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Home » Creative Recipes » Cooking Method » Bake » Baked Ziti

Baked Ziti Pasta

Baked Ziti

BY: Michele
PUBLISHED: Feb 18, 2014
UPDATED: Jun 12, 2020
6 Reviews / 4.7 Average
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Baked Ziti Pasta

Baked Ziti is one of my favorite comfort foods.  It tastes amazing, especially the next day.  It is an excellent dish to make in advance and freeze or eat immediately.  Better yet, make two batches and eat one and freeze the other for later.

Rich, flavorful marinara sauce coats the ziti pasta (or in this case penne pasta) and ground beef and italian sausage.  It is mixed with cream cheese and mozzarella and parmesan for a creamy, cheesy, beefy, pasta-y, yum fest.  Yes.  A Yum Fest is an accurate description.  Try it and you will understand what I am talking about.

In addition to being a delicious, make ahead dish, it is budget friendly and can really feed a crowd, making it perfect for large gatherings or potlucks.

Baked Ziti Pasta

Many people layer meat, cheese, and pasta.  Not me!  I mix everything together and just top with cheese.  It is all going to get mixed together anyway.  Besides, I think it tastes better mixed together.  Plus I’m lazy.  It is just easier to mix everything together.

Can I just say how much I love this dish?  I made it on Sunday, and ate it for lunch and dinner on Monday and lunch on Tuesday and never got tired of it.  I could live off this stuff. You have got to try this dish.  It is the ultimate comfort food.

Here are some other Ground Beef and Pasta recipes you may love! 

Ground Beef Stroganoff – This easy 30-minute recipe omits the cream of mushroom soup and uses ground beef for an awesome comfort food dinner!

Taco Lasagna – Taco Lasagna is a traditional lasagna casserole with lasagna noodles but adds Mexican taco seasoning, enchilada sauce, and Mexican and Cheddar cheese that is sure to be a family favorite.

Cheesy Tortellini Skillet Lasagna – Perfect when you want lasagna but don’t have the time to make it from scratch. By using tortellini, this one-pot tortellini lasagna can be ready in 20 minutes!

Spicy Cheeseburger Pasta Casserole – Spicy Cheeseburger pasta casserole is a delicious, budget-friendly cheesy skillet dinner that is one of our family’s favorite weekday suppers.

 

Recipe

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4.67 from 6 votes

Baked Ziti

This Baked Ziti has a rich, flavorful marinara sauce, cream cheese, mozzarella, parmesan, with ground beef, italian sausage and ziti pasta for a creamy, cheesy Italian casserole.
Course Beef, Main Dish, Pasta
Cuisine Italian
Keyword Baked Ziti, Baked Ziti With Cream Cheese, Easy Baked Ziti
Prep Time 5 minutes minutes
Cook Time 1 hour hour
Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes
Servings 10
Calories 340kcal
Author Michele @ Flavor Mosaic

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces dry ziti or penne
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/2 lb lean ground beef
  • 1/2 lb ground italian sausage
  • 2 teaspoons dried italian seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper adjust to taste
  • 1 28-ounce jar your favorite marinara sauce ( I use Newman's Own)
  • 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
  • 1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened and cubed
  • 1-1/2 cups mozzarella or Italian Blend cheese, shredded
  • 1/2 cup parmesan shredded or grated
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Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
  • Prepare pasta according to package direction, drain, set aside.
  • While the pasta cooks, in a large skillet, over medium heat, cook onion for about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and stir for about one minute. Be careful not to let the garlic burn.
  • Add ground beef and ground sausage to the skillet and cook until it is browned and no longer pink. Add marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, and diced tomatoes and simmer 20 minutes. Add in cubes of softened cream cheese. Stir until melted.
  • Add the pasta into a baking dish.
  • Spoon meat mixture over the pasta in the baking dish. Top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Cover with aluminum foil.
  • Bake covered for 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Uncover and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Notes

Adapted from Baked Ziti I from AllRecipes.com.
Nutrition label disclaimer: Nutrient values are estimates only. Variations may occur due to product availability and food preparation. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.

