Easy Baked Ziti

This Easy Baked Ziti is easy to make but is so delicious and comforting. Tender pasta, creamy ricotta, Italian sausage and marinara sauce make this recipe irresistible.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 35

Total Time 50

Servings servings

Calories 428kcal

Author Sara

Ingredients

16 oz Ziti Pasta
1 Tbls Olive Oil
1 lb Italian Sausage Links or ground
1 Yellow Onion diced
3 cloves Garlic minced
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper Flakes
1 Tbls Italian Seasoning
16 oz Ricotta Cheese
32 oz Marinara Sauce
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese shredded
2 Tbls Fresh Basil

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350'F and grease a 9x13 baking dish
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions and set aside
Slice the Italian sausage links into rounds and heat a large skillet over medium/low heat with olive oil
Brown the sausage until mostly cooked through and add in the onions, garlic, salt and pepper flakes - sauté another 3 minutes and remove from heat
Toss the pasta, marinara sauce and sausage mixture together
Pour half of the pasta into the baking dish and dot with 8 oz of the ricotta cheese and 1 cup of the mozzarella
Add the remaining pasta and dot with the remaining ricotta cheese and cover with remaining cup of mozzarella
Bake for 20 minutes and then broil for an additional 3-5 minutes to lightly brown the cheese on top (be careful not to burn)
Add fresh basil on top and enjoy!

Notes

I love to use sausage links cut up for this recipe, it gives a different texture, but you can also use ground Italian sausage as well
If you want to lower the fat content, you can use turkey or chicken sausage
Use gluten free pasta to make this a GF dish - our favorite GF pasta is from Jovial Foods
Serve this with my Lemony Kale and Arugula Salad for a well rounded meal
Store this in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3-4 days

Nutrition