One Pot Baked Ziti
An incredibly easy, no-fuss baked ziti – even the pasta gets cooked right in the pan!
When I was living in New York city, my dad and I would walk around the corner to the pizza place and always get the same order – two cheese pizzas and a baked ziti. Back then, a slice of pizza was just a $1, and then they’d wrap them up in a giant brown bag and we’d walk back home. I could barely eat half of a pizza then but I’d always stuff my face in the baked ziti. With cheesy, marinara baked pasta, how can any 6-year old resist?
Now I’ve tried to recreate this amazing childhood ziti but as much as I loved the homemade version, it was just too much work for something I could easily buy at the local pizza parlor for $9.99. But with my recent one pot meal obsession, I’ve actually discovered a one pan baked ziti. It’s unbelievably easy, and even the pasta gets cooked right in the pan!
All you need to do is ground up some sausage, add in your tomatoes and pasta, and of course let that mozzarella just melt right in. Easy peasy, right? And if you really want to save up on some dishes, I recommend eating right out of the pan.
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One Pot Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes, or more, to taste
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 12 ounces ziti pasta
- ¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup heavy cream
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup basil leaves, chiffonade
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add Italian sausage and cook until browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the sausage as it cooks. Stir in garlic and red pepper flakes, and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 1 minute; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Stir in tomatoes and bring to a simmer until slightly thickened, about 8-10 minutes. Stir in pasta and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until pasta is cooked through, about 13-16 minutes.
- Remove from heat; stir in Parmesan and heavy cream. Top with mozzarella and cover until cheese has melted, about 2 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with basil, if desired.
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I made this tonight and it was delicious – loved by all. I’m curious as to why you used Rotini for the photos instead of ziti. Is it just personal preference?
Yes, it’s really based on personal preference.
Made this twice so far because first time around was so good. I also have picky eaters and they really liked this.
omg! this really looks yum amd so easy to make. i will definitely try cooking it tonight for dinner. I saw it in pinterest and pinned it right away! Thanks for sharing!
I love this stove top version and I particularly love the fact that you are using plain crushed tomatoes instead of pre-made tomato sauce! Tastes better and no extra junk!
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Just made this for dinner… Yummy! I used a jar of spaghetti sauce instead of tomatoes. And used cream cheese instead of heavy cream and mozarella. The husband and the 2 yo both loved it.
We made this dish for dinner last night and really enjoyed it! Delicious! As our daughter is a vegetarian, we made a separate dish for her replacing the Italian sausage with Great Northern Beans ~ added some Italian spices, warmed the beans in olive oil until this were soft and then followed the rest of the recipe ~ turn out awesome! Great recipe that our family will enjoy again.
I made this last night and it was delicious! My boyfriend loved it and it was super easy. I substituted hot turkey sausage and substituted 1/2 cup skim milk with a little cornstarch beat in for the heavy cream and it came out great. I maybe would have stuck it in the broiler for a minute or two once I put the mozzarella on to crisp it up a l a little on the edges. Overall -great recipe!
This dish was a big hit with the family. It was a big hit with me because it was easy and quick to make. I will definitely be making this again. Thanks for the recipe.
I saw this on Pink Parsley and made it too the other week – it was really good! Love that you don’t dirty too many dishes while preparing
Just made this tonight. It was easy and very tasty. I was skeptical about the pasta getting cooked thoroughly enough right in the pot but it was great and very flavorful; such a terrific time saver. Even my picky daughter enjoyed it. Thanks so much!
Made this tonight! It was delicious and so simple! Definitely making this again! Next time, I’ll probably chop the sausage up into smaller pieces next time before I cook it though as I found it difficult to crumble the sasuage in the pan. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Looks delicious. I’m all about less dirty dishes. Pinning. 🙂
My super mega fussy 2 year old loves it!! Thank you 🙂
Yummy!!!!
Great week night meal! This ziti looks amazingly yummy!
According to the title, it’s a baked ziti. I read through the recipe and don’t see anywhere (unless I missed it) about baking the ziti. Can’t wait to try this!
Candice, this is an easier, no-fuss version of the traditional “baked ziti”. This does not get baked but if you’d like, you can pop it in the oven after trooping with mozzarella to get that cheesy crust.
I’m a new follower via Bloglovin’ and I don’t know if you’ve tried making lasagna in the crock pot, but I’ve done that twice recently with outstanding results. The pasta is softer and has no hard brown edges like baking produces. Sauce, then noodles, then cheese; repeat, and I also add pepperoni slices in my layers. I add a little extra water because the large lasagna noodles will soak up so much liquid. I don’t use ricotta in it because Hubs won’t eat it if I do, but it would be fine. Mozzarella is all that I use. Now I’m going to investigate your one pot Mexican skillet pasta!
I love the idea of a one pot dinner because it is easy and most importantly, there are less dishes to clean up!
I’m such a sucker for baked ziti and all things one-pot!! What a great memory you have of childhood – pizza, nyc, and baked ziti!! Sounds like a child’s dream!! This pasta…..i wanna plant my face into it and never leaveee!