Sometimes,  I have a taste for lasagna, but don’t feel like making it. My shortcut is baked ziti, think of it as deconstructed lasagna. You get the flavor without the layers. I grew up eating this occasionally and it’s one of my once in a blue moon dishes. Even though it’s time consuming, most of it is just a lot of mixing. It’s one of those dishes that taste great the next day.

Baked Zitti

Time: 60 min (Prep & Cook) Yields: 2 8″x8″ Pans)

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Ingredients

• A box of Penne (yes I know there is a ziti noodle, but I like to use Penne)
• 15 oz Ricotta Cheese (Whole or Low Fat is upto what your household can handle)
• One Large Egg
• Italian Seasoning
• 1 lb Ground Sausage (some people prepare and cut up sausage, but its more difficult to spread the meat around evenly)
• 1 lb Ground Beef (Optional)
• 16 oz Italian Blend Cheese
• 1 tbsp of Italian Seasoning
• 16 oz Decided Tomatoes
• 24 oz Jar of Prego Traditional or Meat Sauce (if you need more, by all means go for it)
• Aluminum Baking Pans (easier cleanup)
• Aluminum Foil

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Step by step

1. Parboiled your penne, until the pasta is partially tender. If you cut them in half they’ll have a soft and crunch texture. This will prevent your ziti from overbaking
2. Brown your meat and drain. You’ll be mixing this with your red sauce of choice with diced tomatoes
3. Preheat oven at 350° Fahrenheit. Kitchen maybe warm from parboiling pasta and browning meat for your meat sauce.
4. Place all dairy ingredients into one mixing bowl. Add tbsp of Italian Seasoning and blend well. Do not use all of the shredded cheese, you’ll need some for later
5. Mix dairy ingredients with drained pasta. Then add meat sauce
6. Pour into 2 8″x8″ aluminum pans. Spread evenly and loosely top with shredded cheese.
7. Cover with aluminum. Place in preheated oven at 350° Fahrenheit for 25 min.
8. Remove aluminum foil. Mix and top with fresh layer of shredded Italian cheese. Return to the oven and baked uncovered for 10 min
9. Let cool and Enjoy

Final Thoughts

Baked Ziti is not a quick dinner, but some of it can be prepped ahead of time. It’s a hearty meal that’s great for Fall and Winter. You might be thinking, it’s only a few steps away from Lasagna.  You’re not wrong, but Baked Ziti is more forgiving. You’re not worried about uneven layers. If you boiled to much pasta you can put it to the side for another dish. If you don’t need perfection. Try it out.