This baked ziti recipe takes a little time to make, but it's worth it in the end! This meat sauce is way better than a jar sauce, and I use it for other Italian recipes as well. You can also make the sauce ahead of time and store it in the fridge for a few days until you are ready to eat it.
Ingredients
- bulk mild Italian sausage: 1 pound
- ground beef: 1 pound
- tomato sauce: 2 cans (14.5 ounce cans)
- whole peeled tomatoes with juice: 1 can (28 ounce can)
- white onion: 0.5 cup (diced)
- garlic: 3 clove (minced)
- italian seasoning: 2 tsp
- basil: 1 tsp (dried)
- white sugar: 1 tsp
- red pepper flakes: 0.5 tsp
- ziti pasta: 1 pack (16 ounce pack)
- whole-milk ricotta cheese: 1 container (15 ounce container)
- mozzarella cheese: 4 cups (divided, shredded)
- Parmesan cheese: 0.5 cup (grated)
- egg: 1 piece (beaten)
- flat-leaf (Italian) parsley: 2 Tbsp (to taste, chopped)
- ground black pepper: 0.5 tsp
- slices provolone cheese: 12 piece
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook and stir sausage and ground beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomato sauce, whole tomatoes with juice, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, basil, sugar, and red pepper flakes; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Turn off the heat. Transfer 3 cups sauce to a bowl and leave remaining sauce in the pot; allow to cool while you prepare ziti.
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
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Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain ziti and rinse under cool water to stop it from cooking.
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Combine ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, 2 tablespoon parsley, and pepper in a bowl; stir together with a few turns but do not mix completely. Pour drained ziti into the bowl and toss until slightly combined with large lumps. Add the reserved 3 cups meat sauce and toss to combine.
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Place 1/2 of the pasta mixture into a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Spoon 1/2 of the remaining sauce over top, layer with 6 slices of provolone and 1 cup mozzarella. Repeat layers: pasta mixture, remaining sauce, 6 slices provolone, and 1 cup mozzarella. Cover with foil.
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Place on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven until bubbling, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake until cheese is fully melted and slightly browned, 5 to 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parsley. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
