For me, this dish embodies “The Holidays.” When my mother was making it 60 years ago, I can still smell how the home smelled. This is a fantastic use for the remaining tomatoes in the garden at the end of the tomato season when they won’t ripen. Note from my mother: Before filling the bottom crust, I spread a generous spoonful of tapioca on top. Some of the liquid will be absorbed by it.
| Prep Time: | 30 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 30 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry ziti pasta
- 1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, sliced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
- 4 cloves garlic, chopped
- ½ pound ground beef
- ½ pound ground pork sausage
- 1 ½ (26 ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
- salt to taste
- 1 (6 ounce) package provolone cheese, sliced
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup cottage cheese
- 1 (6 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
- Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook onion in oil until tender. Stir in rosemary and garlic. Transfer to a small bowl.
- Place ground beef and sausage in the skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Stir in the onion mixture and the spaghetti sauce. Season with salt. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. In the prepared dish, layer 1/2 of the cooked pasta, provolone cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, and a little less than 1/2 of the meat mixture. Then layer the rest of the pasta, mozzarella cheese, remaining meat mixture, and Parmesan cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until heated through and cheeses are melted.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 489 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 44 g |
| Cholesterol | 55 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 22 g |
| Saturated Fat | 11 g |
| Sodium | 801 mg |
| Sugars | 10 g |
| Fat | 25 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Good recipe but it would be spectacular if the pasta sauce was homemade. I can’t tolerate bottled sauce. Sure, it takes hours to make but then freeze it or can it. Then you’ll have it for several months. Pretty good trade off.
I’ve made this several times and think it’s the best Baked Ziti I’ve had. I have changed it up just a little such as sometimes using only sausage and no ground beef. I think that Provolone Cheese really adds to the richness of this dish. Definitely a keeper for years to come.
Made it per the recommendation of others, mixing the pasta into the meat mixture, mixing the cheeses together, doing the layering, then placing the provolone on top. Worked very well.
I’ve made this and it’s wonderful!
Easy to make. Leftovers for lunch!
Good stuff. I added mushrooms and spinach. Delicious
Loved it. Will be a staple.
This recipe is definitely a keeper with a few changes that I made. I used one and a half 28 oz. jars of Rao’s Marinara Sauce. As some others suggested, I mixed the meat sauce and noodles together. I used a 15-16oz. tub of ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese and mixed that with the sour cream, mozzarella and parmesan cheese. I then layered half the meat/noodle mixture on the bottom of a 13×9″ pan, spread the cheese/sour cream mixture on top, layered the rest of the meat/noodle mixture and then topped with the provolone cheese. I baked it covered for about 30 minutes and then uncovered it for about 5-10 minutes. Everyone LOVED it! I served it with a green salad and garlic bread. Next time I might add some fresh italian parsley to the cheese mixture.
Made it pretty much as written and it came out amazing! I have even recommended it to family.
This is by far the best baked ziti recipe I’ve tried. It had lots of flavor and a gourmet touch to it. I am very impressed and definitely doing it again.
Simply the best!! This has been added to my favourites! Since I didn’t have Rosemary, I added a sprinkling of Italian Seasoning. I also used my homemade tomato sauce.
Delicious! Family all loved it.
I like this recipe, I used Italian seasoning instead of rosemary. Turned out well
Very easy to make. I made two changes. One adding basil to the onion garlic rosemary mixture. Also I can’t stand cottage cheese so I used ricotta instead.
I’ve made this a few times and it’s a good recipe. I always add basil as well. The only other change I strongly recommend is that you put the provolone in two different layers and spread it out more, don’t cram it all together. Provolone is potent and If you don’t spread it out it can be way too concentrated and overpowering in some bites. I put half of the provolone on the first layer, and had it more spread out and then put the rest of it on the second layer below the remaining sauce, that way you can taste it but you don’t get anymore bites that sting your tastebuds lol. (Yes I used the proper baking dish and quantity of cheese)
Canned sauce of any kind is a culinary sin. Make your own sauce people! Other than that, a good recipe.
Great recipe for an amazing comfort food! My family loved it so much! The only thing I would add is more cheese!! If you want it to be cheesy and stringy I would suggest adding lots more provologne and mozarella! But by itself it is still a very yummy recipe!
Made exactly according to directions except I did toss my pasta with a bit of the meat sauce before adding each layer to ensure a moist dinner. It was very moist, cheesy, tasty and was enjoyed by all! Great presentation and overall flavor! As it makes a lot, I made a large casserole for my family and two smaller ones for elderly neighbors. We all throughly enjoyed! Thanks much for the post!
I have made this several times. Always a crowd pleaser. I have used suggestions from several of the reviewers – added red peppers to the meat mixture, seasoned with italian and basil seasonings, used ricotta instead of cottage cheese. All delicious. This last time, I substituted ground deer meat for the hamburger. Thanks for the recipe.
Made this for a friend when they left the hospital. Their family loved it. Stated it was a wonderful comfort food.
So good! I did use ricotta instead of cottage cheese. Neither the hubs or I eat cottage cheese. Other than that, followed the recipe. I’ve never made ziti this way, and I was skeptical. But, wow, it was good! It does make a lot. It’s just the two of us empty nesters here. Enough for a family of four or five, or enough to share with a neighbor if you like yours. Hubs is on plate #2 so you know it’s pretty darn good. He can be a picky eater! I wish I had taken a picture when it came out of the oven, it was pretty, but we were hungry! I will definitely be making this again.