Baked Ziti
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My baked ziti skips the ricotta for a silkier, creamier sauce that never bakes up dry or grainy. Made with Italian sausage, it’s easy enough for a weeknight and hearty enough for a crowd.
Photo by Johnny Miller, (Clarkson Potter, 2021)
This baked ziti is a MAJOR crowd-pleaser, whether I’m hosting a family gathering or cooking for my son’s college friends (I usually double the recipe in that case!). In fact, I love it so much that it’s featured proudly on the cover of my second cookbook. The Italian sausage does a lot of the heavy lifting here, giving the sauce deep flavor without a long ingredient list. It’s doable on a weeknight yet special enough to serve to company, and it’s also a fantastic make-ahead potluck dish.
What really sets this version apart from most baked ziti recipes is what’s not in it: ricotta. I know that’s the classic approach, but after lots of testing, I landed on a cream-based sauce instead—and I think it makes for a better dish. More on why below.
As the baked ziti works its magic in the oven, throw together a big Italian salad and warm some garlic bread, and you’re ready to feast!
“Simply outstanding…I made the ziti for a huge birthday party I hosted for a member of my family. Everyone (ages 5 to 91) devoured it.”
Why I skip The Ricotta
Most baked ziti recipes call for dolloping in ricotta, but baked at high heat, it tends to dry out and turn grainy—exactly the texture problem people worry about with baked ziti. So instead, I build the sauce with heavy cream and grated cheese. Stirred into the whole dish rather than dolloped throughout, it coats every piece of pasta evenly and keeps the ziti moist, down to the last leftover bite.
What You’ll Need to Make Baked Ziti
- Ziti noodles – Rigatoni or penne work fine too; look for a ridged shape that holds onto sauce.
- Italian sausage – Bulk sausage is easiest to crumble, but links work if you remove the casings first. Sweet or spicy, your call.
- Garlic: Adds savory depth to the sauce.
- Canned crushed tomatoes – The base of the sauce.
- Salt, sugar, and red pepper flakes – The sugar balances the acidity of the tomatoes; don’t skip it.
- Heavy cream – Stands in for ricotta here (see above).
- Pecorino Romano – Parmigiano Reggiano works as a substitute if that’s what you have.
- Pecorino Romano: Lends a sharp and salty flavor. Parmigiano Reggiano cheese can be substituted if needed.
- Fresh Basil: Adds a fresh, aromatic finish.
- Mozzarella Cheese: Whole milk mozzarella is best. You can purchase a plastic-wrapped brick of mozzarella (usually sold in the dairy case) and shred it yourself. To make it easier to work with, pop it in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes prior to shredding. Or, to save time time, use pre-shredded mozzarella; just be sure it is made from whole milk, not part-skim.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Boil the noodles. Since the ziti finishes cooking in the oven, boil it a few minutes short of al dente on the stovetop—it’ll continue cooking in the casserole dish and won’t turn mushy by the time it’s done baking.
Step 2: Make the sauce. Brown the sausage first, then use the same pan (with just a bit of the rendered fat left behind) to soften the garlic and simmer the tomatoes. Finish the sauce with cream, cheese, and basil.
Step 3: Combine the sauce and pasta. Pour the sauce into the pot with the drained pasta and stir gently until every piece is coated—this is what keeps the ziti from baking up dry in spots.
Step 4: Assemble and bake. Spread half of the pasta mixture in the baking dish, then sprinkle with half of the mozzarella and pecorino. Top with the remaining pasta mixture and the rest of the cheese. Layering it this way—rather than stirring all the cheese in at once—gives you a stretchy, melted layer running through the middle of the dish, not just on top. Bake until bubbling and browned.
Baked ziti can be assembled, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days before baking. It can also be frozen before or after baking, for up to 3 months. See the recipe card notes below for freezing and reheating instructions.
More Classic Italian Dishes You’ll Love
Video Tutorial
Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- 1 lb ziti noodles
- 1½ lbs ground spicy or sweet Italian sausage (or removed from casings)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ⅓ cup plus 3 tablespoons grated pecorino Romano (or Parmigiano Reggiano cheese), divided
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh basil, plus more for serving
- 8 oz whole milk mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ziti noodles and cook according to the package directions for very al dente, about 7 minutes. (It will continue to cook in the oven, so you want to undercook it just a bit.) Drain and add the pasta back to the pot. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C) and set the oven rack in the middle position.
