Sausage, ricotta, mozzarella, and tomato sauce are stacked on top of ziti before being cooked till bubbling.
| Prep Time: | 20 mins |
| Cook Time: | 40 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 8 servings |
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta
- 1 pound mild Italian sausage, casings removed
- 2 (24 ounce) jars marinara sauce
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried basil, divided
- 12 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning, divided
- 1 dash salt and pepper
- 1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain.
- Place sausage in a large, deep skillet. Cook over medium high heat until evenly brown. Drain, crumble and set aside. In a large saucepan, heat marinara with 1 teaspoon basil until bubbling. In a medium bowl, mix together ricotta, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.
- Spread bottom of a 9×13 inch baking dish with sauce. Layer 1/2 of the ziti, 1/2, the sausage, 1/2 of the ricotta, and 1/2 the mozzarella. Spoon half of the sauce over top. Repeat layers. Sprinkle top with remaining 1/2 teaspoons basil and Italian seasoning.
- Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 696 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 71 g |
| Cholesterol | 75 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 6 g |
| Protein | 37 g |
| Saturated Fat | 13 g |
| Sodium | 1618 mg |
| Sugars | 18 g |
| Fat | 29 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Few changes. Added onion and garlic with hamburger(instead of sausage). Subbed basil, oregano for Italian seasoning. 12 oz. Of pasta instead of 16 oz.
For MY notes: added 1 small diced onion, 1 tbsp minsed garlic, 1 tsp italian seasoning, mixed blend of italian cheeses, fresh mozarella & chopped fresh parsley in ricotta blend and on top sub’d 1 lb hamburger meat. (no sausage) bake @ 350 for 20 mins, rest for 10 mins
loved it
Always a HIT in my house
It’s a hit!!
It’s a great recipe. I tweaked it by adding slightly more ingredients and crushed/powdered fennel. I’m always concerned about drying out baked pastas like ziti or lasagna. Last time I used copious amounts of mozzarella in my lasagna, it dried up somewhat. So I left the mozzarella for the top of this ziti. Came out well. I added an egg and some heavy cream to the ricotta to keep it creamy, not “cakey.” Added grated parm and spices salt/pep to the ricotta and did the layering with sauce and sausage. Everyone loved it. The 9×13 pan is perfect size. This recipe is a good one!
Made as listed. I got distracted and did not layer has noted but this dish still turned out really good. Made a ton, so froze enough for a couple more meals.
My husband LOVES pasta, and we both drool over baked ziti. It was kind of a pain to make, but it ended up being delicious. Prepare to make this in a larger dish than what is expected.
My husband LOVES pasta, and we both drool over baked ziti. It was kind of a pain to make, but it ended up being delicious. Prepare to make this in a larger dish than what is expected.
I used fresh, chopped up basil. Great texture and taste and had more presence. (if that makes sense).
Recipe is spot on! Don’t budget or skimp on ingredients. Whole milk cheese, brand name. Raos marinara sauce. It can get expensive but there’s no substitute to quality ingredients
This was absolutely awesome. I only had have the ricotta, so used it and the other half cottage cheese. My husband loved it as well. Will definitely make again!
I made this last week for my husband and 2 adult sons. It was “just okay” according to them. It was a little bland but that may have been the brand of marinara sauce that I used. I did add 1/2 pound of ground beef with the sausage because my family thinks it is not a meal without meat. I will probably make it again but try a few changes of ingredients.
This was OK. I would recommend cooking for much less time, as approximately 30 minutes in the cheese was melted and burned at the edges. In my opinion, there was too much Italian seasoning, but my parents thought it was good.
Thank You for this recipe!! I love the Italian Sausage in this recipe. I have always mixed the Italian Sausage with Ground Beef in Ziti and Spaghetti. I have since stopped using Ground Beef all together and just use Italian Sausage. This is a fantastic recipe and I wouldn’t change anything.
Enjoyed making this recipe. It was quick and easy. And it taste very good.
Very few ingredients which made it so convenient and it was super delicious! I used only about a 3/4 C of mozzarella so it wouldnt get too greasy!
Delicious -but I also added some parmesan cheese to ricotta mix and also topped it with slices of mozzarella. Fantastic!
This is a great ziti recipe! Everyone liked it, even my Asian wife who is picky when it comes to pasta dishes. It will definitely be added to our rotation.
I love baked Ziti! I have made this many times and I don’t think I would make any changes to it. It’s a nice meal to make on any day. My kids like it too which is a bonus! 🙂 🙂 This is a VERY good food!
I didn’t make any changes and I’m sure I will be sure to make it again.