Baked Ziti Recipe
Servings: 8
Equipment
- 9x13-inch baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ziti pasta or penne, rigatoni or cellentani pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 1 onion finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 2 (26 oz.) jars marinara sauce*
- 6 oz. provoline cheese slices
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 8 oz. mozzarella cheese shredded + more if needed (split)
- 2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 9 minutes (depending on what pasta you are using); drain and set aside. Your pasta will cook more in the oven so you definitely want your pasta al dente or even 1 minute under al dente.
- Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef and cook until all browned. Add the onions and cook for a few minutes or until tender. Add the garlic and Italian seasoning and stir together. Let cook for another minute or so. Stir in marinara sauce, mix well and let simmer for about 15 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Prep Baked Ziti: into your baking dish: Spread half of the cooked pasta in the bottom of the prepared dish. Top with the provolone cheese slices. Top with cottage cheese and spread evenly over the top.
- Add half of the meat sauce, remaining cooked pasta, 6 oz. of mozzarella cheese, and all the remaining meat sauce. Top with the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese and the grated Parmesan cheese.
- Bake until heated through and cheeses have melted, for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and enjoy!
Notes
*I used Rao's and a new sauce that was sent to me: Sauz. I used their Hot Honey Marinara and I absolutely loved it! High recommend!