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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Easily the best baked ziti I’ve ever had. Using crushed tomatoes instead of sauce and using heavy cream instead of ricotta made it so much richer yet somehow also lighter? This will be the only recipe I use from now on! I made it for a friend as well and she already asked for the recipe so she could make. Our kids all devoured it.
My grocery store does not carry heavy cream. What can I use as a substitute? Thanks.
Hi Patrice, Whipping cream would work well.
Is there a way of posting a photo in these comments? I left a cooment once telling you how much my family and I love this recipe. I have a darling photo of my grandson with his face and high chair tray covered with sauce, sausage, and ziti, with a big smile on his face.
That sounds like an adorable pic!! Unfortunately, the blog isn’t set up to receive pictures but you can email it to me at jennifer@onceuponachef.com, or if you’re on Instagram, you can share it there; be sure to tag me @onceuponachef! 😊
Hi Jenn. I’ve made this fresh before and it was amazing. I want to make.it ahead and freeze.it for a.shower but am nervous.as.i.do.not.like mishy overdone pasta. Does freezing it alter the pasta texture? Any tips? Love all your food. Thank you
Hi Jill, Glad you like it! I think nothing is quite as good as freshly assembled and baked, but that this freezes and cooks very nicely. I don’t think you’ll find the pasta overly mushy. Please LMK what you think if you try it!
Delicious and hubby really enjoyed. For my personal taste, though, I will decrease amount of pasta used next time. The recipe is great so not changing. Just a bit too ” solid” for me.
Thanks for sharing. If you have a recipe for pasta Primavera, I would love it.
So glad you both liked it! I do have a pasta primavera recipe. Hope you enjoy if you make it!
I want to make a freezer meal for a family and was planning to make your delicious baked ziti — then found they need gluten free meals. I plan to substitute GF pasta, cheeses, and canned tomatoes. If I use either ground beef and/or saute the vegetables in place of the sausage (which I assume is not GF??), would you provide me with more specifics on how to make these “well seasoned”?
As an alternative I’ll use your stacked beef enchiladas recipe (also delicious!) — but was wondering first if the baked ziti could be made GF.
Thanks!
Kelly
Hi Kelly, Many sausages are gluten-free; you’d just need to look at the label to be sure. If you want to use ground beef instead, you’ll want to make sure it’s well-seasoned. Some spices I would add — a bit of oregano, Italian seasoning, whole or ground fennel seeds, paprika, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Hope that helps!
I just googled is Italian Turkey Sausage gluten free. 1 of the answeres gave a list of gluten free Italian Turkey sausages. I use Shady Brook sweet Italian Sausage links, casings off, then crumbled fine. Not all stores carry it BUT Shaws does carry that brand .A similar search for pirk sausage may work well too.I find that a zig- zag type potato masher works great to crumble fried meats like ground beef & turkey. For the GF pasta I found that Barillo GF penne worked out best. Just ck the cook time, and do NOT rinse any pasta after boiling. The sauce will not stick quite as well to pasta that is rinsed.
I made this with Rigatoni instead of Ziti since that’s what I had. Instead of using just crushed tomatoes I put the equivalent amount of my homemade red gravy and stored the casserole in the fridge overnight before baking. It was a huge hit at the Labor Day picnic and a few people asked for the recipe. I’ll make this one again.
Followed this recipe as written, and this is one I wouldn’t change… Absolutely delicious! Thank you!!
Love love love!!! Made this recipe exactly as written.
Made this last night in a double batch, my husband doesn’t care for italian sausage, so I ended up using 90/10 ground beef and seasoning that with fennel seed, parsley, Italian seasoning, paprika, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to give it that profile of Italian sausage. I additionally added a small red onion and I sautéed that for a few minutes prior to adding the garlic. My goodness, it came out amazing! My husband demands that this become part of our regular rotation, as are several other of your recipes, Jenn! Thank you for all the culinary brightness you bring us!
Fantastic!! Made today for a family Bday celebration. Subbed ground beef and no garlic for guest preferences and it was delicious. Thank you for conveniently listing the ingredient measurements in the step-by-step instructions, very helpful. I will definitely be making this again. I have become a fan and will be trying your other recipes and cookbooks. Thank you!