Baked Ziti. Delight Your Taste Buds With Easy Southern-Styled Recipes By Kraft®. Cook the ziti until not quite al dente. Toss the cooked pasta with the quick tomato sauce, cubed mozzarella, half the Parmesan, all of the black pepper and crushed red pepper in a large bowl.

Baked Ziti is a classic Italian American comfort food of pasta baked with sausage, tomato sauce and all kinds of gooey, yummy cheeses. Baked Ziti is a classic baked pasta dish. It's basically some kind of tomato or meat sauce baked in a dish with some kind of cheese and, of course, ziti noodles—unless you're me, then you use mostaciolli noodles. You can cook Baked Ziti using 14 ingredients and 5 steps. Here is how you achieve that.

Ingredients of Baked Ziti

It's 1 tbsp. of olive oil.
It's 1/2 of yellow onion, diced.
It's 3 cloves of garlic, minced.
It's 1 lb. of ground beef.
Prepare 1 lb. of ziti noodles.
You need 1 can (28 oz.) of unsalted crushed tomatoes.
It's 1 can (14.5 oz.) of unsalted diced tomatoes.
You need 1 can (8 oz.) of unsalted tomato sauce.
Prepare 2 tsp. of each sugar, dried basil.
You need 1 tsp. of each salt, Italian seasoning.
Prepare 1/2 tsp. of dried oregano.
You need 1 container (15 oz.) of ricotta cheese.
It's 2 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, divided.
You need 1/2 cup of shredded parmesan cheese.

Some people just use tomato/marinara sauce. That, of course, would never fly in this house. Baked macaroni dishes like ziti combine cooked pasta with a sauce, vegetable, and/or meat -- and plenty of cheese. All the ingredients are layered or tossed into a casserole dish and baked in the oven for less than an hour.

Baked Ziti step by step

In a large pot, heat the olive oil over med-low heat. Once its hot, add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent. Then stir in the garlic and cook another 2 or so minutes, until fragrant. Add the ground beef and cook until no longer pink, breaking it apart as you cook. Drain out any excess fat, if needed..
Add all of the canned tomatoes, seasonings and sugar. Once it comes to a simmer, reduce the heat down to low, then let it simmer lightly for 15 or so minutes, while you cook the pasta..
In a seperate large pot, heat up salted water over high heat. Once it comes to a boil, cook the pasta according to the package directions, then drain it, toss lightly with a splash of olive oil and return it to the empty pot. Toss the ricotta cheese with the hot pasta. Then stir in all but about a cup or so of the sauce and toss it all together..
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13" baking pan. Spread half of the pasta mixture out into the pan. Then sprinkle half the mozzarella and parmesan cheese over the top of it. Top with the remaining pasta, then spread the remaining sauce evenly over the top, especially around the edges. Top with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese..
Bake uncovered for 30 or so minutes, until heated through and the cheese over the top has started to brown. Serve immediately and enjoy!.

It's a versatile dish that can be adapted in so many ways, including adding leftovers. Baked ziti can become dry for several reasons. When assembling the dish, be sure to cover the pasta with enough of the sauce so that the noodles don't dry out. Also, to prevent moisture from evaporating while cooking, cover the dish tightly with foil. What can I add to this recipe?