This hearty but simple Baked Ziti is the ultimate comfort food! It combines ziti that’s tossed with an easy tomato sauce, creamy ricotta, and mozzarella then baked until bubbly and perfectly crisp. A must for holidays and gatherings!
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Everyone’s favorite baked pasta!
If you grew up in the New York area, it’s likely you’ve eaten baked ziti a few times.
Next to Sunday sauce and meatballs and pasta alla vodka, it’s one of the most widely served pastas at catered events and usually appears on holidays.
This baked ziti recipe does not include meat, so if you’re looking for something a little heartier, check out our baked penne with sausage, or pasta al forno, or the baked rice dish known as riso al forno.
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Pasta. Baked ziti is traditionally made with, you guessed it, ziti. But you can use any tubular pasta here such as penne or rigatoni.
- Cheese. This recipe calls for a combination of ricotta, block mozzarella (not fresh mozzarella), and Pecorino Romano. Feel free to sub parmesan for the Pecorino if you can’t find it.
- Tomatoes. I’m using canned whole plum tomatoes plus tomato paste for extra body.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make it
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Finely dice 1 medium onion, and mince 6 cloves of garlic. Chop 1/4 cup of packed basil leaves. Cube 2/3s of a block of whole milk mozzarella cheese and shred the remaining 1/3 and grate 1/2 cup of Pecorino Romano. Heat a large pot to medium heat with 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil, the onion, and a pinch of salt and cook until the onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for 2 to 3 more or until fragrant.
- Add 1/4 cup of tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes, stirring with a spoon. Add a splash of water and/or lower the heat if the paste starts to burn.
- Add 2 28-ounce cans of hand-crushed or blender-pulsed tomatoes and bring the sauce to a simmer. Cook for 15 minutes uncovered at a low simmer, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper as needed. Keep the sauce warm and set aside. Right before assembling the baked ziti, mix the basil into the sauce.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook 1 pound of ziti to 2 to 3 minutes less than al dente. In a large bowl combine 1 pound of ricotta and 3 cups of sauce.
- Add the pasta to the cheese and sauce mixture and mix until smooth and creamy.
- Coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with a thin layer of sauce and add 1/3 of the pasta mixture. Sprinkle 1/2 of the cubed mozzarella, 1/3 of the grated Pecorino Romano, and a thin layer of sauce.
- Repeat the process for each layer. For the top layer, add the remaining pasta, a bit more sauce, the shredded mozzarella, and the remaining Pecorino Romano.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and lightly brown. If a more crispy top is desired, broil for 1 to 2 minutes but watch carefully to prevent burning. Remove the baked ziti from the oven and let it sit for at least 10 minutes to settle. Serve with remaining sauce on the side, more grated cheese, and Italian bread. Enjoy!
Top tips
- Undercook the pasta! Fully boiled pasta will become mushy after spending 30 minutes in the oven.
- Sauce the bottom. Be sure to add a layer of sauce to the bottom of the baking dish to prevent sticking.
- Layer the pasta. Adding the pasta in layers with randomly scattered cubes of mozzarella cheese gives a better texture to the dish. It’s always fun to get a bigger bite of cheese in one spot vs. another.
More baked pasta recipes
If you love baked ziti here are a few more baked pasta recipes to try.
Classic Baked Ziti
Ingredients
For the sauce
- 1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1/4 cup (60g) tomato paste
- 2 28-ounce can plum tomatoes blender pulsed
- 1/4 packed cup basil leaves chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
For the baked ziti
- 1 pound (454g) ziti
- 1 pound (454) block whole milk mozzarella 2/3 cubed, 1/3 shredded
- 1 pound (454g) ricotta
- 1/2 cup (45g) Pecorino Romano grated
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Instructions
For the sauce
- Heat a large pot to medium heat with the olive oil and add the onion and a pinch of salt. Cook the onions until soft (about 10 minutes) then add the garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes more or until fragrant.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for 5 minutes, stirring with a spoon. Add a splash of water and/or lower the heat if the paste starts to burn. Add the plum tomatoes and bring the sauce to a simmer.
- Cook the sauce for 15 minutes uncovered at a low simmer, stirring frequently to avoid any sticking. Taste test the sauce and season with salt and pepper as required.
- Keep the sauce warm and set aside. Right before assembling the baked ziti mix the basil into the sauce.
For the baked ziti
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook the pasta to 2-3 minutes less than package instructions.
- In a large bowl mix the pasta with 3 cups of sauce and 1 pound of ricotta cheese. Mix until smooth and creamy.
