Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage and Ricotta Cheese

Serving Size: 8

Layers of tender ziti noodles, with a meaty zesty Italian sausage sauce and a creamy ricotta cheese layer. Top it all with a generous helping of mozzarella cheese and bake until bubbly.

Recipe by: Holly Nilsson

Cook Times

Active Prep20

Hands-On Cook15

Hands-Off Cook25

Passive0

Total Time1

Recipe Serving Size8

Cooking Tools Required

12-inch saute pan, 9x13 inch glass baking dish, Box grater, Cutting board, Measuring cups and spoons, Oven, Sharp Knives, Top Stove

Ingredients

1 pound Italian sausage
1 small onion diced
28 ounce marinara sauce
14 ounce canned diced tomatoes undrained
2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ cup water
16 ounce ziti pasta
15 ounce ricotta cheese
2 tablespoon fresh parsley
1 egg
2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F
Brown ground sausage and onion breaking up until the sausage is fairly fine. Drain any fat.
Add in Italian seasoning, water, tomatoes and pasta sauce. Simmer 10-15 minutes or until thickened.
Meanwhile, boil ziti in salted water until al dente. Drain and rinse.
In a small bowl, mix ricotta, egg, parsley, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese.
Add a thin layer (about 1 cup) of sauce to the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan. Layer half of the ziti, top with all of the ricotta mixture, and half of the sauce.
Add remaining ziti, remaining sauce, and top with remaining mozzarella cheese.
Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden and bubbly.

Reheating Instructions

Heat, covered in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until heated through.

Nutrition