Easy Baked Ziti made with pasta, mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, basil, and sausage in a creamy sauce. If you’re looking for a casserole to take to someone who had a baby or to a meal to make for company, this Italian Baked Ziti is a great recipe! It can be made with sausage or without meat. Serve with a Caesar salad and warm garlic bread.

Baked Ziti

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EASY BAKED ZITI

Is it too soon after the New Year’s diets have started to share a cheesy pasta casserole liked this Baked Ziti.

This is the meal I make for company, bring into someone who just had a baby, or make for my family to make them happy. It’s that good.

I’ve made it six times this months for different reasons and every time it gets rave reviews.

INGREDIENTS

  • GROUND ITALIAN SAUSAGE – Sausage is my preferred ground meat but you could use ground beef or ground turkey as well.
  • 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.
  • MARINARA SAUCE – you can use homemade marinara sauce but as far as jarred sauce I really like Rao’s marinara. It tastes homemade.
  • COTTAGE CHEESE – ricotta cheese is sometimes used in pastas but cottage cheese gives a creaminess that nothing else can.
  • MOZZARELLA CHEESE – I don’t use fresh mozzarella but shredded mozzarella cheese.
  • PARMESAN CHEESE
  • EGGS
  • FRESH BASIL – I love the taste of basil but fresh parsley can be substituted.
  • HEAVY CREAM
  • CORNSTARCH
  • GARLIC POWDER
  • ITALIAN SEASONING

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LASAGNA AND BAKED ZITI?

Baked Ziti is similar to lasagna but when making lasagna, lasagna noodles are used. Both consist of layering noodles, sauce, and cheese.

Baked Ziti

There are a couple of things that make this Baked Ziti different than the others. In fact, I already have an easy baked ziti on my blog. That Baked Ziti is entirely different. It has layers of sour cream. Sounds weird but it works.

WHAT MAKES THIS EASY BAKED ZITI RECIPE SPECIAL

  • This Baked Ziti with sausage gives it that sweet Italian flavor. You can leave it out if you want for a vegetarian version but I like the flavor it adds.
  • Not only does it have a marinara sauce but we make a quick alfredo with cornstarch and cream to give it that extra level of richness.
  • Cottage cheese is the secret ingredient. I despise cottage cheese by itself. It usually makes me gag but cottage cheese in pastas (and baked egg recipes) adds this invisible creaminess because it melts into the sauce.
  • It might seem strange to add eggs into a pasta dish. Not at all. It binds everything together.

Baked Ziti

CAN I USE A DIFFERENT PASTA OTHER THAN ZITI?

Yes. Any medium shaped pasta will do. Rigatoni, Penne, Farfalle…are all good substitutes. I wouldn’t do a long pasta like spaghetti or linguine.

Baked Ziti

HOW TO MAKE BAKED ZITI

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. The next two steps can be done at the same time (cooking the sausage in one pan and the pasta in another).
  2. Bring a large pot of salted water to boiling. Add about 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta. Cook pasta about 5 minutes (it will continue to cook in the oven). Drain in a colander.
  3. In a large skillet, brown sausage. Drain and cool.
  4. While pasta and sausage are cooking, in a large bowl, add 1 cup of the marinara sauce, the cottage cheese, 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese, 1 cup Parmesan cheese (save 1/4 cup for the top), eggs, and basil. Add the cooked sausage when it is done.
  5. In the same pot as the pasta or sausage (whichever one is done being used first), add the heavy cream and cornstarch and whisk together. Cook over medium heat until thickened about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir into cottage cheese mixture.
  6. Add the pasta noodles to the cottage cheese mixture and mix well. Pour into a 9×13 casserole dish. Spread remaining sauce on top. Top with remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
  7. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with more basil and serve.

CAN YOU ASSEMBLE BAKED ZITI AHEAD OF TIME?

Yes. Prepare up until baking and store covered in the refrigerator. Bake according to the instructions.

FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS:

Freeze for up to a month in a tightly sealed dish. Thaw in the refrigerator a day before cooking. Bake according to instructions.

OTHER  ITALIAN RECIPES

OTHER PASTA RECIPES

Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti

4.68 from 34 votes
Easy Baked Ziti made with pasta, mozzarella, Parmesan cheese, basil, and sausage in a creamy sauce. If you're looking for a meal to take to someone who had a baby or to a meal to make for company, this Italian Baked Ziti is delicious! It can be made with sausage or without meat.
Print Pin Rate
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 8 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 lb ground Italian sausage
  • 1 lb ziti, (rigatoni or penne can also be used)
  • 1 (24-26 ounce) jar marinara sauce, (I like Rao's brand)
  • 16 ounces cottage cheese, (1% fat)
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
  • 1 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/4 cup chopped basil, (more for the top)
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasonings

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  The next two steps can be done at the same time (cooking the pasta in one pot and the sausage in another).
  • Bring a large pot of salted water to boiling. Add about 1 tablespoon of salt and the pasta. Cook pasta about 5 minutes or to al dente (it will continue to cook in the oven). Drain in a colander. 
  • In a large skillet, brown sausage. Drain and cool. 
  • While pasta and sausage are cooking, in a large bowl, add 1 cup of the marinara sauce, the cottage cheese, 3/4 cup of the mozzarella cheese, 1 cup Parmesan cheese (save 1/4 cup for the top), eggs, and basil. Add the sausage when it is done cooking. 
  • In the same pot as the pasta or sausage (whichever pan is done being used first), add the heavy cream, cornstarch, garlic powder, and Italian seasonings and whisk together. Cook over medium heat until thickened about 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir into cottage cheese and meat sauce mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Add the pasta to the cottage cheese mixture and mix well. Pour into a 9x13 baking dish. Spread remaining marinara sauce on top. Top with remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
  • Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with more basil and serve.

Notes

If you like garlic, you can add a couple of cloves at the end of cooking the sausage. My marinara has a lot of garlic in it so I don't always add more.

FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS:

Freeze for up to a month in a tightly sealed dish. Thaw in the refrigerator a day before cooking. Bake according to instructions. 
Source: adapted from Cooks Illustrated
Substituted marinara sauce for tomatoes and ingredients for sauce, added sausage, increased cornstarch, used shredded mozzarella instead of cubed, reduced Parmesan. Added garlic powder and Italian seasonings.
Cuisine: Italian
Course: Main Course
Author: Christy Denney
  1. 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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