Easy Baked Ziti
Get all your favorite flavors of lasagna but less work with this easy baked ziti recipe. This baked ziti with ground beef is loaded with soft noodles, gooey cheese and tender beef in a delicious marinara sauce then cooked to perfection.
Easy Baked Ziti Recipe
There are many, many baked ziti recipes on the internet, but I hope you’ll love this one the best! One of the reasons that this baked ziti recipe is different, but still so good, is because I substitute ricotta cheese for cottage cheese. Remember that my entire goal here is to make family friendly, kid-approved meals, and let’s face it, not many kids like ricotta cheese. For my kids, it’s definitely a texture thing. So, when I created this recipe many years ago, it took some tweaking for this to be a solid 9/10 for my boys.
This easy baked recipe has an abundance of flavor. Made with three different kinds of cheese, a warm marinara sauce, soft noodles and tender ground beef, it’s a meal that’s both hearty and delicious.
The Cowboys’ Rating: 9/10
Every time I make a new recipe, I have my family rate the recipe out of 10. By the time, these recipes make the blog, they’ve been tried and tested by some of my hardest tiny critics!
What Ingredients Are in Easy Baked Ziti?
- Ground Beef – As always, we use our own homegrown ground beef that is grass-finished and regeneratively raised. It’s delicious, lean and so good. Our ground beef is 90/10 and I never have to drain off a bunch of fat.
- Minced Garlic – Minced garlic brings in a great flavor to this baked ziti.
- Onion Powder – Onion powder is also a staple I love to use to add more flavor and depth to this recipe.
- Italian Seasoning – Italian seasoning is a delicious variety of different herbs. Each herb brings a unique flavor which is why I like to use it in this recipe.
- Spaghetti Sauce – Spaghetti sauce is a tricky one. I find that I have a hard time finding a spaghetti sauce I truly love, so I started canning my own spaghetti sauce a few years ago. (You can find that recipe here) The sauce makes all the difference so make sure to choose a sauce with lots of flavor.
- Ziti Noodles
- Kosher Salt
- Pepper
- Mozzarella Cheese – Mozzarella cheese is a soft cheese that melts easily. It’s one of my favorite cheeses to use in Italian dishes.
- Parmesan Cheese – Parmesan cheese has a distinct, rich flavor that I love. Adding a little parmesan cheese pairs well with the other flavors in this easy baked ziti recipe.
- Cottage Cheese – As mentioned before, my kids do not like ricotta cheese. So instead of using ricotta cheese like traditional baked ziti recipes, I like to add cottage cheese. It adds both flavor and protein to this recipe.
Tools You’ll Need
- Frying Pan
- Stock Pot
- Spatula or Meat Chopper
- Measuring Cups & Spoons
- Cheese Grater
- 9×13″ Baking Dish
Recipe for Easy Baked Ziti with Ground Beef
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- In a frying pan, cook ground beef until completely cooked through.
- When ground beef is fully cooked, add in seasonings and spaghetti sauce. Mix well.
- Simmer for 3-5 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add noodles to a 9×13″ baking dish.
- Spoon sauce over top of the noodles and mix until well incorporated.
- Add in cottage cheese and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and gently mix.
- Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is slightly browned and bubbly.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
- Serve and enjoy!
How to Store Easy Baked Ziti
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Leftovers can easily be reheated in the microwave!
Gluten Free Easy Baked Ziti
This recipe can easily be adapted to be gluten free by using a gluten-free pasta. I do always caution to check and make sure any other ingredients that YOU are using are indeed gluten free. Here is my very favorite gluten free pasta to use for this recipe. It has a great flavor, texture and is loaded with protein.
Banza Gluten Free Chickpea Pasta
Try More of My Easy Recipes
Easy Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef (lean, 90/10)
- 3 cups ziti pasta noodles
- 2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 32 oz. spaghetti sauce
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- In a frying pan, cook ground beef until completely cooked through.
- When ground beef is fully cooked, add in seasonings and spaghetti sauce. Mix well.
- Simmer for 3-5 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Add noodles to a 9×13" baking dish.
- Spoon sauce over top of the noodles and mix until well incorporated.
- Add in cottage cheese and 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and gently mix.
- Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is slightly browned and bubbly.
- Remove from heat and let cool.
- Serve and enjoy!
