| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 1 hr 35 min |
| Active: | 30 min |
| Yield: | 12 servings |
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large onion, diced
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound Italian sausage
- Two 14.5-ounce cans tomato sauce or marinara sauce
- One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes with juice
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound ziti
- 1 1/2 pounds mozzarella, grated
- One 15-ounce tub whole-milk ricotta
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, plus more for sprinkling
- 2 eggs
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the garlic and onions and saute until starting to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ground beef and sausage and cook until browned. Drain off almost all of the fat, leaving a bit behind for flavor and moisture. Add the tomato sauce, tomatoes, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and some salt and pepper. Stir, bring to a simmer and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove 3 to 4 cups of the cooked sauce to a bowl to cool down.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add some salt. Cook the ziti until not quite al dente.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a bowl, mix 2 cups of the grated mozzarella, the ricotta, Parmesan, parsley, eggs and some salt and pepper. Stir together just a couple of times (do not mix completely).
- Drain the pasta and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking and cool it down. Pour it into the bowl with the cheese mixture and toss to slightly combine (there should still be large lumps). Add the cooled reserved meat sauce and toss to combine.
- Add half the coated pasta to a large casserole dish or lasagna dish. Spoon half of the remaining sauce over the top, then top with half the remaining mozzarella. Repeat with another layer of the coated pasta and the remaining sauce and mozzarella.
- Bake until bubbling, about 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before sprinkling with chopped parsley to serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 660 |
| Total Fat | 38 g |
| Saturated Fat | 18 g |
| Carbohydrates | 42 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Sugar | 6 g |
| Protein | 37 g |
| Cholesterol | 146 mg |
| Sodium | 1040 mg |
Reviews
I made this for a family birthday party exactly as written and everyone loved it. The half teaspoon of red pepper flakes is the perfect amount to add a little glow to the finish but not be hot. My mother doesn’t like spice and she loved this!!!!
So good !!! I add the little mozzarella balls !! Thank you
Fantastic. Especially for a dinner party. Can make ahead of time and just pop in oven for 25 mins. Delicious!
Amazing! @thecarpool podcast mentioned this Ree recipe and it was a hit with my family. Only added a few extra seasoning but overall delicious!
This is my favorite recipe. It is easy to make and the flavor is fantastic.
It is the best recipe for a large group of people.
It is the best recipe for a large group of people.
I’ve made a lot of baked ziti in my life and this is far and away, the best!
Would it work if you used cottage cheese or another substitute in place of ricotta? My kids won’t eat ricotta. Thank you.
Exceptionally good!! I have made baked ziti with the meat sauce but haven’t added the ricotta and that’s what made it exceptional!! I also make it the day before, refrigerate it then bake it the next day. I used my homemade marinara sauce. It was delicious!!
Thank you Ree:)
Thank you Ree:)
I love Ree’s recipes. Always easy to follow and full of flavor.
DELICIOUS! I’ve made this multiple times and everyone compliments it. But….
—takes a LONG time to make, as others have said. Plan for longer than 1.5 hours
—I baked mine at least 35 minutes rather than the 20 minutes it says, and it could have gone longer but everyone was really hungry! I did not see an instruction to cover it with foil. Maybe that would be the difference.
–It makes a HUGE batch. It says it makes 12 servings, but I could have fed 16 people easily with this last night. Yay for leftovers!
—1 lb and a half of mozzarella is alot of cheese. I had a 2 cup bag of shredded mozz and that’s what I used. It was great; you won’t miss the extra cheese if you don’t have it on hand.
—I used 2 lbs of ground beef because I didn’t have sausage. It was still delicious
—takes a LONG time to make, as others have said. Plan for longer than 1.5 hours
—I baked mine at least 35 minutes rather than the 20 minutes it says, and it could have gone longer but everyone was really hungry! I did not see an instruction to cover it with foil. Maybe that would be the difference.
–It makes a HUGE batch. It says it makes 12 servings, but I could have fed 16 people easily with this last night. Yay for leftovers!
—1 lb and a half of mozzarella is alot of cheese. I had a 2 cup bag of shredded mozz and that’s what I used. It was great; you won’t miss the extra cheese if you don’t have it on hand.
—I used 2 lbs of ground beef because I didn’t have sausage. It was still delicious