Baked Ziti Ground Beef

There's something about the smell of ground beef browning in a skillet that makes a weeknight feel like a celebration. Years ago, I discovered baked ziti almost by accident—I had a box of pasta, a jar of marinara, and some ground beef, and I thought, why not just throw it all together with cheese and see what happens? What happened was something so comforting and easy that it became the recipe I reach for when I need to feed people I care about without fussing around for hours.

I remember making this for my neighbors after they had their second baby, and I brought it over still warm in the baking dish. The dad opened the door, smelled it, and his whole face changed—like he'd just been given permission to feel human again. That's when I realized this dish isn't fancy, but it carries weight in the right way.

Ingredients

• 1 pound ziti pasta: Don't cook it all the way through—stop when it still has a little resistance in the center, because it'll keep softening in the oven and you don't want mush.
• 1 pound ground beef: Use 80/20 if you can, it has enough fat to be flavorful but not so much that you're drowning everything in grease.
• 3 cups marinara sauce: Store-bought is perfectly honest here, but if you have a favorite homemade one, this is exactly when to use it.
• 2 cloves garlic and 1 small onion: These two create the backbone of flavor—don't skip them or cut them too big, they should dissolve almost into the sauce.
• 1 tablespoon olive oil: Just enough to keep the onion from sticking without making everything slick.
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella, 1 cup Parmesan, 1 cup ricotta: This trio is the secret—ricotta keeps everything creamy inside, while the mozzarella and Parmesan create that golden crust on top that everyone fights over.
• Dried basil, oregano, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes: The seasonings are gentle enough that the dish tastes bright without being aggressive.

Instructions

Get your oven ready and prepare your pan:

Preheat to 375°F and lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish—I use a little butter or oil on a paper towel to coat it evenly.

Cook the pasta until it's just barely tender:

Boil it in salted water until you can bend a piece between your fingers but it still has a tiny bit of snap. Drain it well and set it aside—you want it dry so it doesn't make the final dish watery.

Build the meat sauce base:

Heat your olive oil over medium heat and add the diced onion, letting it soften and turn translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook just until you can smell it strongly, maybe 30 seconds or so.

Brown the ground beef:

Push the onion and garlic aside, add the beef to the pan, and break it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks, about 6 to 8 minutes until there's no pink left. Tilt the pan and spoon off any extra fat that pools—you want flavor, not grease.

Marry the sauce with the meat:

Pour in your marinara sauce and add the basil, oregano, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if you like a little heat. Stir everything together and let it bubble gently for 5 minutes so the flavors blend.

Combine everything in a bowl:

In a big mixing bowl, combine the cooked ziti with the meat sauce, the ricotta, and about half of the mozzarella and Parmesan. Fold it together gently until the cheese starts to melt slightly from the heat of the sauce.

Build the layers:

Spread half of the pasta mixture into your prepared baking dish, then scatter half of the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan over it. Add the rest of the pasta mixture on top and finish with the last of both cheeses sprinkled across the surface.

Bake covered, then uncovered:

Cover the whole thing with foil and bake for 20 minutes, then remove the foil and bake another 10 to 15 minutes until the cheese on top is melted and has turned golden at the edges—this is the moment when your kitchen smells like home.

Rest before serving:

Take it out of the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes so it can set slightly and the cheese can firm up just enough that people can actually get a proper spoonful onto their plate.

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I once made this for a dinner party and forgot to drain the pasta properly, so the whole thing came out of the oven a little soggy, and I felt like I'd failed. But everyone ate it anyway and asked for the recipe, and that's when I learned that good food made with care trumps technical perfection every single time.

Why This Dish Works So Well

Baked ziti sits at this beautiful intersection of humble and impressive. It's not trying to be fancy, but somehow when you pull it out of the oven with that golden cheese crust and the sauce bubbling at the edges, it feels like an event. The beauty is that it doesn't judge—it works just as well at a casual family dinner as it does when you're feeding a crowd, and it tastes just as good the next day cold straight from the fridge.

Making It Your Own

This is one of those recipes that welcomes tinkering without falling apart. Some people swap in Italian sausage for deeper, spicier flavors, and some stir in fresh spinach or mushrooms just before the final bake. I've seen versions with cream mixed into the ricotta, and versions where people use half mozzarella and half provolone for something a little sharper. The skeleton of the dish is strong enough to hold whatever you want to add.

Storage and Make-Ahead

This recipe practically begs to be made ahead. You can assemble the whole thing in the morning, cover it, refrigerate it, and bake it later—just add a few minutes to the baking time since it'll go in cold. It also freezes beautifully before baking, so you can wrap it well and save it for a night when cooking feels impossible.

• If you're reheating leftovers, cover them loosely with foil and warm at 350°F until heated through so the cheese doesn't dry out.
• Fresh basil torn over the top right before serving adds brightness that the dried herb can't quite capture.
• A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes scattered over individual servings gives people control over the heat level without changing the base dish.

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This dish has fed my friends, my family, and quite a few people going through hard times, and it never once let me down. That's the mark of a recipe worth keeping around.

Your Recipe Questions Answered

→ What type of pasta works best for this dish?

Ziti is ideal for its tubular shape which holds sauce well, but penne or rigatoni can be good alternatives.

→ Can I use a different meat instead of ground beef?

Yes, Italian sausage or ground turkey can be substituted for different flavor profiles.

→ How can I make the cheese topping golden and bubbly?

Baking uncovered for the last 10-15 minutes allows the cheese to melt fully and develop a golden crust.

→ Is it better to use store-bought or homemade marinara sauce?

Both work well; homemade offers freshness while quality store-bought sauce is convenient.

→ Can this dish be prepared ahead of time?

Yes, assemble and refrigerate it before baking; bake just before serving for best results.