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5 from 1 vote

Baked Ziti with Ricotta

By Britney
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 40 minutes
Total: 2 hours
Servings: 12
a spoon pulling up baked ziti out of a baking dish to see the cheese pull.
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Baked Ziti with Ricotta recipe is loaded with flavor and packed with delicious cheesy, saucy goodness! It's the perfect, easy comfort food!

Equipment

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Ingredients 

Meat Sauce

  • 1 lb Ground Beef 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes2 Bay leaves 4 sprigs Thyme 
  • 1 lb Ground Mild Italian Sausage
  • 1 Yellow Onion, (diced)
  • 2 Celery Stalks, (diced)
  • 1 Red Bell Pepper, (diced)
  • 6 Garlic Cloves, (diced)
  • 1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
  • 1 tsp Oregano
  • 2 tsp Garlic Paste
  • 2 tsp Kosher Salt
  • 1 tsp Black Pepper
  • 6 oz Tomato Paste
  • 1/2 cup Red Wine
  • 24 oz Marinara Sauce
  • 28 oz Crushed Tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp Heavy Cream
  • 1 cup Parmesan, (freshly grated)
  • 1 tsp Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
  • 2 Bay leaves
  • 4 sprigs Thyme

Ricotta Pasta Mixture

  • 1 lb Ziti Pasta
  • 16 oz Whole Milk Ricotta
  • 1 Egg
  • 3 tbsp Pesto, (more for layering)
  • 2 tbsp Fresh Basil, (chopped)
  • 1 tsp Garlic Powder
  • 1 tsp Kosher Salt
  • 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
  • 1/2 cup Parmesan, (Freshly grated, more for layering)

For Assembling

  • 4 cups Mozzarella Cheese, (shredded)
  • 2 cups Fontina Cheese, (shredded)

Instructions 

  • In a large pot over medium heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and add in diced onion, bell pepper, and celery. Cook for 5 minutes, until just softened, then add in ground beef and ground italian sausage. Break apart with your spatula and cook until no longer pink.
  • Drain off excess fat and then add in Italian seasoning, oregano, tomato paste, garlic paste, diced garlic, kosher salt, and black pepper. Cook for 4-6 minutes, until the tomato paste is evenly dispersed throughout the meat. Add in red wine and deglaze the pan, scraping any bits off of the bottom of the pot. 
  • Add in marinara, crushed tomatoes, bay leaves, and thyme. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer for 25 minutes, uncovered. 
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a separate pot, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente, according to package directions, then drain.
  • After 20 minutes, add in parmesan cheese, heavy cream, sugar, nutmeg, and red pepper flakes. Remove bay leaves and thyme, then turn off the heat.
  • In a separate bowl, add ricotta, egg, pesto, chopped fresh basil, garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper, and ½ cup of parmesan cheese. Mix together, then the cooked pasta to the ricotta cheese mixture. Toss to coat, then add about 1 cup of the meat sauce and mix together.
  • To a lasagna pan or large casserole dish, add a layer of meat sauce to the bottom of the pan. Then add a layer of the ricotta pasta mixture. Add a sprinkle a layer of mozzarella, fontina cheese, and parmesan, then dollop about 1-2 tbsps of pesto on top. Repeat. If your baking dish is pretty full, place the dish onto a baking sheet to catch overflow from burning on the bottom of the oven.
  • Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake uncovered for 15 minutes, until bubbling throughout. Broil for 2-4 minutes, until crisp and golden brown. 
  • Allow the baked ziti to rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting into it. 

Notes

  • Brown the meat properly. Don’t just cook the ground beef and sausage until it’s no longer pink, let it really brown in the pan. That caramelization (the Maillard reaction) gives the sauce a nice deep flavor!
  • Deglaze with the wine. After browning the meat and tomato paste, pour in the red wine and scrape up all those browned bits (fond) from the bottom of the pan. That’s pure flavor gold, and it melts into the sauce.
  • Slightly undercook the pasta. Boil the ziti just 1-2 minutes shy of al dente. It will keep cooking in the oven, and this way it won’t turn mushy after baking.
  • Let it rest. After baking, give the ziti at least 10-15 minutes to settle before serving. This helps the cheese set, makes slicing easier, and keeps the layers from collapsing into a gooey mess.
 
Substitutions
  • If you don't want to use ground beef, you can also use ground turkey or even ground pork or chicken.
  • You can swap out whole milk ricotta cheese for cottage cheese if you prefer. 
  • Penne pasta is a good substitute for ziti.
  • I used store-bought sauce, but if you have homemade marinara sauce, feel free to use that!
  • Pecorino romano is a good substitute for parmesan. Also, if you can't find fontina, mozzarella cheese works just fine!   

Nutrition

Calories: 878kcal, Carbohydrates: 48g, Protein: 52g, Fat: 53g, Saturated Fat: 27g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 12g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 167mg, Sodium: 2432mg, Potassium: 937mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 1308IU, Vitamin C: 18mg, Calcium: 492mg, Iron: 4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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