Description
Million Dollar Baked Ziti brings comfort straight from an Italian grandmother’s kitchen to your dinner table. Creamy cheese, hearty pasta, and rich sauce blend together for a weeknight meal that’ll make your family ask for seconds.
Ingredients
Scale
Pasta and Meat:
- 1 lb ziti
- 1 lb mild Italian sausage
Dairy and Cheese:
- 8 oz cream cheese, softened
- 16 oz cottage cheese
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ cups Parmesan cheese, freshly grated and divided
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese, cubed into ¼-inch pieces and divided
Herbs, Seasonings, and Sauce:
- 1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ cup fresh basil, chopped
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- Fresh basil, chopped, for garnish
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 375°F and coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Boil ziti in salted water until 2 minutes before package’s al dente time. Drain and toss with olive oil to prevent sticking.
- Sauté Italian sausage in a skillet over medium-high heat for 5 minutes until no longer pink. Drain excess fat if needed.
- Add 4 minced garlic cloves to the sausage and cook for 1 minute. Sprinkle in 2 teaspoons oregano, 1 teaspoon dried basil, salt, and pepper.
- Pour 28 oz tomato sauce and 14.5 oz diced tomatoes into the skillet. Simmer on medium-low for 10 minutes. Stir in 1 teaspoon sugar and ½ cup fresh basil, then set aside.
- Whip 8 oz softened cream cheese until smooth. Blend in 2 eggs, 16 oz cottage cheese, and ½ cup sour cream.
- Fold 1 cup Parmesan and 1 cup mozzarella into the cheese mixture. Add 1 cup red sauce and cooked ziti, stirring to combine.
- Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish. Top with remaining red sauce, 1 cup mozzarella, and ½ cup Parmesan.
- Cover dish with foil sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake at 375°F for 25 minutes.
- Remove foil and bake another 25 minutes. Optional: Broil 1-2 minutes for a golden cheese crust.
- Rest the ziti for 10 minutes. Garnish with fresh chopped basil before serving.
Notes
- Drain pasta just short of al dente to prevent overcooking during baking, ensuring perfectly tender noodles.
- Let the ziti rest after baking so the cheesy layers can set and become easier to serve without falling apart.
- For a leaner version, swap regular sausage with turkey sausage and use low-fat cream cheese and cottage cheese.
- Prepare the dish ahead of time by assembling everything except the final baking, then refrigerate and bake when ready to serve.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 1 minutes - 1 hour 2 minutes
- Category: Baked
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8
- Calories: 520 kcal
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 740 mg
- Fat: 30 g
- Saturated Fat: 16 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
- Trans Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 33 g
- Cholesterol: 110 mg