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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Oh my gosh a really great food I made it for my family to try and everyone loves everything blending together, I really like it. Thank you so much.
that looks delicious, curious about it’s taste.
I made that today.
Absolutely Damn Delicious as your title suggests. This is definitely comfort food…simple, budget friendly, elegantly delicious and simply satisfying!!!!! Leftovers are equally tasty with a crisp garden salad to accompany this dinner.
I look forward to making all your recipes, hands down they are the damndest tastiest dishes to prepare…keep them coming!!! Your site is phenominal!!!!!♥️
being a veteran your meals great easy to make fit into budget thank you
Not a wine drinker and don’t want to buy a whole bottle for the 1/3 cup. Can it be eliminated or something be used as a substitute?
You can buy little mini bottles of wine, usually sold in 4 packs but some stores will sell them individually.
Hey Haley,
I know someone responded that you could buy mini bottles, I don’t drink red wine so what I have found most useful is purchasing red cooking wine. It taste just as good and you do not have to refrigerate after opening!
Trader Joe’s has a good cheap wine for 2.99 whi beats the cooking wine. I don’t drink wine either, but I love cooking with it.
You don’t need to use wine, wine has a lot of sugar in it so it helps to cut the acid from the tomatoes, 1/4 cup-ish of plain white sugar will do the same thing. A old Italian mother told me that trick.
Sounds like a great recipe! Are the meatballs added the marinara sauce to cook or added to the marinara with the pasta?
Same question!
Wondering this myself!
Yes, step 4. After you’ve finished browning the meatballs, they get returned to the pan. Then you pour in the wine, then the sauce.
Question: seasoned or plain Panko? Thank you
Plain. 🙂
Just wondering if it could be frozen then baked later, and how to do that? Thanks
Absolutely! Prior to the baking step, let it cool completely, then cover with a double layer of foil and freeze for up to three months. To reheat, place the baked ziti straight from freezer to oven at 350 degrees F. Bake for one hour, or more as needed, covered, to thaw completely and warm through.
Why egg yolks and not the whole egg? I always use a whole egg for binding is why I ask.
I find that egg yolks alone work best; the whites tend to make the mixture sticky and harder to handle with no benefits.
This looks so good! What if I can’t find burrata cheese?
You can use mozzarella in place