Baked Ziti

5 from 12 votes

Baked Ziti is the ultimate comfort food with tender pasta, flavorful ground beef, rich tomato sauce, and three delicious cheeses!

Prep Time45

Cook Time20

Total Time1 5

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: baked ziti

Servings: servings

Author: Chelsea Lords

Cost: $12.72

Equipment

Ingredients

Cooking spray
4 cups uncooked ziti pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 heaping tablespoon finely minced garlic 4 cloves
1 cup finely diced yellow onion 1 medium onion
1 pound lean ground beef 93/7g
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons crushed fennel seed optional
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon beef bouillon powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (14.5-ounce) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 (8-ounce) container mascarpone cheese or ricotta cheese, see note 1
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1-1/2 cups freshly shredded mozzarella cheese divided
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese divided
Finely chopped Italian parsley or basil, optional

US - Metric

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400°F, lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray, and set aside.
Cook ziti according to package instructions, but reduce time by 2 minutes. Season pasta water with 2 teaspoons salt. Drain pasta, return it to pot, and set aside.
Heat oil in a large nonstick pan over high heat. Once hot, sauté onion for 5–6 minutes. Add garlic and cook 30 more seconds. Push onion and garlic to the sides, add beef to the middle, and cook until browned. Add all seasonings: paprika, fennel seed, onion powder, salt, pepper, basil, oregano, sugar, bouillon powder, and red pepper flakes (omit to reduce heat). Stir and cook 1 minute. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, and Worcestershire sauce. Simmer 10–15 minutes or until slightly thickened, then stir in garlic powder.
Prep cheese by freshly shredding mozzarella and Parmesan cheese on the large holes of a cheese grater. Open mascarpone cheese.
Add about 2 and 1/2 cups of meat sauce into the pot with the cooked ziti. Stir to coat.
Layer half the sauced pasta into prepared baking dish. Dollop with mascarpone and gently spread (it’s okay if it doesn’t spread smoothly). Add 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/2 cup Parmesan. Add 2 cups of meat sauce and the remaining sauced ziti. Then top with another 1/2 cup mozzarella, 1/2 cup Parmesan, and remaining meat sauce.
Cover with foil and bake 10 minutes. Uncover and top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Bake 10–15 more minutes until cheese is melted and edges are bubbling. Let stand at room temperature 5–10 minutes.
Top with additional grated Parmesan, fresh basil or parsley, and/or freshly cracked black pepper, and serve hot!

Video

Notes

Note 1: Mascarpone cheese is key to this recipe—richer than cream cheese, made from whole cream. Find it near the deli, dairy, or specialty cheeses. Ricotta works, but mascarpone is best!

Storage: If you’re making ahead of time, follow recipe directions, letting pasta and sauce cool to room temperature before assembling, then cover tightly. Place in the fridge (or freezer) and bake when ready to serve. When baking from the fridge, add 10–15 minutes baking time (covered with foil). To freeze, assemble the dish when the pasta and sauce are cooled to room temperature, making sure the dish as a whole is completely cooled before freezing. Cover the (freezer-safe) filled casserole dish with a double layer of heavy-duty foil. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Nutrition