baked ziti recipes

Baked ziti with ricotta is a decadent Italian delicacy of savory meat sauce, a delicate ricotta blend and ziti pasta secured by a melty mozzarella topping.

Baked Ziti with Ricotta

olive oil

onion (chopped)

garlic (minced)

beef

salt

black pepper

(24-ounce) jars spaghetti sauce

Italian seasoning

ricotta

eggs

nutmeg

mozzarella, (shredded)

parmesan cheese, (grated)

ziti pasta (uncooked)

mozzarella (shredded)

Preheat oven to 350°F (177ºC).

Make Sauce: Heat olive oil (2 tablespoons), over medium-high heat, in a large, high-sided skillet. Add onion (1 cup)and saute until translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Moderate heat so as not to brown onion. Turn heat to medium-low, add minced garlic (1 tablespoon), and cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.

Add beef (2 pounds), salt (1 1/2 teaspoons), and black pepper (1 teaspoon) to skillet and cook, over medium heat, until no longer pink; drain as needed. Stir in spaghetti sauce (2 jars) and add Italian seasoning (3 teaspoons).

Make Ricotta Filling: In a large bowl, combine ricotta cheese (24 ounces), eggs (2), nutmeg (1/4 teaspoon), Italian seasoning (1 teaspoon), mozzarella cheese (1 cup), and Parmesan (1 cup).

Pasta: Cook pasta (12 ounces) according to package directions. Drain well.

Assembly: Add 1/2 cup of sauce to the bottom of a 13x9-inch baking dish and swirl to cover the bottom. Spread 1/2 of cooked pasta in the baking dish, then spoon a 1/2 of the meat sauce, then dollop 1/2 ricotta mixture-spreading it into an even layer with an offset spatula. Repeat with remaining layers, ending with ricotta mixture.Place on a rimmed cookie sheet.

Cover and bake for about 40 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining 2 cups mozzarella cheese. Bake 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

I am not even sure why I looked for a recipe for baked ziti, as I used to make it daily. However, when I saw this one it looked similar to how I’d previously made it but better in a couple key ways, so I made it. I subbed Italian sausage for the ground beef, that is the only change I made. Myself and boyfriend both loved it and I made it a few more times since. 

Since then I noticed you have a whole separate recipe for baked ziti with Italian sausage — what gives? I think I like this recipe better, but a part of me keeps wanting to try it. But it has no ricotta and I’m not sure I’d ever want a baked ziti without ricotta. What do you think? Is there a reason it’s written differently?

Made this for my small group of 10 and everyone loved it. It went together very well and baked as listed. My husband also loved it. Will make it again!

Great Recipe!  What can I replace with nutmeg for the ricotta filling?  Also can this be refrigerated for a day and then reheated?

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Baked Ziti with Ricotta

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The most viewed baked ziti recipes recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

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Baked Ziti with Ricotta

The most viewed baked ziti recipes recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 20,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine