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Baked Ziti with Ricotta is a great meal for a busy week or as a gift to a new mom. Pasta is mixed with a flavorful tomato sauce, ground beef , cottage cheese, ricotta and mozzarella cheese and baked to perfection to create a comforting meal!
When I think of comfort food I love to make this Baked Ziti with Ricotta. Italian dishes always offer me comfort, especially a big warm bowl of cheesy pasta. This recipe is so easy to customize! For a vegetarian version, simply leave out the ground beef. You can add vegetables or mushrooms to bulk up the sauce or swap the ground beef for ground pork ground sausage or turkey.
What I love most about adding ricotta and cottage cheese to a baked ziti dish is that it helps to create a creamy, rich flavor in the sauce. Don’t be scared by the cottage cheese, I promise it works really well in this dish. If you aren’t a fan of cottage cheese you won’t even know it is there. It is similar to making lasagna. The cottage cheese melts into the sauce as you bake the dish.
If you like pasta recipes you should also try my Slow Cooker Lasagna, Lemon Pasta, Italian Pasta Bake, Cajun Pasta with Chicken Sausage and Shrimp or this Roasted Vegetable Pasta.
Recipe Ingredients
Please see the recipe card below for exact ingredient amounts and instructions.
- Pasta: For this recipe I used ziti pasta. You can use any medium pasta like penne or rigatoni also.
- Meat: I like to adde meat to my sauce to bulk it up and add protein. You don’t have to but if you do I suggest ground beef. You also can use ground turkey, ground chicken or ground sausage.
- Tomato Sauce: This recipe uses a jar of tomato sauce. You also can make your own using this Slow Cooker Spaghetti Sauce recipe.
- Spices: This pasta dish mixes in Italian seasoning for extra flavor.
- Cheese: There is a mixture of cheese in this baked pasta. I used a mixture similar to what is in lasagna: cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
If you like easy pasta dishes you should also try this Spicy Sausage Pasta, One Pot Sausage Orzo or this Shrimp Pesto Pasta.
How to Make This Baked Ziti with Ricotta and Cottage Cheese
Step 1: Cook Pasta: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add 2 teaspoons of salt. Add the pasta to the water and boil until the pasta is al dente. Drain, drizzle olive oil the pasta so it doesn’t stick together and set aside in a large bowl.
Step 2: Cook Beef and Create Sauce: In a large skillet heat the 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Drain the fat and return the beef to the skillet. Add the garlic to the skillet along with the tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.
Step 3: Mix Pasta with Sauce: In the bowl with the pasta pour the sauce and mix well.
Step 4: Create Cheese Mixture: In another medium bowl mix together the ricotta cheese, cottage cheese and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
Step 5: Assemble Baked Pasta: In a 9×13 baking dish spread a thin layer of the sauce on the bottom. Pour the pasta with sauce in the dish. Take spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture and place throughout the pasta until it is all used up. Sprinkle the leftover mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese over top of the pasta.
Step 6: Bake: Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with the fresh parsley and basil.
Storage Tips
- Store this pasta in an airtight container for up to 4 days. To reheat you can slowly heat in the oven or reheat in the microwave.
- This is a great freezer meal! Cool the dish completely and then freeze for up to a month in a sealed container. Pull it out and thaw it in the refrigerator a day before you want to cook it.
- Heat in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pasta is heated through. You can add extra fresh cheese if you like. You can also heat the leftovers in the microwave for 3-4 minutes.
What to Serve with this Ziti Recipe with Ricotta
Whenever I make an Italian meal I always serve a vegetable side dish, bread and a salad. Here are some of my favorite pairings:
- This Lemon Arugula Salad with Pine Nuts, Kale Salad with Lemon Dressing or this Shaved Brussels Sprout Salad.
- I love a good homemade bread. This Easy Yeast Bread or this Homemade French Bread are two I like to make.
- Veggie side dishes are always the perfect pairing for an Italian dish. I like these Green Beans with Brown Butter and Toasted Almonds and this Roasted Broccoli are two I make often.
More Pasta Recipes
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Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- 1 pound of ziti pasta {you can sub penne or rigatoni}
- 1 pound ground beef {or sausage or turkey}
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 – 32 ounce jar of tomato sauce or make your own {see instructions to make your own}
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup of cottage cheese
- 1 – 16 ounce tub of ricotta cheese, park-skim
- 2 cups of mozzarella cheese, shredded, divided
- 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese
- Fresh parsley and basil for garnish, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Add 2 teaspoons of salt. Add the pasta to the water and boil until the pasta is al dente. Drain, drizzle olive oil the pasta so it doesn’t stick together and set aside in a large bowl.
- In a large skillet heat the 2 Tablespoons olive oil. Add the ground beef and cook until browned. Drain the fat and return the beef to the skillet. Add the garlic to the skillet along with the tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.
- In the bowl with the pasta pour the sauce and mix well.
- In another medium bowl mix together the ricotta cheese, cottage cheese and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
- In a 9×13 baking dish spread a thin layer of the sauce on the bottom. Pour the pasta with sauce in the dish. Take spoonsfuls of the ricotta mixture and place throughout the pasta until it is all used up.
- Sprinkle the leftover mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese over top of the pasta. Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with the fresh parsley and basil.
Notes
- Make-Ahead: I made this meal the night before to give to a friend after she had a baby. This dish works great if you cook the three parts (meat, sauce and pasta) and let each part cool. Then assemble the dish and once completely cool put in the refrigerator until the next day. When you deliver it to your friend tell them to let it sit out for 20 minutes to bring it to room temperature before baking and they can pop it in the oven and have a hot, delicious meal waiting (with leftovers of course).
- To Freeze: This is a great freezer meal! Cool the dish completely and then freeze for up to a month in a sealed container. Pull it out and thaw it in the refrigerator a day before you want to cook it. Heat in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 15 to 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pasta is heated through. You can add extra fresh cheese if you like. You can also heat the leftovers in the microwave for 3-4 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Is it ok to do the make ahead part and freeze without baking or should it be baked before freezing?
As long as you cook the noodles and mix everything you can freezer it before bake it. Then when you are ready to defrost it you can bake it when defrosted. Hope you enjoy!
This is the perfect comfort food!
Hi Julia: did you ever make this ziti w/ turkey or meatless? what do you think?
I made the macaroni and cheese and it makes about a zilliion meals in my house! delicious.
I like it with turkey actually and yes I have made it meatless. I suggest adding more veggies for meatless–maybe carrots and zucchini or something like that!
Oh man, I am soooo not ready for that first month. I have a ton of soups stocked up but I need to get some of these kind of dishes stockpiled in my freezer!
I need to start doing it too! Frozen soups are a great idea. I actually just got a deep freezer so I am pretty excited to start stocking up!
Nice recipe. Thank you.
Love a good baked pasta and you are right, it’s the perfect meal for a busy new mom!
Thanks Jess! 🙂