Baked ziti is a perfect family friendly meal that is filling and delicious. It can be made ahead and baked to creamy, cheesy perfection whenever you are ready. This is one of our favorite casseroles of all time.
Nothing says delicious quite like baked pasta. This easy baked ziti recipe is always popular at our dinner table and those of our friends as well.
It can be assembled ahead of time if you’d like, making it a great make and take. So it’s perfect for bringing to families with new babies as well!
Of course you can also make and bake it all in one foul swoop, then dinner is ready in under an hour. It is a great way to fill everyone’s belly and enjoy every bite.
After taking a bite of this baked ziti, Little Dude’s first reaction was this is a lot like lasagna. In a lot of ways that is true.
Like lasagna, it is a layered baked pasta dish with lots of sauce and cheese. However, it feels different eating it. There is something about the tubular ziti noodles that make it extra fun.
Making 3 Cheese Baked Ziti
There are a few things about it that were surprising to me the first time I made it. The first was that it is difficult to find actual ziti at my grocery.
They have a thousand shapes of pasta, everything from the spaghetti rings to make spaghettios to the classics. But somehow despite baked ziti being such a popular recipe, there is no ziti to be found.
Ziti is a smooth tubular pasta. Though the dish very specifically mentions it, don’t despair if you can’t find it either.
I actually ordered some just so I could show you the correct pasta in the pictures, but have made the recipe tons of time with other pasta shapes. Usually I stick to larger tubular pasta, but you can use whatever you’d like.
Rigatoni is my usual fallback and last time I shared this recipe that is what I used. Penne is another great tube shaped pasta option.
The second big surprise with the recipe was the use of sour cream. Not ricotta cheese, not cottage cheese… sour cream.
It sounds so strange and still throws me off a little because I don’t put sour cream in any other Italian inspired pasta recipe that I can think of. Somehow it just works though, so you should give it a try.
A Perfect Make Ahead Meal
One of the reasons I love this recipe is how easy it is to put together. Even better, it is almost no more work to make two of them at once.
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That is one of the many reasons it is a favorite of mine to bring to friends who are new moms. Or you can just make one for now and freeze one for later.
It can be assembled ahead, covered and refrigerated until it’s time to eat. Then just let it sit at room temperature while the oven preheats and add ten to fifteen minutes to the bake time.
There is no work other than popping it in the oven. Give them some garlic bread and a bag of salad and dinner is done.
To avoid drying the pasta out, I would bake it covered for the first half hour. Then remove the foil and let it finish baking open to help brown the cheese.
Eating it one handed is easy enough too. You can stab a noodle and eat it while comforting baby.
You can also make it meatless easily enough. Just leave the ground beef out, or add in sauteed veggies like zucchini and mushrooms instead.
I have made it for Catholic friends during Lent and it was still a hit. It is easy to customize to your needs and tastes.
You could also make an extra and freeze it for later. Just place the frozen casserole in the refrigerator the night before you plan to eat it to let it thaw.
Again, you will want to let it sit at room temperature while the oven preheats and let it bake a little longer than you would if you made it fresh. Much like the refrigerated version, I would cover it with some aluminum foil for the first half hour of bake time.
Once the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted it should be done. Give it a few minutes of rest and it is ready to serve and enjoy!
Do you have a favorite make and take meal? Or maybe a comfort food specialty that you love to make during the cold weather?
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If you love baked pasta dishes, but hate the prep, check out my no boil pasta casserole. You don’t have to boil the noodles or brown the sausage. Just layer it all in the pan and let it bake to perfection.
You can also make baked ziti without boiling the pasta or browning the meat. No boil baked ziti is another option for when you are too tired for the prep.
Check out my full collection of casserole recipes for more great filling meal ideas.
3 Cheese Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry ziti pasta
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 48 ounces spaghetti sauce 2 jars
- 6 ounces provolone cheese sliced
- 1½ cups sour cream
- 6 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
- 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and butter a 9×13" baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook 1 pound dry ziti pasta until al dente. Drain and set aside.
- In a large skillet, brown 1 pound lean ground beef seasoned with ½ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon pepper and ½ teaspoon garlic powder over medium heat. Add diced 1 onion and cook until translucent.
- Stir in the 48 ounces spaghetti sauce and simmer 15 minutes.
- Layer in the prepared casserole dish as follows: ½ of the ziti, ½ of the meat sauce mixture, 6 ounces provolone cheese, 1½ cups sour cream, remaining ziti, remaining sauce mixture, then 6 ounces mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the top with 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until cheeses are melted. (If you made it ahead of time, pull casserole out of the refrigerator while the oven preheats and bake 45 minutes or so or until heated through and bubbly.)
Notes
- If you can’t find ziti, any tubular shape of pasta will work. Rigatoni and penne are great options.
- Feel free to use Italian sausage or ground turkey in place of the hamburger. It is delicious both ways.
Video
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Is there a particular brand of spaghetti sauce you like? I have never bought jarred spaghetti sauce before.
I think they are all pretty decent. Some folks have a strong brand preference, but my family is happy with pretty much any of them.
I love this ingredient list! Looks delicious!
Thank you so much!
Definitely a meal the whole family would love! PINNED!
It's a hit with our clan, that's for sure! Thank you!
I have never tried sour cream in my baked ziti; this sounds like an amazing dish. Pinned.
I thought it was a little strange when MiMi shared her recipe with me as well, but it's soooo good!
Delicious!! This is what I like eating during the week – simple and tasty! Thanks for sharing at the What's for Dinner party!
That's how we like to eat too! Not too fancy, but super delicious!
I realize I replied before but I have since made this and soooo good! I love that Mimi kind of rhymes with Ziti!!! All over this! Happy weekend beautiful!
YAYAYAY! I am glad you liked it, that makes my heart smile <3
Ziti is always a hit at our house too, in fact I recently made a batch, both of your versions sound wonderful, love the addition of spinach in the meat free one! Thanks for sharing at What'd You Do This Weekend?!
It is definitely one of those dinners that will be eaten without complaints. I don't know why I don't make it more!
I had a friend bring us something like this after the birth of our second child and it was delicious! I don't know why I never think to make dishes like these myself. Yum.
It really is perfect for dropping off to friends with new little ones! Maybe you'll have to put it into your regular rotation.
This sounds perfect for our family. I can use gluten free noodles, so that solves my problem. My daughter is also a vegetarian so I'm going to try the version you made for Ro. We love pasta too and I love making enough that we have leftovers for another dinner or a few lunches. This looks perfect!
With enough cheese the meat eaters don't miss the meat, so it should be a hit all the way around. I hope you all love it! Thanks so much, Nikki!
I love baked ziti and look at all that cheese. You can never have too much cheese. This looks really, really great.
I'm not sure there is a thing as too much cheese! Thank you!