- Coat a 9×13" baking dish with a thin layer of sauce. Add 1/3 of the pasta. Sprinkle 1/2 of the cubed mozzarella, 1/3 of the grated Pecorino Romano. Add a thin layer of sauce. Repeat for the next layer.
- On the top layer add the remaining pasta, a bit more sauce, the shredded mozzarella, and the remaining Pecorino Romano cheese.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly and lightly brown. If a more crispy top is desired, broil for 1-2 minutes, but watch carefully to avoid burning.
- Remove from the oven and let the baked ziti sit for at least 10 minutes to settle. Serve with remaining sauce on the side, more grated cheese, and Italian bread. Enjoy!
Notes
- Undercook the pasta! Fully boiled pasta will become mushy after baking for another 30 minutes, so shoot for 2-3 minutes less than the box instructions.
- 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of bulk Itlian sausage or ground beef can be added to this recipe. Simply brown the meat in step 1 of the sauce instructions then add the onions and so forth.
- Leftovers can be saved in the fridge for up to 3 days and can be reheated in the microwave or oven.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This recipe was originally published on March 27, 2020. It was completely updated on November 16, 2023.
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If I wanted to make this earlier in the day and refrigerate, would you suggest adding additional sauce to the dish when I’m making it? Sometimes pasta recipes will soak up the sauce and dry out a bit in the refrigerator. Thank you; looks delicious!
Hi Barbara, you can add a little more sauce, but you can also serve some extra sauce on the side for anyone who may want to add it after it’s baked.
Can I prepare it days before and how many and bake the day i serve it? Thanks
Hi Grace, yes, you can prepare this up to 2 days before and bake the day you serve. Or, you can make it even further in advance, freeze it, and bake the day you serve.
I’d like to double the recipe instead of making 2 separate ones will the time and temperate be different? Love your recipes!
The time and temp should stay the same but you’ll need a larger pan to accomodate the doubling.
Followed recipe precisely but it was so dry. There is not enough sauce for the amount of pasta and ricotta. Next time I would double the amount of tomato sauce.
Sorry to hear the recipe wasn’t what you were expecting. You can definitely add more sauce, or serve with sauce on the side if you like a really saucy baked ziti.
Great recipe. I was just wondering if it’s fresh basil or dried basil? I use dried basil this time because that’s what I had and it tasted fine but I want to check for next time.
Hi Kim, happy you enjoyed the recipe. It’s always fresh basil (see the photo of the ingredients) – we do not ever recommend using dried basil.
Help! My tomato sauce is too sweet! Is there a way that I can fix it?
Hi Debra, this is the first time we’ve heard someone write in about a tomato sauce being too sweet (it’s usually too acidic). You can try adding an acid like wine or lemon juice to see if that helps but other than that there isn’t much you can do.
I love your recipes and the step by step instructions! Also, I love the fact that when I look for a certain recipe you allow us to go DIRECTLY to the recipe without going thru so many steps to get there……..this is frustrating and I always give up before I finally get to the recipe. So keep up the good work and know you are greatly appreciated.!!
Merry & Blessed Christmas to you and yours!
We’re so happy to hear that, Lenore!
Hi Jim and Tara, question for the sauce.
You have onions listed, but the steps don’t say at what point to add the onions?
Could you please clarify.
Thanks,
Bob
Hi Bob, thanks for the comment and for pointing out that step was missing. I updated the recipe card – the onions get added in the first step before the garlic. Sorry about that!
Made this several times. It’s always a big hit.
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Bob! Thanks for the comment!
I made your baked ziti for a potluck cast party. It was a HUGE HIT. The only thing was, there weren’t any leftovers for me to polish off at home!
That’s great news, Maryjane! We’re so happy you all enjoyed!
Hi! If I wanted to use whole wheat pasta in this recipe, would that affect the cooking time? Thanks.
Hi Cathy, we haven’t tested the recipe with whole wheat pasta so can’t say for sure, but I’d think any impact would be minimal. I’d suggest you following the instructions on the package for the whole wheat pasta and boil it to 1-2 minutes less than instructions, same as you would for regular pasta.
I put it all together this morning and put it in the frig. I did not bake it. How long do I need to bake it when it’s cold.
Hi Marie, it could take anywhere from 45-60 minutes (or more) to reheat. Heat at 375-400 until warmed through.
It turned out great! Kids loved it!!
Hi Sharon, we’re so happy you enjoyed and appreciate your comment!
Hey Jim,
Just wanted to pop in and say I’m back to make this AGAIN. Great stuff, always.
Thanks,
Glenn
Hey Glenn, glad to hear you’re making it again! Hope you enjoy and thanks for the comment!