Nutrition

Calories: 340kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 39mg | Sodium: 717mg | Potassium: 533mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 455IU | Vitamin C: 7.1mg | Calcium: 124mg | Iron: 2.4mg

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Filed Under: Bake, Beef, Budget-friendly, Casserole Recipes, Comfort Food, Dinner Recipes, Freezer Food, Italian, Make Ahead, One Pot Meals, Pasta, Pot Luck, Skillet Tagged With: ground beef

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Reader Interactions

Michele F - Owner / Founder / Creator / Blogger at Flavor Mosaic
Michele

Hi, I’m Michele Feuerborn, wife, and dog Mom, with 20+ years experience as a home cook. I’m the Founder of Flavor Mosaic, as well as the author and content creator. I share fast, easy, flavorful recipes with bold flavors, featuring Instant Pot and Air Fryer recipes and Italian, Southern and Mexican cuisines.  Contact: [email protected].

Comments

  1. Marion@Life Tastes Good says

    February 18, 2014 at 1:27 pm

    Yummmmy! I bet the addition of the cream cheese makes it extra creamy and cheesey!! Love that idea 🙂

    Reply
  2. Shelby says

    April 3, 2014 at 7:58 pm

    I will have to try this! I haven’t seen baked ziti with cream cheese before, sounds like it would be super creamy and yummy!

    Reply
  3. Bonnie Thomas says

    March 15, 2017 at 4:11 pm

    I made this Baked Ziti recipe for dinner tonight. It is absolutely fabulous! I know I’ll be making this at least monthly for my family! Thank you for sharing this fantastic recipe!

    Reply
  4. Rebecca says

    April 29, 2017 at 1:27 pm

    I’m so excited about this recipe! I’m kinda sad I’m not eating it tonight! I made a double recipe to freeze and it was so much food I was able to split among 3 aluminum pans (2- 8 inch pans and one 9×13). That’s 3 dinners that are done!! And it looks so creamy with that cream cheese in it. Thank you!! Can’t wait to try some more freezer meals from this site!

    Reply
    • Michele says

      May 1, 2017 at 4:48 am

      I’m so happy you like it. Thanks for the reminder. I think I may make this dish this week!

      Reply
      • Sara says

        May 22, 2018 at 10:20 pm

        So the cream cheese does ok with freezing? And do you bake first then freeze or freeze unbaked?

        Reply
        • Michele says

          May 23, 2018 at 2:51 am

          Hi Sara, you could do this either way. If you freeze unbaked, let it thaw completely before baking.

          Reply
  5. Katie says

    May 31, 2017 at 9:34 pm

    After freezing, approximately what temperature and how long should I cook it? Should it be thawed first?

    Reply
    • Michele says

      May 31, 2017 at 10:06 pm

      Hi Katie, after freezing remove from freezer and bake covered at 350 for an hour and then uncover and bake for 15 minutes. It can go directly from freezer to oven to reheat.

      Reply
  6. Jonathan says

    June 26, 2017 at 6:02 pm

    I think you forgot the part about adding the pasta back into the recipe. Besides that, looks great!!

    Reply
  7. KimberlyG says

    February 27, 2020 at 6:04 pm

    Hello,

    A few questions for If I cook this then freeze it .

    1. What would you suggest the cooking time/temp to reheat.
    2. How long do you think this can be in the freezer for?

    I’m trying to come up with easy pre-made meals to make for my sister when she gives birth.

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Michele says

      February 28, 2020 at 8:31 am

      Pull it out of the freezer, if frozen, 24 hours before you want to serve. Then reheat for 45 minutes in a preheated 350-degree F oven. Also, according to stilltasty.com, Beef Stew will last 4 – 6 months in the freezer.

      Reply
  8. Lauren says

    December 29, 2020 at 5:27 pm

    Sooo delicious and ridiculously easy! Thank you for this recipe.

    Reply
    • Michele says

      December 29, 2020 at 5:38 pm

      Hi Lauren,

      I’m so glad you liked it. If you like this one, be sure to check out my Tortellini Skillet Lasagna recipe. I bet you’ll like it. Thanks for the nice comment.

      Michele

      Reply
  9. Darlene says

    August 25, 2022 at 10:08 am

    Truly the best ziti I have ever tasted!

    Reply
  10. Donna says

    August 25, 2024 at 5:52 pm

    It made a lot! Was going to use 9×13 dish but since I added twice the sausage amount & 340z marinara sauce instead of 28, 14×11 dish worked out better. Used ricotta cheese instead of cream cheese as that is my hubby’s preference! Turned out incredible according to everyone!

    Reply
4.67 from 6 votes (3 ratings without comment)

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Michele F - Owner / Founder / Creator / Blogger at Flavor Mosaic

Hi, I’m Michele, a home cook with 20+ years experience. I created Flavor Mosaic as a place to share our favorite fast, easy, and flavorful creative recipes with bold flavors, including Southern, Mexican, Tex-Mex, and Instant Pot recipes.
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