- Heat a large sauté pan (preferably nonstick) over medium-high heat. Crumble the sausage into the pan and cook, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, until lightly browned and just cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the cooked sausage to a plate. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the pan and set over low heat (if you don't have enough fat in the pan, add a tablespoon of olive oil). Add the 4 cloves of minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until soft but not browned, about 1 minute. Add the can of crushed tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt, 1½ teaspoons sugar, and ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
- Add the cream, ⅓ cup (33 g) of the pecorino Romano, cooked sausage, and basil to the pan; stir until evenly combined. Carefully pour the contents of the sauté pan into the large pot with the pasta and gently stir to combine. Spoon half of the mixture into a 9 x 13-inch (23 x 33-cm) baking dish. Sprinkle with half of the shredded mozzarella (1 cup/113 g) and half the remaining pecorino Romano (1½ tablespoons). Spoon the remaining pasta mixture on top and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella (1 cup/113 g) and pecorino Romano (1½ tablespoons). Transfer to the oven and bake, uncovered, until the cheese has melted and browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with more basil and serve.
Notes
Pair with
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate 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.
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I only have heavy whipping cream instead of heavy cream is that ok?
Yep that’s fine.
This recipe is amazing. Ate leftovers 3x and still wanted more. Smoked sausage on the Traeger instead of pan. Added mushrooms cooked in butter with thyme. Maybe a little aggressive, but it was Saturday. This recipe is going into the Family cook book
This recipe was absolutely delicious!! The only change I made was rigatoni instead of ziti, but the sauce was perfection. I will definitely be making this again!!
This dish is fantastic! So tasty and easy to make. Actually I am now a big follower of Jenn Segal’s work. We have made about 5 different recipes and they are all great!
Yup, yup, yup. ***** (Five Stars)
This is my favorite baked ziti recipe. I love the sausage! I do it with mild italian or with hot. Sometimes I do half and half. I prefer the hot to add a little somethin-somethin, but my little kids prefer the mild. Before this recipe I had never made ziti with the cream and crushed tomatoes. Legit wayyyyy better than using jarred tomato sauce. I use this recipe every time I make ziti now….maybe a dozen times now. It’s yummy, but not overly complicated to make. This is my first time leaving a review, I enjoy it so much I wanted to thank Jenn by offering her a review!
This is the third time I’ve made this delicious dish. It’s great for family or friends. It’s December, and there was no basil to be found. I added two heaping tablespoons of pesto, and it worked nicely. I only had one pound of sausage. It still worked with not a single complaint, but the 1 1/2 pounds is tastier. During this time we need to be flexible!
My husband ate three servings the first time that I made this a few weeks ago. I have never seen him do such a thing. Anyway, it’s on the menu again this week and I am really looking forward to it. Great meal!
OMG!!! This was delicious!! I make recipes I find on the internet all the time, but I’ve never left a review for one. Made this last night for my family and it was AMAZING!!! Did make a few tweaks. Couldn’t find fresh basil at the store so used basil herb paste. Added 8 oz block of cream cheese to the noodles and added a little more red pepper flakes because we like spicy stuff. This was SOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!! Thank you for sharing! We will definitely be making this again and again.
I’ve made this 1000 times. It’s incredible. But I have a question. Once I transfer the meat to a plate, a lot of fat accumulates on the bottom of the plate, so do I add the meat with the accumulated fat back to the pan, or should I drain the fat? Thanks Jenn! Can’t wait for cookbook # 2!
So glad you enjoy it, Chad! This is one of the blog recipes included in cookbook #2. 🙂 You can discard the fat on the plate.
Hi Jenn,
I have been following your website for years, your emails, your cookbook etc. YOU have brought a lot of joy into my household and I have shared accolades and your recipes with friends. Not only do you deserve all of your five star reviews, but you deserve and extra five stars because you have designed your recipes to be easy to understand and follow so we can achieve five stars with our friends and families.
I have made this Ziti w Sausage many times over and it is awesome just as it is written. I wanted to ask you if you had a variation of this recipe (ingredients and preparation) that makes the sauce a “Vodka Sauce”. Not that I want to change this recipe but I am looking for the variation to be “an addition” to my toolkit. Thanks for everything you do!
Hi Lawrence, Thanks for your note and nice words about the recipes – so glad you’ve been able to enjoy them with friends and family! I don’t have a version of this recipe that contains a vodka sauce but I will email you separately with a vodka sauce that will be appearing in my upcoming cookbook. Please LMK how it turns out if you incorporate it into this recipe!