Easy Baked Ziti with Sausage
This easy Baked Ziti recipe includes sausage and tons of cheese! It’s perfect for feeding a crowd and can easily be prepared ahead of time. Omit the sausage for a fantastic vegetarian meal. This is, hands down, the BEST baked ziti recipe and it’s guaranteed to become a staple at your family dinners! [Recipe video included below.]
I have been making this baked ziti recipe for well over 10 years now and it has become one of my favorite go-to pasta dishes. Not only do I make it throughout the year, but it’s also a staple at our family’s Christmas Eve dinner each year. I’ve always adored baked pasta, and this is by far my favorite version… it’s full of Italian sausage and mozzarella and Romano cheeses.
If you love pasta and comfort food, this baked ziti recipe will be right up your alley.
How Do You Make Baked Ziti?
This is one of my favorite standby recipes for nearly any occasion because it’s so incredibly easy to throw together, especially if you have a habit of keeping some sauce in the freezer or a jar of your favorite store-bought sauce in the pantry. There are only a few steps:
- Boil a pound of ziti pasta.
- While the pasta is boiling, cook the sausage.
- Put both in a large bowl with sauce, cubed mozzarella cheese, and Romano cheese.
- Pour it all into a casserole dish and top with shredded mozzarella and more Romano cheese.
- Cover and bake for 45 minutes, then uncover and bake until the top is browned and bubbling.
I top the baked ziti with shredded mozzarella (always shredded off the block, never pre-shredded cheese!), but the key to the super cheesiness of this baked ziti isn’t just the cheese on top, but I cut a block of mozzarella cheese into very small cubes and mix it into the pasta, which creates little pockets of gooey cheese throughout the pasta.
Can You Prepare Baked Ziti Ahead of Time? Can it Be Frozen?
Yes and yes! I do this ALL the time.
You can assemble the baked ziti the day before you plan to bake it, just be sure to cover it with plastic wrap or foil (if you use plastic wrap, take that off and replace with foil before you bake!). I typically take it out of the refrigerator when I start to preheat the oven so some of the chill comes off of it, but you may find that you need to add an extra 10 minutes or so to the covered bake time to account for it being refrigerated.
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To freeze it, I recommend covering the pan with plastic wrap AND aluminum foil to keep it as fresh as possible (again, just be sure to remove the plastic wrap before eventually baking). You can freeze it for up to 3 months, then thaw in the refrigerator overnight and bake as directed.
More Baked Ziti FAQ
- Is penne the same as ziti? Does it matter what type of noodles I use? Penne and ziti are super similar tube shaped pastas, but penne has little ridges, while ziti is smooth. Penne is a little bit of a denser, heavier pasta. You can substitute your favorite tube-shaped pasta in this recipe.
- What kind of sauce should I use? I typically use my favorite meat sauce recipe, a batch of which is always in the freezer. You can omit the meat from that recipe if you’d like, or use your favorite store-bought sauce (I’ve done that in a pinch, too!). The type doesn’t matter, totally personal preference – marinara, meat sauce, roasted garlic, vodka sauce, arrabbiata, etc… choose your favorite!
- I don’t like Romano cheese, can I use Parmesan instead? Yes, absolutely!
- Can I add vegetables? Of course! I would recommend cooking them prior to adding them to the ziti mixture so that they don’t release too much moisture and make the dish watery.
- Why is my baked ziti dry? This is a case of not enough sauce. If you use a very thin sauce, like marinara, you may find that you need to add more to ensure that all of the ingredients are coated. Also, if you plan to freeze the baked ziti, you should add an extra ½ cup of sauce, as I’ve found that baked ziti made after being frozen can be a little on the dry side, so now I add more sauce initially if I know I’m going to freeze it.
- Why is my baked ziti watery? There could be a couple of culprits. Be certain that you drain your pasta well before mixing it with the other ingredients. Make sure you are not using fresh mozzarella, as it has a very high water content and will release a ton of moisture into your dish. Also, if you added vegetables, see my note above about cooking the vegetables prior to adding to the dish.
This baked ziti recipe is the perfect dish for cozy fall dinners, holidays with lots of family, or for stashing away in the freezer if you (or someone you know) is expecting a little bundle of joy.
Throw in a salad and either crusty bread or garlic bread and you have a fantastic meal!
If You Like This Recipe, Try These:
- Italian-Style Pastitsio
- Classic Lasagna
- Slow Cooker Gnocchi in Creamy Pork Sauce
- Slow Cooker Pasta Genovese
Watch the Recipe Video:
Easy Baked Ziti with Sausage
Ingredients
- 1 pound (453.59 g) ziti pasta
- 1 pound (453.59 g) sweet Italian sausage
- 3 cups (735 ml) your favorite spaghetti sauce
- 1 cup (100 g) grated Romano cheese, divided
- 8 ounces (226.8 g) mozzarella cheese, diced small (¼-inch)
- 4 ounces (113.4 g) mozzarella cheese, shredded (about 1 cup)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish; set aside.
