Commercial Ziti With Meat Sauce
Easy to make baked pasta dish that's great for family, parties or soup kitchen projects.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Ziti Or your favorite short pasta
- 24 oz Jarred Tomato Pasta Sauce
- 1 lb Lean Ground Beef Meat/Fat ratio of 90/10 or 85/15
- 15 oz Ricotta Cheese
- 8 oz Shredded Mozzarella
- 4 oz Grated Parmesan or Romano Cheese
- ½ oz Italian Seasoning Or mix rosemary, basil, oregano, thyme, parsley
- Few Drops Olive Oil
- 1 Egg
- Garlic Powder or Gariic Salt
- Salt and Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Cook Ziti as described on the box for Al dente. Drain and set aside to cool.
- Heat a small amount of oil in a large skillet and add ground beef in small amounts. Sprinkle beef with a small amount of salt, pepper and garlic powder and saute' beef until brown and fully cooked. Once fully cooked, transfer meat to a separate bowl by using a slotted spoon to lift the meat from the rendered fat. Discard the fat.
- Combine the ricotta cheese, mozzarella cheese, the egg, salt, pepper, Italian Seasoning, some of the grated cheese, one and a half cups of pasta sauce and the cooked beef in a large bowl and stir to combine to a uniform consistency.
- Add the cooked Ziti, mix well and transfer to a shallow pan.
- Spread remaining pasta sauce on Ziti and sprinkle with grated cheese and Italian Seasoning.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes then remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until temperature in the center of the pan reaches 160 degrees Fahrenheit and the top is slightly browned.
- Serve, optionally with additional sauce and grated cheese.
Notes
The ricotta and mozzarella quantities in this recipe have been adjusted up to equal the container sizes typically sold in supermarkets. Feel free to use less if you don't mind having some of these ingredients left over in your refrigerator. On the other hand, who doesn't like extra cheese in their Ziti!
Also, this dish can be made in advance. After step 6, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one day or freeze for up to 4 weeks. When you want to serve it let it come to room temperature, remove the plastic wrap and pickup at step 7.