Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce

Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce is an easy and delicious dinner recipe using ground beef and mozzarella cheese. The ultimate comfort food, you don’t want to miss this classic Italian recipe.

Nothing brings people together like a delicious meal. This Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce fits the bill for sure! Easy to make and so tasty, it’s the perfect meal for a casual get together, Sunday supper, or weeknight dinner. Even my Italian grandmother approves of this dish!

The flavors of this Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce mimic lasagna, but is a lot easier to make. You can prepare the entire dish ahead of time and just bake before serving. The sauce is so delicious by itself you could could even make a double batch and freeze some for later to serve over spaghetti!

I like to serve this dish for brunches, birthday parties, and showers. I’ve also done this for baptisms since you could cook it and keep it warm in the oven while you are away.

Simple and delicious, try out this recipe and be sure to comment below!

How to Make Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce

To make the sauce, cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium high heat until cooked through. Use a wooden spoon or angled silicone spatula, like this Zyliss Silicone Stir Fry Spatula from Amazon, to break up the meat while it cooks. Add in the onions and cook until softened. Stir in the garlic and seasonings and cook for a minute longer.

Pour in the tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for at least 30 minutes. The sauce needs time to develop flavor, so the longer you let it cook the better! But if you are short on time, half an hour works great.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a separate pot, cook the ziti, penne, or rigatoni pasta. It doesn’t matter what specific type of pasta you use, any tube-shaped pasta works. Add the sauce to the pasta and stir in the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.

Pour into a large casserole dish or 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle on remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake for 30 minutes covered. If desired, remove foil and broil for 2-3 minutes to get golden and bubbly. Let sit 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

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Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce

Easy to make, this classic Italian recipe is the ultimate dinner comfort food. 

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword baked ziti

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 10 servings

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cup diced onion about 1/2 an onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons Italiain seasoning (like McCormick)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 28 ounce can tomato sauce
• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 pound penne pasta
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Instructions

• Heat in the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat. Crumble in the ground beef and cook until no longer pink, using a spoon to break up the meat. Add in the onions and cook for another 5 minutes, until onions are softened. Stir in the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes and bring to a low simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. 
• While the sauce cooks, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Boil the penne short of 2 minutes of the recommended cooking time so that it is very al dente. Drain the pasta. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, meat sauce, parmesan, and 1 1/2 cups of mozzarella. Toss to combine and pour into casserole dish or 9 x 13 baking pan. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. 
• Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes until bubbly. If desired, broil for 2-3 minutes to brown top slightly. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving. 

Notes

Prepare ziti up to a day in advance and bake prior to serving. Add 10-20 minutes to baking time to ensure that the ziti is properly heated through. 

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