Name: Easy Baked Ziti with Ricotta
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Ingredients: 16 ounces ziti pasta; 1 pound ground beef; 1 tablespoon butter; 1/2 onion, chopped; 4 cloves garlic, minced; 26 ounces spaghetti sauce; 1 teaspoon onion powder; 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning; 15 ounces ricotta cheese; 1 large egg; 1-2 teaspoons sugar; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated; 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded

Jump to Recipe

Easy Baked Ziti with Ricotta is easy to make, ready is under an hour and classic Italian American comfort food! Made using tender ziti pasta, your favorite jar of spaghetti sauce, a creamy layer of ricotta cheese, ground beef and a generous sprinkling of mozzarella, this easy baked ziti recipe is everyone’s favorite dinner!

Easy baked ziti with ricotta is my all-time favorite deconstructed lasagna recipe. It’s the perfect twist on a classic lasagna casserole.

Less work, less stress and no fighting with broken lasagna noodles.

Instead of using lasagna noodles, I make my baked ziti using tender ziti pasta mixed with my favorite jar of store-bought spaghetti sauce.

Then I add in ground beef, a layer of creamy ricotta cheese and a sprinkling of mozzarella and you have the ultimate comfort food meal!

Baked ziti is the perfect busy weeknight meal or binging out watching Netflix all weekend.

Super easy to throw together and ready to eat in under an hour, this is the perfect easy comfort food recipe.

It’s also a great make ahead meal and it freezes beautifully.

That translates into you being able to have baked ziti any time you want! Just grab it out of your freezer and commence to eating!

Why Baked Ziti?

This baked ziti with ricotta recipe is pretty basic and easy to make. There are no fancy ingredients, no hours of prep work, no complicated steps.

Go find your favorite store-bought spaghetti sauce. CHECK! While you are in your pantry, grab that box of ziti pasta and an onion from the bottom shelf. CHECK!

Got some ground beef? CHECK! Move the pickles out of the way and grab the ricotta cheese and mozzarella cheese from your top refrigerator shelf. CHECK CHECK!!

Are you seeing this? We are basically already shoving the food in our faces at this point. This is such an easy recipe to make!!!!

Reasons to Love This Recipe

This baked ziti with ricotta recipe makes a 9 x 13 pan. Perfect for feeding a crowd and (almost) guarantees leftovers the next day.
Classic baked ziti is the ultimate comfort food. Tender pasta, ground beef, your favorite sauce and tons of gooey cheese!
This deconstructed lasagna recipe is ready to feed your face in under and hour. That’s impressive… especially when you are hungry!!
There are tons of different ways to make baked ziti but THIS recipe is easy, uncomplicated and super family friendly. Kids inhale it and ask for seconds!
Perfect make ahead meal to take to potlucks, parties and get togethers. Also freezes beautifully so you can always have it on hand.
This baked ziti recipe is also perfect to take to someone who just needs a comforting meal. Perfect for welcoming a new baby, to help someone who isn’t feeling well or someone who just needs a little extra love!
You can’t go wrong (ever!) with baked ziti! It’s a classic Italian dish that everyone loves and even the leftovers never last!

To make this Easy Baked Ziti with ricotta recipe, you will need:

Ziti pasta
Onion
Garlic
Store-bought jar of spaghetti sauce
Ricotta cheese
Egg
Sugar
Mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese
Ground beef
Seasoning
Butter

How to Make Baked Ziti

Baked ziti is super easy to make but there a few steps.. they are easy steps, I promise.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and lightly spray a 9 x 13 pan with nonstick spray.

Start with the ziti pasta. Boil a large pot of salted water and cook the pasta until it’s almost al dente. Drain the pasta 1-2 minutes before the recommended time is done and set aside.

While your pasta is cooking, brown your ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Drain the fat and set the meat aside.

Using the same skillet, melt butter and add chopped onion. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes.

Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute before stirring in spaghetti sauce, onion powder, salt and Italian seasoning. Reduce heat and let simmer.

In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese, egg, sugar and 1/2 of the Parmesan cheese. Add a pinch of salt too.

