Meatball Baked Ziti
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Cheesy baked ziti with the easiest homemade meatballs. Quick to prepare and so so good. Comfort food at its best here!
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Baked ziti. My all-time favorite kind of comfort food. Except, I couldn’t just leave it like that. No, I couldn’t. I threw in some homemade meatballs and topped this entire bad boy with burrata cheese before baking it to absolute cheesy, melted perfection. Serve with the remaining red wine, crusty bread, and a binge-worthy Netflix show. I recently finished Virgin River in 1.5 days and cannot wait for the second season.
reasons to make baked ziti
- Great for weeknights, weekend company and potlucks. Meatball baked ziti is a quick and easy dinner for those busy weeknights yet it’s still fancy enough to impress weekend guests and company.
- Make-ahead and freezer-friendly. There are so many options to make this ahead of time and freeze as needed, whether it’s just the meatballs or the whole baked dish. When freezing, simply thaw overnight and bake!
- Family favorite crowd-pleaser. With tender meatballs and saucy pasta topped with melted cheesy, creamy goodness, this is sure to be a guaranteed hit and well received by the entire family (and company!), begging for second and third helpings.
tips and tricks for success
- Prep the meatballs ahead of time. The meatballs can be assembled up to 1 day in advance and placed in the fridge until ready to use. The uncooked meatballs can also be stored in the freezer for up to 1 month (once flash freezing), thawing overnight in the fridge. For a quicker shortcut, substitute frozen mini meatballs (I personally love Trader Joe’s party size mini meatballs – a huge guilty pleasure of mine!).
- Use burrata or mozzarella. Both burrata and mozzarella are Italian cheeses, but burrata cheese will be much creamier than mozzarella. If substituting mozzarella, use freshly grated whole milk mozzarella cheese, avoiding fresh buffalo mozzarella (buffalo releases too much moisture when baked).
- Choose a wine you will drink. A dry red wine (cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir or merlot) is great here – it does not have to be anything fancy or overpriced. Just something you don’t mind sipping on since you will have an open bottle.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
freezing and storage
Prep
To make ahead, cover the baked ziti tightly (without the burrata) with plastic wrap; refrigerate up to 24 hours. To bake, let the baked ziti sit at room temperature for 15-30 minutes. Remove plastic wrap, top with burrata and bake as directed.
Storage
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Reheating
Reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through and sauce is bubbling, about 15-30 minutes. Optional: remove foil during the last few minutes for a slightly browned cheese topping.
Freeze before baking
Cover the baked ziti tightly with plastic wrap (without the burrata), then aluminum foil. Label, date and freeze up to 3 months. To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, remove the plastic wrap, top with burrata and bake as directed, adding a few more minutes of cook time as needed.
Freeze after baking
Let the baked ziti cool completely; portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Lay the bags flat in a single layer in the freezer (this will help them freeze quickly). Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the oven at 350°F, covered in aluminum foil until warmed through.
what to serve with meatball baked ziti
Meatball Baked Ziti: Frequently Asked Questions
Use tube pasta with a hollow center that can help sneak in some of the sauce. Penne or rigatoni are both great options.
Not at all! Ground chicken and/or ground turkey can be used instead.
Panko is a Japanese-style breadcrumb and can be found in the Asian section of your local grocery store. Similar to traditional breadcrumbs, Panko serves as a binder to hold the meatballs together, but its larger, flakier texture creates a crispier, crunchier, lighter crust on the meatballs.
Place the uncooked meatballs on a baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment paper, freezing for 1 hour until solid. Transfer the meatballs to an airtight, resealable freezer bag. Label, date and freeze up to 1 month.
Burrata cheese will be creamier than mozzarella, but shredded mozzarella can be used instead. Pre-shredded mozzarella cheese can save a few minutes in the kitchen but pre-shredded contains additives such as potato starch or cellulose, hindering its ability to melt properly. Freshly grated cheese will melt much better, resulting in a smoother consistency.
Meatball Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- 1 pound ziti pasta
- ¾ pound ground beef
- ¾ pound ground pork
- ⅓ cup Panko
- 2 large egg yolks
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ⅓ cup dry red wine
- 1 (32-ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- 8 ounces burrata cheese, torn into large pieces
Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions for al dente; drain well.
- In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, Panko, egg yolks, garlic, basil and oregano; season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1-to-1-1/4-inch meatballs, forming about 24 meatballs.
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned, about 2-3 minutes. Return meatballs to the Dutch oven.
- Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the Dutch oven.
- Stir in marinara sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until flavors have blended, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in pasta, basil and parsley.
- Spread pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish; top with burrata.
- Place into oven and bake until bubbly, about 25-30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
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what are the directions if using frozen cooked meatballs?
