This Easy Baked Ziti is a great Italian casserole recipe for feeding a crowd filled with layers of pasta, sausage, and cheese. This is my favorite recipe when I have to entertain company.

Baked Ziti

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BAKED ZITI WITH SAUSAGE

For the first year of our marriage whenever I cooked I instinctively made enough food for ten people at least without even thinking about it. I was just used to cooking for a ton of people being from such a large family.

Back then John could almost kill a whole 9X13 pan of food by himself…but things change. His metabolism has slowed down and he doesn’t eat nearly as much as he used to. As for me…I’m still trying to find my metabolism from those days. It must be hiding in a closet somewhere with my pre-birthing hips!

My mom’s house is still the gathering place on Sunday. Every Sunday my mom still makes enough food for around 40 people. Sometimes only 10 people come over, sometimes a huge crowd. Although I live thousands of miles away from her now, on Sundays I still tend to cook big meals.

I am always looking for recipes to feed a crowd since we like to have friends over to our house for dinner often. This easy Baked Ziti recipe is great because both the kids and the adults will like it. It’s also a great take in meal for someone who is sick or just had a baby.

In full disclosure, I have two baked ziti recipes. This Baked Ziti is a little more complex and uses more pans. It’s more traditional. This ziti recipe is a little easier and better for when you don’t have as much patience or time.

Add a salad and some garlic bread and you’re set. This easy Baked Ziti recipe makes a heaping 9X13 casserole so if you are just feeding your little family you should half it. The sour cream and Provolone give it great flavor. It has a similar taste to lasagna without all the hard work!

INGREDIENTS

  • GROUND ITALIAN SAUSAGE – Sausage is my preferred ground meat but you could use ground beef or ground turkey as well. For extra flavor use hot sausage.
  • ZITI – really any short pasta or tubed pasta can be used (penne pasta or rigatoni) in this pasta bake but ziti pasta is great for this recipe. The shape of the ziti noodles is good for this sauce and filling.
  • ONION –
  • GARLIC – I like to use fresh minced garlic but you can use garlic powder as a sub.
  • MARINARA SAUCE – you can use homemade marinara sauce but as far as jarred sauce I really like Rao’s marinara. It tastes homemade. Tomato paste doesn’t provide enough tomato flavor in the pasta sauce.
  • SOUR CREAM – ricotta cheese is sometimes used in pastas but sour cream is the unexpected special ingredient that makes this creamy.
  • MOZZARELLA CHEESE – I don’t use fresh mozzarella but shredded mozzarella cheese, Italian cheeses of any kind can be used.
  • PROVOLONE CHEESE
  • PARMESAN CHEESE
  • ITALIAN SEASONING

Baked Ziti

Tips for How to Make Baked Ziti:

  1. It’s important to cook your pasta al dente. The pasta continues to cook when you bake it and you don’t want the ziti to be soggy.
  2. The recipe calls for Italian sausage but using a hot sausage will give it a lot of flavor if you like a little heat.
  3. If you want to make ahead of time and freeze, this Baked Ziti freezes well.Baked Ziti

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS:

Prepare up to step 3 before baking. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and freeze unbaked casserole up to a month.

The night before using, pull from the freezer and thaw in the fridge overnight. To bake, cook covered with foil for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover and bake another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

OTHER ITALIAN RECIPES

Baked Ziti

Easy Baked Ziti

4.32 from 50 votes
This Easy Baked Ziti is a great Italian casserole recipe for feeding a crowd filled with pasta, sausage, and cheese.
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
Servings: 10 servings

Ingredients

Instructions
 

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add ziti pasta, and cook until al dente according to package directions, about 8 minutes; drain.
  • In a large skillet, brown onion and sausage (or beef ) over medium heat. Drain the fat. Add minced garlic and cook for a minute or so. Add the marinara sauce and Italian seasonings to the cooked sausage, and simmer 15 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, 1/2 meat sauce mixture, all of the Provolone cheese, all of the sour cream, remaining ziti, remaining sauce mixture and then mozzarella cheese. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
  • Spray aluminum foil with cooking spray so it doesn't stick to the cheese. Bake for 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starts to brown. Top with fresh basil if desired.

Notes

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS:

Prepare up to step 3 before baking. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and freeze unbaked casserole up to a month.
The night before using, pull from the freezer and thaw in the fridge overnight. To bake, cook covered with foil for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Uncover and bake another 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Cuisine: Italian
Course: Main Course
Author: Christy Denney
Easy Baked Ziti
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Christy Denney
Christy is the voice behind The Girl Who Who Ate Everything! She is no stranger to making meals that kids and adults will love. She grew up in Mesa, Arizona as the youngest of ten kids. She can always be found in her kitchen with music playing and cooking with her kids. She published her first cookbook in 2014. She loves party food that gets the conversations going!
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