Add the ground beef and ziti noodles into the spaghetti sauce and stir well to combine.

Pour half of the ziti / sauce mixture into the prepared pan and then drop spoonfuls of ricotta cheese on top.

Gently spread the ricotta over the pasta to create an even layer.

Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese on top before adding the remaining pasta and spreading even.

Add the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese to the top of the baked ziti casserole.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Pro Tips for Baked Ziti with Ground Beef

Adding a bit of sugar to your ricotta mixture sweetens it up a bit. It plays perfectly against the robust flavors of this baked ziti casserole.
No one likes shredding cheese by hand. Feel free to grab a brick of mozzarella cheese and slice by hand instead of shredding.
Add a bit of crushed red pepper flakes to your sauce to add a bit of a spicy kick.
This recipe balances the perfect amount of sauce to pasta ratio. However, if you like a super saucy Italian casserole, feel free to add more sauce than the recommended amount suggested.
Grab a spaghetti sauce that also has Italian sausage in it for double the flavor.

How Long Do You Cook Baked Ziti

You want your baked ziti casserole to be warmed through and the cheese to be melted and bubbly. If your oven is being used for other dishes, here are some cooking conversions when making baked ziti with ricotta:

350°F for 30-35 minutes
375°F for 25-30 minutes
400°F for 20-25 minutes

Ways to Make It Just For You

Now, everyone who makes baked ziti has their own way of doing it. This baked pasta dish is easy to adapt to your liking. Here are some twists and substitutions to this classic baked ziti recipe:

Cheese: Not a fan of ricotta cheese? Substitute the ricotta with a bechamel white sauce, cottage cheese or even mascarpone cheese. This baked ziti recipe calls for Mozzarella cheese but you could also use an Italian blend or mix in provolone, as well.
Meat: This baked ziti with ricotta recipe is made using ground beef to ensure the perfect family friendly meal but feel free to use Italian sausage, ground turkey or chicken instead.
Meatless: Adding meat to this easy baked ziti is not mandatory. Want to enjoy this ziti with ricotta casserole without meat? Leave it out!!
Sauce: Make your life as easy or as full as you like. I prefer to make this recipe using a jar of my favorite store-bought spaghetti sauce. It helps me get this baked ziti casserole on my dinner table in under an hour. If you prefer to use homemade sauce in this deconstructed lasagna recipe, GO FOR IT!!
Pasta: Ziti is a smooth, tubular shaped pasta and pretty easy to find in most grocery stores but you can always substitute ziti noodles with penne or rigatoni in this recipe. Rigatoni probably the closest to ziti, the only difference being that it has ridges and is a little bit shorter and wider.
Vegetables: If you are looking to move away from classic baked ziti with ricotta, you can certainly add in vegetables. Try adding some spinach to your spaghetti sauce. You can also roast off some broccoli, zucchini, broccoli rob or eggplant then add that into your sauce.

Make Ahead, Reheating and Freezing

Make Ahead: You can make Baked Ziti ahead of time! Simply follow the instructions below and once your baked ziti casserole has been put together, cover and move it to the refrigerator instead of baking it.

When you are ready to bake, move to a preheated oven and add 15 minutes or so to the bake time. Bake until heated through and cheese is melted.

To Reheat Baked Ziti: To reheat baked ziti, you can pop it into the microwave for 1-2 minutes or move it back to oven at 300 degrees until warmed through.

To Freeze: assemble this easy baked ziti recipe in a disposable aluminum pan or freezer friendly casserole dish. Cover with aluminum foil and/or plastic wrap.

Move your ziti to the freezer where it can live for up to 2 months. When needed, defrost in the refrigerator for 24 hours before baking as instructed above.

You can also move baked ziti leftovers to the freezer. Simply portion out individual portions. Simply reheat in the microwave for an easy dinner or quick lunch!

What to Serve with Ziti

More Easy Italian Dishes

Enjoy!

If you’ve tried this Easy Baked Ziti recipe, please don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you it came out in the comments below.

Share a photo of your creation on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM or save it to PINTEREST and tag #AWICKEDWHISK. I can’t wait to see your work!