Spaghetti is always a hot dinner item at our house. Our kids are huge fans of the stuff whether I make it from scratch using my homemade sauce recipe or their dad makes it with the sauce from a jar. Pair it with a salad or some other green veggie and you’re good to go!
Sometimes, though, it’s nice to have a little variety in your pasta night! And, let’s be honest, I’m always a proponent of adding copious amounts of cheese to baked pasta dishes. Enter this amazing baked ziti! Easier, cheaper, and less time-consuming than lasagna, but with all the comfort-food qualities we all long for.
Let’s get cooking, shall we?
(Little disclaimer, here, about the pictures in this post. I had zero good light in my kitchen, so everything looks a little weird. Sorry! I promise to make up for you in taste what I lack in photographic skills.)
What I love about this recipe
- I can use up some of the sauce I inevitably have in the freezer OR use an equivalent amount of sauce from a jar.
- It’s an incredibly economical (read: cheap) way to feed my family of 6.
- You can make it in one 9×13″ pan or divide it into 2 8×8″ pans if you want to freeze one to have later.
- It’s creamy and cheesy and delicious. What more do you want?
What’s In It?
1 lb. dry tube pasta (ziti or penne work just fine)
6 cups of Big Batch Meaty Spaghetti Sauce (really, using this sauce is the secret to making it amazing!)
2 cups sour cream
8-10 slices of not-smoked provolone cheese
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
Grated parmesan cheese to taste
How do you make it?
Preheat oven to 350°.
Boil the pasta in a large pot of salted water. Cook it for a minute or two less than the time recommended on the box. Drain and rinse it off.
Spray a 9×13” pan with nonstick spray. Layer your ingredients as follows:
- Half of the pasta
- Half of the meat sauce
- All of the slices of provolone (in a single layer)
- All of the sour cream
- Half of the pasta
- Half of the sauce
- All of the mozzarella
Cover with foil and bake. If your sauce is hot, bake for about 30 minutes. If you are using sauce from the refrigerator (or thawed from the freezer), bake for about 60 minutes.
Remove the foil, sprinkle with some grated parmesan cheese and continue baking for another 5 minutes.
Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
I usually serve this alongside a salad or some roasted green beans or broccoli. Enjoy!!
And, as always, here’s your handy dandy printable — Easy Baked Ziti
