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!
Editor’s Note: Originally published on March 27, 2020. It has been completely updated with expanded information, and improved process steps and photos.
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, both of which contain meat.
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.
If you’ve enjoyed this Baked Ziti Recipe or any recipe on this site, give it a 5-star rating and tell us about it in the comments below.
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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
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.
This recipe was originally published on March 27, 2020. It was completely updated on November 16, 2023.
This past Sunday my grandkids (5, 3 and one year old) were at the house and I set them up to build, bake and enjoy their own pizzas. I had a variety of toppings and three kinds of cheeses to choose….Mozzarella, Feta and shredded Gruyere. It was a great success but…I had quite a large assortment of components left over. So, I went to the website and printed out the Meatless Baked Ziti recipe. I followed the instructions however, I used Rigatoni and added leftover sautéed green and yellow peppers, cooked sweet Italian sausage and…the Mozzarella and the Gruyere (no Feta)! As Jim always says, “do it your way”. One of the secrets to the recipe, IMHO was mixing the sauce, Romano and the Ricotta first. I am sure that whenever I had eaten baked Ziti in the past, the ingredients had been added as layers…not as good. I dropped the dish off yesterday and, this evening the kids each sucked down three helpings.
I love the podcast and the YouTube features. As with you two, my Italian roots are on my mother’s side….both great grandparents were from Avellino (Teora and Ariano di Puglia). Oh…also, ignore the haters. Everyone wants to be Italian!
Hi Jack, thanks so much for the comment and sharing your story. Really appreciate you following along and happy to hear you’re enjoying the YouTube and podcast as well!
Hey Jimmy I have been a fan of yours since you started watched your kids grow up on YouTube with you LOL. I’m about to make double batch of your Sunday sauce and a double batch of your baked ziti and a double batch of your manicotti. I’m from Jersey so there’s one store that is around here cuz I moved to Pottsville PA ugh. That sells maggio’s I have a whole milk ricotta whole milk mozzarella if you haven’t I know you’ve heard of maggio’s and ricotta out there. And if you don’t know already what kind of sausage I’m using do you know what’s going to be maglio’s I know it’s going to be amazing thank you for the recipe and thanks for all the content it’s awesome
Hi Frankie, thanks for the comment and hope you enjoy the food. Sounds like you’ve got a great feast ahead of you!
Very easy and tasty, great for parties
Hi Antionette, thanks for the comment and so happy you enjoyed!
This recipe is so fantastic and easy! Love how the from scratch sauce comes together so quickly and I don’t have to make a batch of sunday sauce ahead of time. This is such a crowd pleaser and it’s so easy to make a day ahead of time and pop in the oven before guests arrive. There is usually enough sauce left over to spoon over some meatballs. Thanks for another great one!
Hi Natalie, I’m so happy you enjoyed the baked ziti and really appreciate the comment!
Can you use tomato sauce and no cloves of garlic, or black pepper
medium onion?
Hi Elena, sure, you can omit the garlic, black pepper, and onion if you’d like. It won’t have the same taste, but you can season it to your liking.
Help! Jim: I’m making your baked ziti with the homemade meat sauce (not meatballs) today (Saturday) for my retirement home’s St. Joseph’s Table) at noon tomorrow
( Sunday).
1) Can I put it all together tonight and keep it in the fridge to bake just before taking it to the hall at noon? We’ll have the blessing first, so eat maybe 1p.m.
2) I’m thinking of bringing extra sauce in my slow cooker to warm it up when served to be sure it doesn’t dry out. Or just add more. No microwave or oven available there. What do you think?
I’m kind of nervous. I’m Italian and have been cooking for well over 50 years, but haven’t cooked for a crowd for some time and this is a new group.Thank you!
Hi Tess, yes, you can put it all together and then bake it tomorrow. It may take a little longer to bake since it will all be cold from the fridge, so just take that into account. And yes, I think the slow cooker to warm the sauce sounds like a good idea. Hope you all enjoy!
Delicious! My entire family said “Don’t lose that recipe Mom!” Thanks Jim love your recipes.
Hi Nan, thanks for the comment and so happy you’re enjoying the recipes!
Delicious and fun to make. Perfect for a weeknight dinner, potluck, or meal train delivery!
Hi Elizabeth, thanks for the comment and so happy you enjoyed making this!
perfection and simplicity
Hi Maggie, so happy you enjoyed this and thanks for the comment and review!
Unbelievably delicious.
Thanks for the comment, Ell, and so happy you enjoyed this one!
Hi Jim,
Love your website. I have all recipes printed and now have your cookbook. Can I assemble the baked ziti ahead and then cook from room temperature? Don’t want to ruin the dish…..any suggestions?
Hi Cheryl, thanks so much and glad you’re enjoying the recipes. I don’t have a cookbook out yet, but hoping by the end of 2023. Yes, you can assemble the baked ziti ahead of time and then cook at room temp. Hope you enjoy!
You’re the Best!!!!
Thanks for the comment, Lori! So happy you enjoyed this one.
Is ok to put ground beef on the sauce
Hi Antonina, yes, you can put ground beef in the sauce.
I’m making this now. Should be done in 20 minutes
We hope you enjoyed it, Diane!
Every recipe I have made, and there have been many, is delicious and easy to follow with ingredients easy to find. My mother, now 91, learned similar recipes from her mother born in Italy, but never wrote them down. Now I feel like I can duplicate them perfectly! They lived in South Philadelphia!!
Hey Tina. I’m glad you’re enjoying all the recipes. I try to make and share the recipes that people from the east coast will know and love. Thanks for letting me know that I’m moving in the right direction!
Every recipe of yours that I’ve tried has been yummy! So easy to follow . Brings me back to my New York days. Thank you!
Hi Ricki. Glad you’re enjoying all the recipes. Thanks for the comment!
Such a great recipe, one of my favorite’s.
Thanks very much, Cindy!
This this the 3rd recipe of yours that I have made, I really appreciate how you present the ingredients and so easy to follow, even when it’s not exact. This dish was definitely the easiest to follow and it came out perfect, served with some warm Italian bread and a nice big salad.
Hi Nancy. Really glad you enjoyed it and I hope my winning streak continues, lol.
Just found this video ,brings me back home to Brooklyn NewYork at Italian grandmas house and my moms .
Thanks! Glad I can bring you back. Most of my recipes focus on the food native New Yorkers will know and love.
You cook so much like my family, Can you make Italian wedding soup.
Hey thanks! Here is Italian wedding soup: https://www.sipandfeast.com/italian-wedding-soup/