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Baked Ziti Recipe

Creamy, saucy and delicious this Baked Ziti Recipe is comfort at its best. Mixed with ground beef, layered with cheese and baked this is the perfect weeknight meal.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Total Time35 minutes
Course: Main Course, Pasta
Cuisine: American
Servings: 5
Calories: 849kcal

Ingredients

  • 16 ounces uncooked ziti or penne pasta
  • 1 pound ground beef
  • 16 ounces tomato sauce
  • 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • ½ cup cream cheese warmed
  • 2 cups freshly shredded mozzarella cheese divided
  • ½ cup freshly shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions

  • Cook the pasta according to package directions.
  • Meanwhile preheat your oven to 350°F and set aside a 9x13 baking pan
  • Heat up a pan over medium high heat and cook the ground beef until it's no longer pink, breaking it up with a spoon
  • Drain excess liquid and add all ingredients for the sauce to the pan.
  • Stir and cook for 3-4 minutes until the sauce is starting to bubble
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Next add the sauce over the cooked pasta and give it a good toss.
  • Add half of the noodles and sauce to the baking pan.
  • Spread the cream cheese evenly over the pasta.
  • Top with the parmesan and around ⅓ of the mozzarella cheese.
  • Lastly add the second half of the noodles, top with remaining mozzarella and bake for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted
  • Serve hot with fresh basil if desired.

Notes

  1. Ziti is normally used in this recipe but you can also use penne or rigatoni as well.
  2. Make sure that your cheese is freshly shredded, this helps it melt better.
  3. Warm up your cream cheese in microwave before spreading over pasta.
  4. You can swap out pasta sauce or marinara sauce if you'd like.
  5. If you like the casserole to be more juicy/saucy feel free to adjust the amount of tomato sauce and spices.
  6. This can be frozen, see my tips above.

Nutrition

Calories: 849kcal | Carbohydrates: 77g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 40g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 132mg | Sodium: 1089mg | Potassium: 863mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1095IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 432mg | Iron: 5mg