked it until the cheese is golden and bubbly, you just take dinner up a notch. My kids always love baked ziti!

Baked Ziti Pasta Ingredients:

This Baked Ziti with Sausage is made with hot or mild Italian sausage. You can also substitute ground beef as well or you can make it with half sausage and half ground beef. 

I experimented with this recipe and use both heavy cream and ricotta cheese. I found that the baked ziti was creamier with heavy cream, even after it was reheated. You can use ricotta cheese in the place of heavy cream in this ziti recipe and it still tastes absolutely delicious! 

• Ziti Pasta: Start with 1 pound of ziti pasta, a tube-shaped pasta that holds sauces well.
• Italian Sausage: Ask the butcher for their best Italian sausage or you can find it in the meat case. You can use mild Italian or hot Italian sausage.
• Garlic: If you love garlic, feel free to add extra garlic.
• Canned Crushed Tomatoes: If possible, I suggest using San Marzano canned tomatoes because of their quality, flavor, and freshness.
• Fresh Basil
• Red Chili Flakes + Salt + Pepper + Sugar
• Whole Milk Mozzarella Cheese: I prefer to use a ball of whole milk mozzarella cheese rather than pre-shredded mozzarella cheese but you can use either one.
• Parmesan or Pecorino Romano Cheese
• Heavy Cream or Ricotta Cheese

How to make Baked Ziti:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil. Generously salt the water. Cook according to package instructions. Make the sauce while the pasta is cooking. Drain the pasta and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook sausage until completely cooked through, about 7-10 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.
3. Add crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and fresh basil. Cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes. Stir in heavy cream.
4. Spread a thin layer of the sauce in the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish. Toss the cooked pasta with the remaining sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and stir.
5. Sprinkle the top with grated mozzarella cheese. Cook for 20-24 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and lightly golden. Cover with foil if the cheese becomes too brown. *Tip — spray the foil with non-stick cooking spray to keep the cheese from sticking to it.
6. Remove from the oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes to allow it to set up. Serve warm.

Substitutions:

There are many substitutions available for ziti pasta. You can use penne, rigatoni, or mostaccioli pasta in place of ziti pasta. Penne pasta is very similar in size to ziti pasta but just has an angled end instead of a straight one. Rigatoni is a larger, wider noodle but can be used in place of ziti. You can also use mostaccioli pasta in place of ziti. Mostaccioli is the same size as penne but doesn’t have the famous penne ridges on the exterior surface of the pasta. 

I use penne pasta instead of ziti pasta all of the time when I make this baked penne pasta. It tastes the exact same so use your favorite pasta or what you can find at your local grocery store.

Another substitution in this Baked Ziti Pasta is to use ground beef instead of Italian sausage. You can also use half Italian sausage and half ground beef as well.

What to serve with Baked Ziti:

1. Easy Garlic Cheese Bread
2. Pull-Apart Garlic Bread Loaf
3. Pesto Caprese Salad
4. Shredded Zucchini with Parmesan
5. Zucchini Noodles with Tomatoes, Fresh Mozzarella, and Basil
6. Italian Charcuterie Board