Best-Ever Baked Ziti

A person lifting a large silver spoon filled with a gooey helping of baked ziti.

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Italian, Italian / American

Prep Time: 45

Cook Time: 1

Marinara making: 35

Total Time: 2 20

Servings:

Calories: 624kcal

Author: Kris Longwell

This Best-Ever Baked Ziti recipe really is the best ever. Go with quality ingredients and be sure to make the marinara from scratch, and you won't believe the results. This meat sauce can be made a day in advance and kept in the fridge or freeze up to 2 weeks. The dish can also be made a day in advance and kept in the fridge or freeze for up to 2 weeks. Just let thaw before baking. This is one to serve to people you really love and want to make them happy.

Print Recipe

Equipment

Lasagna pan or large casserole dish (9x13, or larger)

Ingredients

Make Ahead

fresh marinara sauce or quality store-bought

For the Meat Sauce

¼ cup olive oil
1 medium onion chopped (about ½ cup)
2 stalks celery chopped (about ½ cup)
1 medium carrot peeled and chopped (about ½ cup)
½ lb sweet Italian sausage casings removed, if links
½ lb hot Italian sausage casings removed, if links
1 lb ground beef 85% lean
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ cup red wine
5 cups fresh marinara sauce click for recipe
3 tablespoon tomato paste

For the Baked Ziti

16 oz ziti dried, or rigatoni
16 oz ricotta cheese whole milk
3 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
1 cup Parmesan cheese grated
2 tablespoon Italian parsley chopped, for garnish

Instructions

Do Ahead

Prepare the marinara sauce (see link to recipe in Ingredients List)
fresh marinara sauce

Make the Meat Sauce

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrot and cook until soft, about 7 - 10 minutes.
¼ cup olive oil, 1 medium onion, 2 stalks celery, 1 medium carrot
Crumble the sausage with your hands into the pot and then add the beef. Cook until almost no longer pink.
½ lb sweet Italian sausage, ½ lb hot Italian sausage, 1 lb ground beef
Season with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper.
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
At this point, if too much grease has been rendered, tilt the skillet and use a spoon to remove excess fat. Discard safely. Leave a little in the pan for added flavor.
Add the wine and cook until the liquid is almost all gone, about 3 to 4 minutes.
½ cup red wine
Add the prepared marinara and tomato paste and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Set aside.
5 cups fresh marinara sauce, 3 tablespoon tomato paste

Assemble and Bake the Dish

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the ziti according to package instructions for al dente. Drain and set aside.
16 oz ziti
In a lasagna pan (or a deep casserole dish), ladle a thin layer of the meat sauce on the bottom of the dish, about 2 cups.
Add a layer of cooked ziti, a little more than a third of the pasta.
Top with dollops of half of the ricotta and then 1 cup of the mozzarella.
16 oz ricotta cheese, 3 cups mozzarella cheese
Sprinkle about ¼ cup of Parmesan on top of that.
1 cup Parmesan cheese
Repeat this process again. (You'll want to leave a handful of the cooked pasta and then several cups of the sauce for the topping of the dish).
Top with a handful of pasta, then another layer of the sauce, 1 cup of mozzarella, and another ¼ cup of Parmesan on top.
Baked, uncovered, for 45 to 50 minutes, until lightly browned on top and bubbly.
Garnish with chopped parsley. Let rest for about 5 minutes, and then serve with additional grated Parmesan on the side.
2 tablespoon Italian parsley

Video

Notes

See the video near the top of the blog post for visual guidance. If you liked the video, please subscribe to our YouTube channel.

The marinara sauce can be made several days in advance or frozen for up to 2 months (thaw completely before using). The meat sauce can be prepared up to 3 days before assembling the ziti.

The dish can be assembled and then refrigerated (covered) for several days. If chilled, you will need to add another 15 to 20 minutes of baking. Cover with foil if getting too brown on top.

Leftovers are fantastic and we keep covered in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can freeze leftover baked ziti, but the cheese will lose its creamy texture. We don't recommend freezing once baked.

Nutrition