Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage is classic comfort food! With layers of pasta, homemade meat sauce, and melty cheese, this baked pasta casserole is the perfect solution for weeknight dinners. Tips for making it ahead of time and without meat included...
1poundground Italian sausage(mild, hot, or sweet (I prefer mild))
1cupyellow onion(diced)
24ouncesmarinara sauce(leftover spaghetti sauce, or tomato sauce)
4clovesgarlic(minced)
16ouncesziti pasta(uncooked)
12ouncescottage cheese
1tablespoonoregano
1egg
2cupsmozzarella cheese(shredded)
¼cupParmesan cheese(grated)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a 9x13-inch casserole dish and set aside.
Prepare Sausage & Pasta Sauce
Brown the sausage over medium high heat in a large dutch oven or large sauté pan.
Add the diced onion to the pot of sausage. Sauté until onion softens, about 3-5 minutes.
Drain excess fat from the sausage as needed.
Reduce the heat to medium. Return the sausage to the dutch oven and add the garlic and stir quickly.
To the same pot, add the marinara sauce (leftover spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce may also be used). Stir and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Make Cheese "Filling"
While the sauce is warming, make the cheese filling by combining the cottage cheese, egg, oregano, parmesan cheese, and 1 cup of mozzarella cheese. Stir until well-combined.
Layer Casserole & Bake
Add about 1/4 cup of the meat sauce to the bottom of the greased casserole dish to prevent the noodles from burning or sticking.
Layer as follows: half of the ziti noodles, all of the cottage cheese mixture, half of the sauce, remaining ziti, and remaining sauce. Top with the remaining cup of mozzarella cheese.
Bake the casserole uncovered for 25-30 minutes or until cheese turns golden on top.
Notes
Alternatives to mild Italian Sausage: hot Italian sausage, sweet Italian sausage, ground beef, ground chicken, other meat alternatives. (note: this recipe has not been tested with meat alternatives.)Alternatives to ziti noodles: bow ties, penne, rotini, rigatoni, or any short, tubular noodle.Alternatives to Marinara: