Baked Ziti: Easy, Cheesy, and Ready for a Crowd
Baked ziti is tube pasta tossed with tomato sauce, layered with creamy ricotta, buried under mozzarella and baked until the edges crisp. It tastes like lasagna with none of the noodle layering. The version below serves 6 to 8, takes about an hour, and works with or without meat. It also covers the questions that trip people up: when to add the ricotta, whether to cover the dish, and how to make it ahead.
TL;DR
- Boil the ziti about 2 minutes short of done, because it keeps cooking in the oven.
- Bake at 350°F, covered for the first 20 minutes, then uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes to brown the cheese.
- Mix ricotta with an egg, Parmesan and seasoning, then dollop it into the pasta so you get creamy pockets instead of a dry bake.
- Add browned ground beef for a hamburger-style casserole, or skip it for a meatless version.
- Assemble up to a day ahead, or freeze it, and reheat to 165°F.
Table of Contents
- What Makes a Good Baked Ziti
- Ingredients
- How to Make Easy Baked Ziti
- Baked Ziti with Ricotta: When to Add It
- Should Baked Ziti Be Covered?
- Hamburger Casserole Style: Ground Beef Baked Ziti
- Meatless Baked Ziti
- Baked Ziti Without Baking It
- Make Ahead, Freeze and Reheat
- What Is Baked Ziti Called in Italian?
- Our Perspective: Why Simple Wins
- More Baked Pasta to Try
- Tips for the Best Pan
- FAQ
- Sources
What Makes a Good Baked Ziti
Three things separate a great pan from a mediocre one: enough sauce, undercooked pasta and a cheese layer that stays creamy.
Ziti is a smooth, medium tube. Penne is the usual substitute and works fine, and so do rigatoni or rotini if that is what is in the pantry. The shape matters less than the cooking time. Pasta that starts the bake fully tender turns soft and mushy by the end.
Sauce is the second variable. Baked pasta drinks liquid as it sits in the oven, so a sauce that looks generous in the pot looks right once baked. Plan on about 3 cups (a 24-ounce jar) for 1 pound of pasta, plus a little pasta water to loosen it.
Cheese is the third. Shredded low-moisture mozzarella melts and browns well. Fresh mozzarella is lovely, but it releases water, so pat it dry or use it only as a partial swap. Parmesan adds the salty, nutty edge that makes the dish taste finished.
Ingredients
This serves 6 to 8.
| Ingredient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Ziti (or penne) | 1 pound |
| Marinara or tomato pasta sauce | 24 ounces (about 3 cups) |
| Whole-milk ricotta | 15 ounces |
| Large egg | 1 |
| Shredded low-moisture mozzarella | 2 cups (8 ounces), divided |
| Grated Parmesan | 1/2 cup, divided |
| Garlic, minced | 2 cloves |
| Dried Italian seasoning | 1 teaspoon |
| Salt and black pepper | to taste |
| Fresh basil or parsley | a handful, chopped |
| Olive oil | 1 tablespoon |
Optional for the meat version: 1 pound ground beef and half a diced onion.
How to Make Easy Baked Ziti
- Heat the oven. Set it to 350°F and lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Boil the pasta. Salt the water well. Cook the ziti about 2 minutes less than the package says. Scoop out half a cup of pasta water, then drain.
- Warm the garlic. In the same pot over medium heat, cook the garlic in the olive oil for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Mix the ricotta. In a bowl, stir the ricotta with the egg, half the Parmesan, the Italian seasoning, a pinch of salt and pepper. The egg helps the ricotta set into a soft, sliceable layer instead of turning grainy.
- Toss the pasta. Return the pasta to the pot with the sauce and a splash of the reserved water. Stir until every tube is coated.
- Assemble. Spread half the pasta in the dish. Dollop on half the ricotta mixture and sprinkle with a third of the mozzarella. Add the rest of the pasta, the remaining ricotta in spoonfuls, and top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
- Bake covered. Cover tightly with foil and bake 20 minutes.
- Bake uncovered. Remove the foil and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until the sauce bubbles at the edges and the cheese is golden in spots.
- Rest. Let it sit 10 minutes so the sauce thickens and the portions hold together. Scatter the herbs over the top.
Baked Ziti with Ricotta: When to Add It
There are two good ways to use ricotta, and both beat stirring it all the way into the sauce, which makes the dish pink and flat.
Layered. This is the method above. Half the pasta goes in, then ricotta, then the rest. You get a creamy middle and a cheesy top, and it is the closest thing to lasagna.
Dolloped on top. Toss all the pasta with sauce, pour it into the dish, drop spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture over the surface and press them in lightly. Cover with mozzarella. This is faster and gives you distinct pockets of ricotta in every serving.
Whichever you choose, keep the ricotta mixture cold from the fridge until you assemble. Season it more than seems necessary, because plain ricotta is mild and the pasta around it will be salted. Whole-milk ricotta tastes richer and bakes more smoothly than part-skim. If your tub looks watery, drain it in a fine strainer for 15 minutes first.
Should Baked Ziti Be Covered?
Yes, for part of the bake. Covering with foil traps steam, which heats the center through and keeps the pasta from drying out. Uncovering at the end lets the surface brown and the sauce on top concentrate.
At 350°F, the pattern is simple:
| Stage | Time | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Covered with foil | 20 minutes | Heats through, protects the pasta |
| Uncovered | 15 to 20 minutes | Browns the cheese, thickens the sauce |
| Rest | 10 minutes | Lets slices hold their shape |
If you assembled the dish cold from the refrigerator, add 10 to 15 minutes to the covered stage. A deep dish also takes longer than a wide one. For extra color at the end, broil on high for 1 to 2 minutes and watch closely, because mozzarella goes from golden to burnt quickly.
Hamburger Casserole Style: Ground Beef Baked Ziti
People searching for a hamburger casserole or ground beef casserole often want exactly this: pasta, a meaty sauce and plenty of melted cheese in one dish. Baked ziti is the easiest way to get there.
- Brown 1 pound of ground beef with half a diced onion in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it into small crumbles. Drain off most of the fat.
- Add the garlic and the Italian seasoning, then pour in the sauce. Simmer 5 to 10 minutes.
- Use this meat sauce in place of the plain sauce in the recipe above. Keep everything else the same.
Ground beef must reach a safe internal temperature. USDA guidance says ground meats should be cooked to a minimum of 160°F. Browning it fully in the skillet takes care of that before it ever meets the pasta, and the later bake adds more heat.
To make the cheesy hamburger version even more indulgent, fold half the mozzarella into the pasta before layering. If you like the idea of beef and pasta in a creamy melted-cheese sauce, our cheesy Velveeta beef bowtie pasta takes a different, stovetop-friendly route. For a pasta bake with meatballs, try the cheesy meatball rotini bake. If you prefer rice to pasta under that beefy, cheesy topping, our cheesy ground beef rice casserole uses the same comforting idea.
Meatless Baked Ziti
Baked ziti is naturally good without meat, because the cheese carries the dish. A few additions keep it from feeling thin:
- Spinach. Wilt 5 ounces of fresh spinach in a hot pan, squeeze out the water, chop it and mix it into the ricotta.
- Mushrooms. Sauté 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms until deeply browned and stir them into the sauce for a savory, almost meaty depth.
- Roasted vegetables. Zucchini, peppers or eggplant roasted until lightly charred add sweetness and body.
- White beans. A can of rinsed cannellini beans stirred into the pasta adds protein.
Read the label on your jarred sauce and your Parmesan if you cook for strict vegetarians, since traditional Parmesan is made with animal rennet. For a white-sauce spin on the same idea, our loaded veggie white lasagna is a good next dinner.
Baked Ziti Without Baking It
You can make a stovetop version in one pot in about 30 minutes. It will not have the browned top, but it is just as comforting.
- Cook the ziti until al dente, this time to the full package time. Drain.
- In the same pot, warm the sauce (and cooked ground beef if using) over medium heat.
- Stir in the pasta and 1 cup of the mozzarella until melted and stringy.
- Turn off the heat and fold in spoonfuls of the seasoned ricotta mixture, leaving it streaky. Skip the raw egg here, since it will not bake, and use plain ricotta with the Parmesan and seasoning.
- Top with the remaining mozzarella, cover the pot for 3 minutes so it melts, and add herbs.
The main difference is texture: stovetop ziti is looser and saucier, so use a little less pasta water. If you want some browning, slide the pot or a transferred portion under the broiler for a minute.
Make Ahead, Freeze and Reheat
Baked ziti is a very good make-ahead dish.
Refrigerate. Assemble the whole dish, cover tightly and chill it up to a day before baking. Add 10 to 15 minutes to the covered stage, and check that the center is hot.
Freeze unbaked. Wrap the assembled dish well in plastic and foil, or use a freezer-safe pan. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before baking as directed.
Freeze leftovers. Cool the pan, portion it into containers and freeze. The USDA says frozen leftovers can be reheated without thawing, in the oven or microwave for casseroles and combination dishes. The same page says food thawed in the microwave should be heated until it reaches 165°F on a food thermometer, and that food thawed in the refrigerator should be used within 3 to 4 days or can be refrozen.
For reheating, cover the portion with foil in a 350°F oven until bubbling in the center, or microwave with a splash of water. Use a thermometer to confirm 165°F in the middle, not just at the edges.
What Is Baked Ziti Called in Italian?
Italian-Americans and many Italian cooks use “ziti al forno” for the oven-baked dish, which literally means ziti from the oven. Baked pasta with this style exists across Italy under regional names, and the Italian-American red-sauce version with mozzarella and ricotta is its own thing. Ziti itself comes from the Italian word for brides or bridegrooms, a nod to its wedding-feast history.
Our Perspective: Why Simple Wins
We test baked pasta again and again, and the same lessons come up. The pans that disappoint are almost never missing a fancy ingredient. They are overcooked pasta, too little sauce or a ricotta layer that was never seasoned.
That is why we write recipes the way we do. Every one is original or fully rewritten by our editors for clarity, and the measurements, temperatures and times are double-checked. We put the recipe up front instead of burying it under a long story, because on a weeknight you need the amounts and the oven temperature, not a preamble.
Our view on baked ziti is this: choose a good jarred sauce, undercook the pasta, season the ricotta and cover the pan for the first half of the bake. Everything else, the sausage, the spinach, the extra cheese, is a variation on a sturdy base. Once you have the base, you can feed a family on Tuesday and a crowd on Saturday with the same technique.
— Susan Scortberg
More Baked Pasta to Try
If you want to go richer, our million dollar baked ziti layers in more creamy goodness. For a cheesy spaghetti-style bake, try the cheesy pasta bake. You can browse every pasta, casserole and weeknight idea in our recipe collections, each with step-by-step instructions and ratings from home cooks.
Tips for the Best Pan
- Salt the pasta water generously. It is the only chance to season the pasta itself.
- Warm the sauce first. Cold sauce stretches baking time and can leave the middle lukewarm.
- Shred your own mozzarella if you can. Bagged shreds are coated to prevent clumping and melt a little less smoothly.
- Do not skimp on the dish size. A 9x13-inch pan gives a good ratio of crisp top to creamy middle. A smaller, deeper pan needs more time.
- Rest before cutting. Ten minutes makes the difference between a clean square and a puddle.
- Season in layers. A pinch of salt in the ricotta, a little Italian seasoning in the sauce and Parmesan on top add up.
FAQ
How long do you bake baked ziti at 350°F?
Bake it covered with foil for about 20 minutes, then uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes. That is roughly 35 to 40 minutes in total. A dish assembled straight from the fridge needs 10 to 15 minutes more covered time.
Can I use penne instead of ziti?
Yes. Penne, rigatoni and rotini all work well. Cook any shape about 2 minutes short of the package time so it finishes in the oven without going soft.
Why is my baked ziti dry?
Usually the pasta was overcooked, or there was too little sauce. Use about 3 cups of sauce per pound of pasta, loosen it with a little pasta water, and keep the dish covered for the first half of the bake. Letting it rest 10 minutes also helps.
Can I make baked ziti ahead of time?
Yes. Assemble it, cover it and refrigerate up to a day, or freeze it and thaw in the refrigerator before baking. Reheat leftovers until they reach 165°F in the center.