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Introducing cheesy, baked ziti with ground sausage, ricotta, and mozzarella. It’s hearty, cheesy, super filling, and comes together in a SINGLE cast iron skillet.
YES. All you need is one cast iron pan. No pre-boiling of the ziti is required thanks to the simple hack of cooking/baking the pasta right within the marinara sauce. I’m REALLY fired up about this recipe because it’s incredibly easy to make and the best baked ziti I’ve ever had.
How to Make Baked Ziti
This true baked ziti recipe is broken down into two simple steps. Browning the sweet Italian sausage on the stovetop in the skillet. And baking the ziti in the oven in a watered-down marinara sauce for about 30 minutes.
The sauce is enhanced with minced garlic, fresh basil, and extra ricotta cheese. It gives the sauce a creamier texture without the need for actual cream.
No Need to Boil the Pasta
The trick to no-boil, baked pasta is adding about 2 cups of water to the sauce before baking. The ziti will soak up the water (and all the flavors) and fully cook, leaving you with marinara sauce that has the perfect consistency.
I was a major skeptic of this method at first. I thought at best the ziti might be slightly chewy around the corners or dried out but to my surprise—it was perfectly al dente.
Golden Melted Cheese
The final finishing touch—a cheesy topping of fresh mozzarella and ricotta cheese. I like to top dollops of ricotta and chunks of mozzarella and broil the dish until the cheese is melted and just starting to brown. Finish with more chopped fresh basil and you’re ready to impress.
It’s absolutely delicious and hassle-free. A perfect hearty weeknight dinner the whole family is going to be obsessed with.
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Ultimate Baked Ziti with Ricotta and Sausage
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 50 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Easy-to-make baked ziti made with ground sweet Italian sausage, melted ricotta and mozzarella cheese. All made in a single cast iron skillet, no boiling required.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ziti or penne, uncooked
- 1/2–1 pound ground sweet Italian suasage
- 24 ounces marinara/pasta sauce
- 2 1/2 cups water*
- 1 cup ricotta cheese, divided
- 1 8 ounce ball fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced
- 6–8 basil leaves, chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Additional basil for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 °F.
- In a cast iron skillet on medium heat, combine olive oil and garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Add ground sausage, breaking up with the tip of a spatula into small chunks. Cook until browned, about 7-8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add marinara, water, chopped basil, and 1/2 cup of ricotta. Stir until fully incorporated.
- Mix in uncooked ziti. Be sure the ziti is evently distributed to the edges of the skillet and mainly fully submerged. It’s okay if a few are floating on the surface.
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove skillet from the oven and give the entire dish a quick stir to evenly mix sausage and ziti.
- Top with mozzarella chunks and tablespoon-sized dollops of ricotta. Turn the oven to 500 °F or high broil. Bake uncovered for 5-7 minutes or until the cheese is fully melted and starting to brown. Top with fresh basil and serve.
Notes
If you use 1/2 pound of sausage or omit the sausage altogether, you only need 2 cups of water as opposed to 2 1/2.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 643
- Sugar: 13.5g
- Sodium: 884mg
- Fat: 25.7g
- Saturated Fat: 11.2g
- Carbohydrates: 74.6g
- Fiber: 5.6g
- Protein: 29.5g
- Cholesterol: 68mg
Keywords: baked ziti, baked ziti with ricotta, baked ziti with sausage
Loved it quick and easy. I made some substations based on what I had. I cut up chicken breast seasoned with salt pepper and Italian seasoning. I had shredded mozzarella and I used bow tie pasta. I didn’t have fresh basil so i used dried. Still came out amazing. My family loved it. My son literally just came put and said that was very good and can you make this more often.
★★★★★
My cast iron skillet is 10”. Too small?
It will be too small for the recipe as configured yes. The recipe pushes the limits of a 12. I would cut the recipe back a little for a 10.
Made this tonight and both a grown man picky eater, and a 4.5 year old who is an adventurous eater loved it!! Turned out delicious and definitely plenty for leftovers. Any suggestions on the reheat so it’s not all dried out??
★★★★★
Awesome! If you figure it out let me know! I usually add a little cream and stir it in after microwaving. It helps to bring back some of the moisture. Not as good but better.
I just made this last night, and I woke up this morning excited to eat the leftovers for dinner! This dish is AWESOME and super easy to make.
★★★★★
So simple and absolutely delicious! Will make again.
★★★★★
Made this tonight for dinner!!!! It was fantastic, it is now my favorite pasta. Now keep in mind I didn’t add the chicken as I am not to found of it in pasta, and I used heavy whipping cream as that is all I had on hand, but still turned out to be best pasta recipe ever!! Family loved it!!! Thanks for a great great recipe!!! So very much flavor and easy easy!!!
★★★★★
Thanks Vanessa – this is one of my absolute favs personally ????????
By “pasta sauce”, any particular type or flavor?
I made this for a last minute potluck, and t was a hit! I loved it so much I am making it again for my family tonight. I like meat in my pasta, so I browned 1 lb of hamburg with the onion and garlic. I and added the rest of the ngredients as irected ND it came out perfect!
★★★★★
I did cook it in the Dutch oven. The skillet would have probably been too small.
Hi Karie – YES! great idea. I thought of that as well. Dutch oven same idea, maybe even easier ;). I personally want to try this with chicken or shrimp too.
This was so easy! My family loved it…
Thanks Dean! Glad everyone liked it.
Oh my. . .can I tell you that I just returned from Italy and this beauty is bringing back so many memories of the delicious pasta dishes I indulged in? Probably the best meal I had was a homemade Caprese ravioli on the island of Capri. This dish reminds me of an easy, weekday version of that. P.S. loving this kitchen hack and will definitely need to give it a try on those days that an impromptu pasta craving strikes.
Thanks Lynn! That’s quite the compliment – glad I could help bring back what sounds like delicious memories. You must try the pasta hack!