My kids love this oven-baked pasta and frequently ask for the recipe.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 55 mins |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 10 mins |
| Servings: | 8 |
| Yield: | 1 9×13-inch dish |
Ingredients
- cooking spray
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 12 ounces brown gravy
- ½ cup half-and-half
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 (16 ounce) package dry ziti pasta
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Heat a large frying pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook and stir ground beef in the hot pan until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomato sauce, gravy, half-and-half, Parmesan cheese, garlic, oregano, and basil. Simmer for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in ziti, bring back to a boil, and cook pasta over medium heat until tender yet firm to the bite, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain.
- Stir ziti into meat sauce, then spread into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle top with mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven until bubbly, 20 to 30 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 490 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 49 g |
| Cholesterol | 133 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 26 g |
| Saturated Fat | 10 g |
| Sodium | 1021 mg |
| Sugars | 7 g |
| Fat | 21 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
l MADE THIS RECIPE. I HAVE ONE WORD. AWESOME!!!!
I didn’t care for the brown gravy, I’ll skip it next time. But the rest was good. I split it into 2 8×8 pans. One for dinner, one for the freezer.
Super easy and delicious recipe. My only change was to use a canned beef mushroom gravy only because that’s what I had in my pantry. Keeper!
Used marinara sauce from Trader Joe’s, fresh minced garlic, chopped onions, bacon bits, and half a block of cream cheese, and a pound of ground chicken. Also added adobo seasoning. And yes i did the gravy as well! It was soooo good!
Delish. I substituted beef stock for the gravy and tripled the mozzarella! Very good. Family loved it!
I would give this 10 stars if I could! The only thing I did different was add 1/2 lb more of meat and used a turkey and mild sausage combo (on hand). I added a little extra cheese. My family absolutely loved it. My son’s girlfriend has a full-blood, Italian cooking granny and she said this was delicious. I made them all guess the “secret” ingredient and no one could. Gravy. Who knew!!! Thank you SO MUCH! This one is going in the rotation. Can’t wait to take it to a potluck and “wow” some co-workers.
My husband had thirds of this, and he’s not a huge fan of casserole type meals! So I will be making this again, and have added it to my meal rotation. I think it would be even better with some diced onions and peppers.
Made this for a family of four, and it was a hit.
I used prepared marinara sauce and skipped the meat. It was delicious.
Wow, I had never heard of adding brown gravy to baked pasta! It kinda freaked me out but I did it. Followed the recipe exactly and it was easy and really good. The next time I used a can of stewed Italian seasoned tomatoes, pureed, in place of the tomato sauce. Really good again! Husband said he likes it and “you can make that anytime” which, unsolicited, winds up in the rotation. Thank you for the recipe.
Made it the original way first…4 stars. I then made it again, but this time, used ricotta cheese with fresh grated parmesan and egg yolks and chopped parsley as a layer. I also doubled the sauce mixture and used alfredo sauce instead of half and half (per another reviewer) and used a combo of 1 lb. of ground italian sausage and 1/2 lb. of ground beef cooked with chopped onion and garlic. Doubled the cheese, also fresh grated, as a personal preference. Just as good, but, not better. I’d make this again either way, but, maybe halve the recipe.
Very good and so easy to make. The kids loved it. I followed the recipe with only minor changes. I used ground turkey instead of beef. Added chopped onion, and I used shredded mild cheddar cheese. This was not bland to me as others said. Delicious! Thanks.
Turned out very good. I was a little apprehensive about the gravy but the overall affect was good. The whole family ate it and I will make it again. As a personal preference I will add more cheese:) Thanks for the recipie!
I was skeptical about the brown gravy but it actually enhanced the flavor of the ground beef. I added some diced onion when browning the ground beef and added asiago cheese along with the mozzarella. Add some crushed red pepper flakes to spice it I
I made it exactly the way the recipe reads as it is delicious. I can’t believe I’ve found this recipe again, I had it originally about 25 years ago I had found it in a magazine and I tried it, it was a hit then and it was a winner this time too!
Good recipe. Used 1 1/4 pounds of meat and pasta sauce instead of tomato sauce. Added more sauce to compensate for the added meat. Also used milk instead of cream. Tasty, would make again.
The recipe was very easy to make. I wasn’t quite sure about the brown gravy, but it gave it more flavor. My husband likes it so, I’ll probably make it again.
I was looking for a baked pasta recipe because I need to make it for 80 people at our church. I made half of a batch to try it and my husband and I loved it! I substituted marinara sauce for the diced tomatoes and also added chopped red pepper and a little cayenne pepper. I know everyone at our church will love this when i serve it to them this Sunday.
It turned out absolutely fantastic! My mum loved it ?? I’m so happy I downloaded all recipes app ??
Yum! I normally don’t like baked pasta, it always seems like more work but this was delicious! I was skeptical of the brown gravy, seemed a little weird but the whole dish is delicious I will make it the exact same way next time. I only have a gravy packets so I added that and a cup of water and we didn’t have tomato sauce on had so I blended a large can of tomatoes. Enjoyed by everyone in my family of boys!
Little bit of work, but worth it. Yum