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American · Italian

Baked ziti

Non-vegetarian

The Italian-American Sunday bake: ziti tossed in tomato sauce with Italian sausage, layered with herby ricotta and mozzarella and baked until bubbling.

Baked ziti is an American pasta dish from United States, ready in about 1 hour 30 minutes and made with dried pasta, tomato passata and ricotta. It serves 8 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking
Baked ziti with tomato sauce under melted cheese, with breadsticks
Photo: Michael Rivera / Wikimedia Commons · CC-BY-SA-4.0
Prep
20 min
Cook
1 h
Rest
10 min
Total
1 h 30 min
Serves
8
Level
Easy
Calories
487

Ingredients

8 servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Heat the oven (opens in a new tab) to 190 °C (fan 170 °C). Brown the sausage (opens in a new tab) in the oil over medium-high heat, breaking it up, for 6–8 minutes until cooked through. Add the onion (opens in a new tab) and cook 5 minutes, then the garlic (opens in a new tab) for 1 minute.

    Onions frying golden in a pan
    How it looks · Photo: Magda Ehlers on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Add the passata, oregano (opens in a new tab), salt and pepper (opens in a new tab) and simmer for 15 minutes.

    • 15 min
    • medium-low heat

  3. Step 3

    Cook the ziti in salted water for 2 minutes less than the packet time, drain and toss with two-thirds of the sauce. Mix the ricotta (opens in a new tab) with the egg (opens in a new tab), half the Parmesan (opens in a new tab) and the basil (opens in a new tab).

  4. Step 4

    Layer half the pasta (opens in a new tab) in a baking dish (opens in a new tab), dot with the ricotta (opens in a new tab) mixture and half the mozzarella (opens in a new tab), then add the rest of the pasta, the remaining sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan (opens in a new tab).

  5. Step 5

    Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes, then uncover and bake 15 minutes more until bubbling and browned. Rest 10 minutes before serving.

About this dish

Origin
Italian-American communities, especially New York and New Jersey, United States · Commonly attributedDescends from southern Italian pasta al forno.More food from United States
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Pasta · Casseroles & bakes · Main courses
Cooking method
Oven-baked, Simmered, Boiled
Taste
savoury, creamy, tangy
Diet
No nut ingredients · High-protein
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Beef-free · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
Without the optional extras: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo), Eggetarian, Pescatarian, Pork-freeWorked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Make-ahead · Freezer-friendly · Batch cooking · Child-friendly
Cook more with
Dried pasta · Tomato passata · Ricotta · Mozzarella · Onion · Garlic
Techniques
Baking · Boiling · Simmering

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella
  • Contains: Eggsfrom dried pasta, egg
  • Contains: Wheatfrom dried pasta, pork sausage
  • Contains: Glutenfrom dried pasta, pork sausage
  • May contain: Sulphitesfrom pork sausage

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

487 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 258 g · recipe makes 8

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 19%
  • Carbohydrate 46%
  • Fat 35%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy487 kcal189 kcal
Protein23.2 g9 g
Carbohydrate56.4 g21.9 g
Net carbohydrate52.6 g20.4 g
Sugars6.5 g2.5 g
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre3.8 g1.5 g
Fat18.9 g7.3 g
Saturated fat9.5 g3.7 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol78 mg30 mg
Sodium——
Salt equivalent——
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
688 mg
Calcium
390 mg
Iron
3.9 mg
Magnesium
73 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
166 µg
Vitamin C
11 mg
Vitamin D
0.4 µg
Vitamin B12
1.3 µg
Folate (DFE)
241 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: pork sausage.
  • Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): salt, black pepper — so sodium is shown as unknown.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Common mistakes

  • Fully cooking the pasta before baking — it turns soft.

Food safety

  • Cook sausage through to 71 °C / 160 °F before layering.

Storage

  • Keeps 4 days in the fridge; freeze unbaked for up to 2 months.

Reheating

  • Bake from chilled, covered, at 180 °C for 30 minutes.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Used in steps 1, 2, 3, 4

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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