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I am a big pasta fan. I absolutely love a good pasta dish. My husband on the other hand is stuck on cheese or meat ravioli. So, I am always trying new pasta dishes on him to see if he’ll give it a thumbs up. Most of his complaints about baked ziti is that it tends to be too try. I also prefer to use bottle pasta sauce when I can, because being a busy mom doesn’t allow most of the time for make sauce from scratch.
When I saw first saw Bobby at Blog Chef post this recipe in 2009, I knew I had to give it a try. His recipe calls for the addition of chicken broth to the bottled pasta sauce. I figured this would keep the dish more moist after baking. Also, it included meat in the dish. My husband also isn’t a fan of meatless pasta dishes. Even when he has cheese ravioli he always wants it with meat sauce. So, I gave Bobby’s recipe a try an it was a hit.
I probably could have gotten by with making a half a recipe for my family though. We basically had half of the pan left over. It was a hit and I loved the addition of the chicken broth.
Baked Ziti
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 (32 oz) jar meatless spaghetti sauce
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 (16 oz) pkg ziti pasta (cooked and drained)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large skillet add ground beef, onions and garlic. Cook over medium high heat stirring frequently until the beef is browned. Stir in spaghetti sauce, chicken broth and oregano. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Stir in 1 cup of sauce into the cooked ziti noodles. Spoon ½ of the ziti mixture into a 13×9” baking dish. Sprinkle 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese and ½ cup parmesan cheese over the top of the ziti mixture. Top with 2 cups of the sauce, then add remaining ziti mixture and top that with the remaining sauce.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove from oven, uncover and sprinkle the top with the remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Return to over and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted. Makes 6 servings.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Beef
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
This is the original photo from this post when it was first posted in Oct. 2009.
20 comments
Could I bake this in my Dutch oven or is the 9 x 13 the best fit?
You could do it in a Dutch oven, but it may cook a little faster.
Trimming the recipe in half – would we just divide the ingredients from what is listed?
Yes, that would be fine!
Do you think I could sub beef broth for the chicken broth since that is what I have on hand?
[…] Baked Ziti […]
This recipe was great! It was quick, easy, and delicious!! Even my picky husband and 16 month old daughter ate it right up!
[…] sauce and cheese, that is definitely a comfort dish in my book. A while back a posted a delicious Baked Ziti. I posted it after a quest to find a decent baked ziti recipe. It was had to find one that […]
I have tried lots of baked ziti with it usually turning out dry…but not this time. Ziti was moist and delicious! This is a real winner…going in my family cookbook as my go to recipe for Baked Ziti…thanks for sharing!!!!!!!!!!!!
This Is yummy! My family kept coming back for second and third helpings!(And believe me I have picky eaters!) The chicken broth Is the key to this recipe,no dry noodles!I will for sure be using this recipe.
Yum… I made this tonight and it was a HIT! Hubby loved it, my daughter ate it right up, and I loved it, too (which is always the real test since food never tastes quite as good when you make it yourself).
Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Laura, this looks like it turned out really good. I love the photo. I am glad you enjoyed the recipe.
I love baked ziti. I wonder if my little one would like this. He's really picky about his pasta…only eats bowties.
Looks wonderful…I'm sure the family would love it!
That looks cheesy and delicous!
oooh that looks good!
Yum! This looks great I will have to try it soon! I made your broccoli cheese soup yesterday and it was great!! I loved that you used the steamers (free after coupons!!) for the broccoli! My hubby said its the best one I have made yet!
Thanks!!
Wow! Ziti-licious!
We make a dish similar to this but we use mezze penne since the ziti was a little big for my youngsters. Thanks for a great recipe blog!
That looks yummy!! Definitely trying this one- baked ziti does tend to get dry, so I'm excited to try it with the broth.