Easy Baked Ziti- 20 minutes!

A classic Italian favorite that feeds a crowd. Easy Baked Ziti has the same Lasagna goodness without the hassle! Only 20 minutes of prep time involved! Baked Ziti is a great dish to make ahead of time and then pop in the oven when you’re ready to eat. In fact, it’s even better the next day.

Easy Baked Ziti vs. Lasagna

Lasagna and Baked Ziti actually have the same ingredients, except Lasagna is more time consuming to make due to the flat noodles and layering process. Therefore, if you’re like me and you love the taste of Lasagna but not the prep… try Baked Ziti!

Easy Baked Ziti Ingredients:

Ground Beef

I generally use ground beef in my recipe but you can also use Italian sausage or even ground turkey if you’d like. I change it up from time to time depending on what I have in the house. Sometimes I use half ground beef and half sausage, which is also good. Experiment with different options.

Cheese

You’ll need Ricotta, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese for this recipe. Using packaged grated cheeses will save you some time.

Marinara

For the sake of keeping things simple, I use jarred marinara in my Baked Ziti recipe. The only sauce that I’ll use from a jar is Barilla. It’s the best! (In my opinion, and I’ve had authentic Italian cooks concur on this one!)

Pasta

Any tube shaped pasta will work, Ziti, Penne aka Mostacolli, Rotini, etc.

If you love pasta… here are some of my favorite, super easy recipes:

Pasta with Kale and Tomatoes (in 15 mins.)

Chicken Caesar Pasta Salad

Asparagus & Parmesan Pasta (in 15 mins.)

Fettuccine Alfredo (only 5 ingredients, 15 mins.)

Gluten Free Pasta

I usually make mine with gluten free pasta because of my gf daughter… it doesn’t effect the taste at all. I like the Ronzoni brand rotini (it’s the closest shape to ziti). We’ve tried so many of them…they really do vary in taste and texture! My family agrees that Ronzoni is the closest to regular wheat pasta. If you’re looking for a gluten free option, give this a try. I think you will be pleased!:)

Time-Savers for Easy Baked Ziti

Start the water for your pasta, while the pasta cooks brown the ground beef, they should be done around the same time.

Pour the pasta back into the pot it was cooked in (conserve dishes) and add the Marinara.

Easy Baked Ziti

Prep Time: 20 minutes. Bake Time: 25 minutes. Serves 8-10

12 oz. Ziti, uncooked (or any pasta similar in size)

1-pound ground beef

2 cloves garlic, minced

24 oz. jar Barilla Marinara Sauce (my favorite)

15 oz. Part Skim Ricotta Cheese

2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, divided

½ cup Parmesan Cheese

1 tsp. dried Basil

½ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. pepper

Instructions:

Cook ziti to al dente according to package directions, drain and set aside.

Brown ground beef in a large skillet, drain grease and add garlic, cook for a few minutes add Marinara sauce.

Combine Ricotta, 1 cup of mozzarella, Parmesan, basil, salt and pepper in a separate bowl.

Combine ziti and meat sauce.

Spoon half the pasta mixture into a 9×13 baking dish.

Spread the ricotta mixture evenly on top (I drop it by spoonfulls).

Spoon the remaining ziti mixture over the top.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Remove the foil and sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.

 Bake for 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.