- Cook pasta to al dente according to the package directions. Drain and put into a large bowl.
- While the pasta is boiling, cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat until cooked through.
- Remove the sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon and add to the bowl with the pasta.
- Toss the pasta and sausage with the sauce, sausage, ½ cup of the Romano cheese, and the diced mozzarella.
- Pour the mixture into the baking dish, sprinkle with the remaining ½ cup Romano cheese and the shredded mozzarella. (Make-Ahead Note: At this point, you can tightly cover the pan with foil and refrigerate for up to one day or freeze for up to 3 months. If frozen, place in the refrigerator the day before you plan to bake and then bake according to the directions below.)
- Bake, covered, for 45 minutes, until heated through and the cheese is melted. Uncover, increase the oven temperature to 375 degrees F, and bake for an additional 15 to 20 minutes until sauce and cheese are bubbling.
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
Update Notes: This recipe was originally published in May 2007. Updated in September 2015 with new photos. Refreshed in August 2018 with more new photos, a video, and extensive recipe tips.
This looks great but I realized as I started to prepare to make this that it does not include Ricotta cheese. That was a show stopper for me as I love Ricotta and happen to have some left over from another meal. Oh well, looks good but recipe isn’t for me (or any other Ricotta lover).
Hi. Do you use your Meat Sauce or just plain spaghetti sauce in addition to the sausage?
Usually plain sauce, without meat, but you could do either!
cooking for thanksgiving and I need to free up oven space. Would cooking in crock pot be ok?
I’ve made this before and amazingly delicious. My question is. There are some people who do not like sausage. Can I use pepperoni instead? Or use less sausage and more pepperoni? Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe. It’s fabulous.
I will make this dish again!
Thank you Michelle!! Next time I will make ahead.
Thank you for a baked ziti recipe without ricotta cheese. 🥰😇
Made this last night. Delicious.
Is there any way that you could use a black ink when posting a recipe…it printed so lightly that I had to copy this (what I know will be delicious ) recipe…thank you
I like to add a package of mini pepperoni to my ziti
I heard good reviews about also using ricotta -do I just add ricotta with no egg & the other cheeses as directions state hurry up please with a response -cooking pasta now lol
cannot wait to try wed soup and baked ziti. thank you so much.
I made this for supper last night but I had to make some substitutions based on what I had on hand and it was still delicious! I used ground beef instead of sausage because I had a pound already cooked in the fridge that needed to be used. Swapped in parm for the pecorino and also added a jar of sun-dried tomato pesto with the pasta sauce. It turned out great! Daughter took some of the leftovers to school today in a thermos jar for her lunch.
I was reading the recipe notes and have two questions.
You mention to make sure you’re not using “fresh mozzarella” to avoid it being watery. What type would not be fresh? I’m not sure what type to buy then.
You recommend not using the grated mozzarella. Why is that? Is it for more flavor?
Thanks!
Hi Renee, Fresh mozzarella is a very specific preparation of mozzarella, it is sold packaged in liquid so it stays fresh. This is much different than the typical block of mozzarella (i.e. Kraft) that you would find in the dairy section of the grocery store. Just don’t buy pre-shredded mozzarella, as it doesn’t melt as well. Buy the block and shred it yourself at home. I hope that helps!
Since my brother is a vegetarian, I usually add roasted vegetables and sometimes use vegetarian meatballs. There’s also Italian style vegetarian sausages that crumble really well and add all the aromatic flavors.
Looks delicious! I started using fresh mozzarella for all my Italian baked dishes and what a difference it makes. If you have a Costco I always get it there as it’s priced the best.
Wow! I started by sautéing an onion with some garlic, and tossing it into the bowl while the sausage cooked. If I’d used loose sausage meat, I’d have left the onion & garlic in with the sausage to cook. Otherwise, followed your instructions. Served with plain or garlic bread, pickles, pepperoncini, and wine. My guests were ecstatic.
Totally easy to do.
do you cook with sausage with the casing on and then slice it? or remove the casing and cook it crumbled?
Hi Betty, I usually buy ground Italian sausage so I don’t have to deal with casings. Sometimes my store has it packaged in the meat case (Johnsonville brand or the store brand), if they don’t, they always have it loose in the butcher case and I get it from there.
This didn’t exactly answer the question
She says she doesn’t have to deal with casings and buys it ground…meaning she cooks it crumbled.
Oh my, I can’t wait to make this. Yummy!
Fantastic recipe and preparation method!
I have Celiac disease and used gluten free rigatoni (it’s what I had on hand), jarred sauce (again, I had it on hand).
Thank you so much for sharing! I’d love to send a photo so you can see how beautiful it turned out!