Baked Ziti with sausage for the ultimate Feed a Crowd dinner.

Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage

If you love the classic flavors of lasagna but all those layers can feel like more work than you are up for, make BAKED ZITI! It tastes just like lasagna and it’s so easy! This is one of our favorite ways to feed a crowd. Add a big tossed salad and garlic bread, and dinner is served! This is also a great make ahead meal. Make it the night before and keep it covered in the fridge and bake it the next day.

What you need to make Baked Ziti:

* 1 pound ziti or penne pasta
* 1 (32 oz.) jar marinara sauce
* 1 pound cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
* 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
* 1 ½ cups grated Parmesan cheese
* ½ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped plus more for garnish
* 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
* 1 cup heavy cream
* 1 teaspoon cornstarch
* 8 ounces mozzarella cheese balls , cut in half.
* Italian sausage, optional
* 1 tablespoon kosher salt (for the pasta water)

How to make Baked Ziti with sausage:

Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a medium sized frying pan set to medium high heat brown the sausage. When completely broken into small pieces and cooked through place the cooked sausage on a plate lined with paper towels to drain any excess grease.
Bring 3 quarts of water to boil in a large pot over high heat. When the water is boiling, stir in the 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the pasta and stir occasionally until the pasta cooks to al dente: soft but is not cooked through… about 8-10 minutes (do not over boil). Drain the pasta and leave it in a colander until ready to use. At this point, do not wash or rinse out the large pot.

Whisk together the cottage cheese, eggs, basil, black pepper and Parmesan cheese in medium bowl and set aside.

Add the heavy cream to the pot where you cooked the pasta and cook over medium heat. Add in the cornstarch and whisk to combine and cook until thickened for a few minutes. Turn the heat off and add in the cottage cheese mixture along with 1 cup of the marinara sauce and stir to combine. Add in the Italian sausage (if using sausage). Add in the cooked pasta and stir to coat with sauce.
Pour the pasta mixture into 9x13inch baking dish and top with the remaining marinara sauce over the pasta. Spread the sauce out over the top and then dot the top with the mozzarella balls cut in half. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove the foil and broil the top for a few minutes until the cheese starts to turn golden and bubble. Cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. Garnish with more fresh basil if available. Serve warm.

Baked Ziti Freezer Meal

Baked Ziti makes a great freezer meal! You can easily make a double batch: bake one and freeze one for later. When you use the foil baking dishes you don’t have to worry about one of your dishes in the freezer. It also makes a great meal to take to a friend who just had a baby, or just needs a little help feeding her family. We love using the foil baking dishes because then there is no need for them to do dishes or return your dish back to you.
When ready to enjoy, just thaw it in the fridge overnight and bake as directed (25 minutes at 375F).

Baked Ziti is a great make ahead meal:

It’s always nice to know exactly what you’ll be having for dinner hours in advance. This recipe for baked ziti is a great dinner to make in advance, and then just keep it covered with foil in the fridge until you are ready to bake. You can even make it the night before.

Easy Substitutions for Baked Ziti:

-No Cottage Cheese…try it with ricotta cheese
-Want a meatless meal? Don’t add the Italian Sausage
-Can’t find Penna or Ziti pasta? Try it with rigatoni or farfalle pasta

It’s one of our favorite Italian dinners, I hope you enjoy it soon!

Baked Ziti

The ultimate easy way to feed a crowd. Baked Ziti is pure Italian comfort food. It's also a great make ahead meal, make it the night before and bake it up the next day or freeze it for later.

Ingredients

1 pound ziti or penne pasta
1 32oz. jar marinara sauce
1 pound cottage cheese (or ricotta cheese)
2 large eggs lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups Parmesan cheese grated (Kraft brand)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves chopped +more for garnish
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon cornstarch
8 ounces mozzarella cheese balls cut in half
1 pound Italian sausage *optional
1 tablespoon sea salt (for the pasta water)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F.
In a medium sized frying pan set to medium high heat brown the sausage. When completely broken into small pieces and cooked through place the cooked sausage on a plate lined with paper towels to drain any excess grease.
Bring 3 quarts of water to boil in a large pot over high heat. When the water is boiling, stir in the 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the pasta and stir occasionally until the pasta cooks to al dente: soft but is not cooked through… about 8-10 minutes (do not over boil the pasta). Drain the pasta and leave it in a colander until ready to use. At this point, do not wash or rinse out the large pot.
Whisk together the cottage cheese, eggs, basil, black pepper and Parmesan cheese in a medium bowl and set aside.
Add the heavy cream to the pot where you cooked the pasta and cook over medium heat. Add in the cornstarch and whisk to combine and cook until thickened for a few minutes. Turn the heat off and add in the cottage cheese mixture and 1 cup of the marinara sauce, stir to combine. Add in the Italian sausage (if using sausage). Add in the cooked pasta and stir to coat with the sauce.
Pour the pasta mixture into a 9x13inch baking dish and top with the remaining marinara sauce over the pasta. Spread the sauce out over the top and then dot the top with the mozzarella balls cut in half. Cover the baking dish with foil and bake for 25 minutes.
Remove the foil and broil the top for a few minutes until the cheese starts to turn golden and bubble. Cool for 5-10 minutes before serving. Garnish with more fresh basil if available. Serve warm.