Description
There is nothing quite like Baked Ziti, my friends. This recipe starts with a flavor-loaded, hearty meat sauce that is the foundation. It’s brimming with three different kinds of cheese, fresh herbs, and spices. It’s guaranteed to be a weeknight favorite that everyone will love or the perfect main dish for cozy weekends, holiday-inspired feasts, and everything in between! Make-ahead notes + freezer-friendly, too!
Ingredients
For the meat sauce:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 ½ pounds ground Italian sausage, hot or mild
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
- Kosher salt & fresh ground black pepper- to taste
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
For the baked ziti assembly:
- 1 pound ziti pasta
- 15 ounces whole milk ricotta cheese
- 16 ounces low-moisture mozzarella cheese, grated by hand & divided
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, divided
- ¼ cup basil chiffonade, divided- see note #2 below
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly spray or grease a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.
- In a large deep skillet or dutch oven, heat the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat. Once the mixture is hot and sizzling, add the ground sausage. Use a wooden utensil to break up the sausage and cook until the sausage is browned and lightly crispy, about 5-7 minutes.
- Then add the onion and sauté until tender and translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Then add the garlic and continue cooking until the garlic is fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and brown sugar until well combined. Pour in the whole can of crushed tomatoes and stir well to combine. Season the sauce with salt/pepper to taste, dried oregano, dried basil, and garlic powder- stirring the sauce until fully combined.
- Reduce the heat to low and let the meat sauce come up to a nice simmer, about 15-20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, while the sauce is simmering: on a separate burner, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta according to your package directions, al dente.
- Reserve ⅓ cup of the starchy pasta water, set aside, and then drain the pasta. Add the cooked pasta into the same pot with the meat sauce along with the reserved ⅓ cup of pasta water. Stir everything together to fully combine and then remove the pot from the heat.
- To assemble the baked ziti: Spoon half of the pasta into the prepared baking dish in an even layer. Then dollop the ricotta cheese directly on top of the pasta in different sections. Next, evenly sprinkle half of the shredded mozzarella cheese over the ricotta cheese along with an even sprinkling of 2 tablespoons of the grated parmesan cheese. Then top with half of the basil chiffonade. Spoon the remaining half of pasta directly on top in an even layer and then sprinkle the remaining half of the mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese to finish.
- Bake the ziti at 375°F for 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and the edges are golden brown.
- Allow the baked ziti to cool in the baking dish for 10 minutes. Then garnish with remaining basil chiffonade and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
- Please read blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.
- Basil chiffonade: Place fresh basil leaves directly on top of each other in a stack. Then, from the bottom, roll up the leaves together into a tight log. Use a sharp knife to cut the leaves crosswise into thin strips.