Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage

White pan filled with baked ziti, cheese, and parsley.

Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage

Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage is a classic Italian-American pasta dish made with ziti pasta, tomato sauce, Italian sausage, Ground Beef, Ricotta cheese, and topped with mozzarella cheese. Once assembled this pasta casserole is baked in the oven until piping hot and cheese is melted and bubbly, resulting in a delicious and satisfying dinner for a crowd.

Course Dinner

Cuisine Italian

Diet Low Salt

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 45

Total Time 55

Servings

Calories 860kcal

Author Katie

Equipment

1 Cutting Board
1 Knife
1 Stove Top
1 Silicone Spatula
1 Large Skillet
1 Stock Pot
1 9 x 13 Baking Dish
1 Oven

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Olive Oil Extra Virgin
1 tablespoon Butter Unsalted
1 White Onion diced
3 garlic cloves mined
1 pound Ground Beef Lean
1 pound Ground Mild Italian Sausage
2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
⅛ teaspoon Black pepper
1 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
28 ounce Canned Crushed Tomatoes
14.5 ounce Can of Diced Tomatoes
½ cup Water
1 pound Ziti Pasta
15 ounces Ricotta Cheese
2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Instructions

Heat a deep skillet on medium high. Place the olive oil and butter in the skillet and let melt for one minute, then add minced onion, and garlic.
Sauté for 5 minutes until soft, then add in the lean ground beef and ground pork. Sauté and cook for an additional 5 minutes, making sure to break the meat up with a wooden spoon and mixing the vegetable mixture in with the meat.
Once the meat is fully cooked (no pink is showing) season the meat with the salt, Italian seasoning, black pepper, and granulated sugar.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Pour the can of crushed tomatoes and diced tomatoes in to the skillet. Add a half cup of water to the cans to get any remaining sauce that might be in the cans, and pour into the skillet. Mix the meat and sauce together. Let simmer on low with lid on for 15 minutes.
While sauce simmers, cook the ziti according to package. Once the noodles are cooked through drain and mix into the sauce.
Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Then pour in half of the pasta mixture. Begin to add spoonfuls of the ricotta cheese to the pasta plus half the shredded mozzarella cheese. Mix together then pour in the remaining ziti and spoon on the remaining ricotta cheese throughout the dish. Top with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
Cover the ziti with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil during the last 5 minutes of cooking so the cheese can begin to brown.

Notes

Veggies - If you would like to add some vegetables in with the baked meat ziti you can. I typically like to add 1-2 diced carrots into the sauce when I'm sauteing the onions and garlic. I also have added a minced mushrooms and zucchini to the ziti.
Meat - If you want to spice it up you can add 24 pieces of diced pepperoni to the meat mixture. You can also use hot Italian sausage if you like food on the spicier side.
Make Ahead - You can make this entire meal 1-2 days prior to serving. Just wait to bake the ziti until the day you are ready to serve it. I suggest taking it out of the refrigerator an hour prior to baking so that it can start to come to room temperature and won't take as long to bake.

Nutrition