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My mother’s rule for baked ziti with ground beef was that the ricotta goes in its own layer in the middle and never, ever gets stirred into the pasta. Stir it in, she said, and it disappears. Put it in a layer, and every forkful has that creamy white stripe. Friday was ziti night at our house. One package of ground beef, a box of ziti, a can of crushed tomatoes and a carton of ricotta, and it fed six of us and whoever else came to the door. My father always said she could have fed the whole street with one pan.
Baked ziti is about the easiest crowd supper there is, but it has one common problem: it comes out of the oven dry, with the pasta stiff and the sauce soaked away. Ziti keeps drinking sauce as it bakes. My mother solved it three ways. She pulled the ziti from the water early, she made more sauce than looked necessary and saved a ladle for the top, and she baked it covered for most of the time. Here is how to keep it from drying out in the oven, and still get a browned, bubbling cheese top.
Why this baked ziti works
- Ziti cooked short. Pasta pulled 2 minutes early finishes in the oven instead of going mushy.
- Plenty of sauce. The ziti absorbs sauce as it bakes, so it needs more than seems right going in.
- A ricotta layer, not a stir-in. A layer of ricotta with egg and parmesan stays creamy and gives every slice its white stripe.
- Covered, then uncovered. Foil traps the steam so it stays saucy, and the last minutes uncovered brown the cheese.
- A rest before serving. Ten minutes out of the oven lets it set so it cuts in neat squares.
Ingredients
Serves 8, baked in a 9x13 inch dish. The measurements are in US cups with grams in brackets.
For the meat sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef (450g)
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can (28 ounces, 794g) crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (15 ounces, 425g) tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
For the pasta and cheese
- 1 pound ziti (450g)
- 15 ounces whole-milk ricotta (425g)
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan (45g), divided
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella (340g), divided
Whole-milk ricotta and whole-milk mozzarella melt creamier and do not turn rubbery. Penne works in place of ziti.
How to make baked ziti
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees (190°C). Bring a big pot of well salted water to a boil.
- Make the sauce. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and onion and cook, breaking up the meat, for 7 to 8 minutes, until browned. Spoon off any extra fat. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, basil, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring now and then. Taste and add salt if it needs it.
- Meanwhile, cook the ziti for 2 minutes less than the package says. Drain it.
- In a bowl, stir together the ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup of the parmesan and the parsley.
- Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce. Toss the drained ziti with the rest of the sauce in the pot.
- Spread half the sauced ziti in a 9x13 inch dish. Drop the ricotta mixture over it in spoonfuls and spread it gently into an even layer. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella over the ricotta.
- Spread the rest of the ziti on top. Spoon the reserved sauce over it, then scatter the remaining mozzarella and parmesan over everything.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until the cheese is melted, bubbling and browned in spots.
- Let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting into squares.
Tips that make the difference
- Tent the foil so it does not touch the cheese, or spray the underside lightly with oil so the cheese does not stick to it.
- Do not rinse the drained ziti. The starch on it helps the sauce cling.
- For extra browning, run it under the broiler for the last 2 minutes and watch it closely.
- If you are making it ahead, add an extra half cup of sauce, because cold pasta absorbs even more.
Variations
- Ground turkey. Use ground turkey in place of the beef and add a pinch of fennel seed to the sauce.
- Spinach. Stir a thawed, squeezed-dry box worth of chopped spinach into the ricotta layer.
- Meatless. Skip the beef and add sliced mushrooms and zucchini to the sauce.
- Two pans. Divide between two 8 inch square dishes, bake one and freeze one.
Storage and make-ahead
Cover leftovers and keep them in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Reheat portions in the microwave with a spoonful of water, or covered in a 350 degree oven.
To freeze, assemble without baking, wrap tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bake covered for 40 minutes, then uncovered for 20.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my baked ziti dry?
The pasta was fully cooked before baking, there was not enough sauce, or it baked uncovered too long. Undercook the ziti, use plenty of sauce and keep it covered for most of the baking.
Should the ricotta be mixed in or layered?
Layered. Mixed in, it melts away into the sauce. In a layer it stays creamy and visible.
Can I make it the day before?
Yes. Assemble, cover and refrigerate. Add 10 to 15 minutes to the covered baking time.
Can I use jarred sauce?
Yes, about 6 cups of a plain marinara, simmered with the browned beef and onion.
Make the whole pan on a Friday, set it in the middle of the table, and see how many people find a reason to stay for supper.
Baked Ziti with Ground Beef (Ricotta Layer in the Middle, Never Dry)
Old-fashioned baked ziti with ground beef: ziti tossed in a thick ground beef tomato sauce, layered with a creamy ricotta and parmesan layer in the middle, topped with mozzarella and baked covered so it stays saucy, then browned. Feeds a crowd for very little.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 can (28 ounces, 794g) crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (15 ounces, 425g) tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound ziti
- 15 ounces whole-milk ricotta
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan (45g), divided
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella (340g), divided
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375 degrees (190°C). Bring a big pot of well salted water to a boil.
- Make the sauce. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and onion and cook, breaking up the meat, for 7 to 8 minutes, until browned. Spoon off any extra fat. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute.
- Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, basil, sugar, salt and pepper. Simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring now and then. Taste and add salt if it needs it.
- Meanwhile, cook the ziti for 2 minutes less than the package says. Drain it.
- In a bowl, stir together the ricotta, egg, 1/4 cup of the parmesan and the parsley.
- Set aside 1 1/2 cups of the meat sauce. Toss the drained ziti with the rest of the sauce in the pot.
- Spread half the sauced ziti in a 9x13 inch dish. Drop the ricotta mixture over it in spoonfuls and spread it gently into an even layer. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella over the ricotta.
- Spread the rest of the ziti on top. Spoon the reserved sauce over it, then scatter the remaining mozzarella and parmesan over everything.
- Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until the cheese is melted, bubbling and browned in spots.
- Let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting into squares.