Tried this for the first time tonight. It was a big hit with my spouse (aka taste tester). Modified it slightly with penne pasta and baked meatballs. It was delicious! Plan on making this for my daughter and her family!
Made 2 pans of this for a crowd and it was a huge hit with both adults and kids.
Any chance this can be made ahead and frozen? I need a make ahead pasta dish for Christmas but need to bring it frozen a few days prior to the dinner. If so please provide reheating directions. Thank you!
Did you end up freezing this dish? I would like to make it ahead and freeze as well and wondering how it turned out?
Haven’t trIed the meatball Ziti recipe yet, but I’m definitely planning on it – looks delicious!
And, BTW, I also binged Virgin River. My opinion: Virginia River is just lIke your meatball ziti: Very cheesy, but good!
Sooo tasty! I use either Prego Sensitive or Rao’s without garlic/onion and it still tastes fantastic. (Omitting the garlic from the meatballs too.)
I find that burrata is too expensive here ($11) so I’ll use some mascarpone and fresh mozzarella.
I also end up with way too many meatballs (like 60+) so I bake the extras and then have them for meatball subs or whatever.
This recipe is definitely in the rotation and is good enough for company!
Deliciously easy
Tried this recipe and it was delicious,definitely will be making again!
This dish was awesome – I missed that the fresh basil and fresh parsley were supposed to be added at the end and I added them along with the dry basil and dry oregano to the meatballs. The meatballs were perfect and I ended up adding more chopped fresh basil & parsley to the marinara mix (per the recipe). Also, based on other reviews, I added a jar and half of Raos marinara and I heated the second half of the second jar in a saucepan for those who want more sauce! I would definitely recommend using one and a half jars (32 oz each). It was delicious!!
OMG what a fabulous baked pasta dish! This was my first experience with burrata cheese and let me just say that I’m hooked! I used a combo of ground turkey and hot Italian turkey sausage for the meatballs and Rao’s sauce for the marinara (2 32 ounce bottles for $10.99 at Costco).
Fabulous recipe! My husband is still talking about it!
For the amount of work it took to make homemade meatballs, this recipe did not live up to expectations. I’ve been making Damn Delicious recipes almost exclusively for at least a month and this is the first one to be just ok. I’m not eliminating cook’s error as the reason it didn’t score higher in my family’s palate. Perhaps a different marinara would have made the difference. I think it has a place in my repertoire if I use frozen meatballs instead. It would be a good weeknight meal that could come together in under an hour.
This was delicious. I did find it a little dry so added more sauce. Friend asked for recipe and when she made it she also felt dry but didn’t add extra sauce.
Also used panko Italian because was all I had. It worked great. Making for a dinner party next week and will stick to your meatball recipe for now. They were so good didn’t want to take a chance on store bought.
I love all of your recipes! This one is a winner!! My husband and 2 teenage boys gobble it up. I actually buy prepared raw meatballs (I use spicy) to make it go even quicker. Start to finish is 1 hour. Also I use Rao’s marinara. Thank you for all of the delicious recipes!!!
Hi! This was delicious and my whole fam loved it! I used the Trader Joe’s meatballs you recommended – first time trying them – and they were so yummy! This recipe will go into my regular rotation. Thank you!
I love all of your recipes! This one is a winner!! My husband and 2 teenage boys gobble it up. I actually buy prepared raw meatballs (I use spicy) to make it go even quicker. Start to finish is 1 hour. Also I use Rao’s marinara. Thank you for all of the delicious recipes!!!
So excited to try this! I’ve loved every single recipe I’ve tried from Damn Delicious! I’m wondering which marinara brand people are using? It’s like I’m picky about jarred sauce but I also haven’t figured out which one is best. Any suggestions?
Rao’s and Delallo are my favorites!!
So easy to make! I have a dairy sensitivity, so I used less burrata (about half) but still so delicious! Also, I used turkey meat instead of beef and pork, but meatballs were still juicy and flavorful. A must make recipe!
I’ve recently had to eliminate eggs from my diet. Can you suggest the what substitution to use?
1 tablespoon of chia seeds and 3 tablespoons of water. Let sit for a few minutes to thicken. It doesn’t change the taste but has nice binding properties. My son is allergic to egg and I use this substitute all the time!
Aquafaba (basically chickpea oil) is also a great egg substitute
I made this last night and it went down really well with everyone. It is perfect comfort food.
Very delicious. I made this for my family tonight and they loved it. Even made a batch for my son who has a milk allergy (just excluded the burrata cheese). He raved and raved about how delicious it was. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Thank you Chungah,
This was absolutely delicious and fed my hungry family of 7 people!
Didn’t use garlic and only had mozarella as I couldn’t find barata.
Yum, yum, yum!