Creamy Baked Ziti is a simple and delicious baked pasta dish that never fails to please. This easy baked ziti recipe is extra creamy and cheesy! Everything bakes together into something so tasty…the comfort food recipe ever!
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Best Easy Baked Ziti
This pasta is the best ever! It’s the creamiest, cheesiest baked recipe…something I can never resist!
If you love pasta and cheese, then this recipe is about to be one of your favorites! I can’t resist cheesy pasta in any form, and this just might be the best pasta dish for easy dinners.
One of the many great things about this dish is that EVERYONE will love it. Without exaggeration, I can’t imagine anyone not enjoying this. Pasta covered in a creamy sauce and baked with tons of cheese…yum! I’ll gladly eat this every night until it’s gone.
As with any good casserole, this recipe is really easy to make ahead of time, and really easy to save leftovers for later. So there’s never a reason to let this cheesy ziti go to waste! If you need a dinner that’s simple yet delicious, then this is exactly what you need!
This Easy Baked Ziti recipe is the BEST ziti I’ve ever tasted. Make it at home tonight and you’ll see what I mean!
So what makes this the best baked ziti recipe? A lot of recipes use ricotta cheese, but I’m going to let you in on a secret. The thing that makes this recipe sooooo creamy and amazing is cream cheese! You cook the cream cheese directly into the marinara sauce, which adds even more cheesy goodness into this pasta.
What ingredients do you need?
This easy baked ziti recipe really is simple. There’s just a few ingredients (pasta, sauce, cheese, check!) and a few steps between you and a creamy, cheesy baked pasta dish!
Ingredients:
- Ziti
- Marinara Sauce
- Cream Cheese
- Mozzarella
- Parmesan
- Basil
Can I use penne or do I have to use ziti pasta?
You can substitute penne in this recipe if you don’t have ziti, although it shouldn’t be hard to find. They have the same basic shape, so it won’t make too much of a difference. Penne is typically smaller than ziti.
How to Make Easy Baked Ziti – Step by Step
This is just about the easiest recipe out there! Just like any casserole, it’s so easy to throw this baked pasta dish together for dinner.
- Boil the pasta according to package instructions and drain.
- Heat the marinara sauce and cream cheese in a saucepan, combining them into one sauce.
- Add the pasta into the pot of sauce and stir it all together, so that the ziti is well covered.
- Pour half of the ziti & sauce into the prepared casserole dish, then sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan.
- Pour the rest of the ziti into the dish and top with the rest of the mozzarella and parmesan.
- Cover the casserole dish and bake for 30 minutes at 375°F. Then remove the lid, and bake uncovered for another 15-20 minutes.
Simple as that! It comes out creamy, cheesy, hot, and bubbly. Just so darn good! Leftovers will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days, and you can easily freeze the rest for another time.
Be sure to check the recipe card below for the full recipe.
Can I make ziti casserole ahead of time?
Yes! This is a great dish to make ahead of time. Just follow the recipe as is, but don’t bake it yet. Instead, cover the ziti in the casserole dish and refrigerate it until ready to serve. It can be made up to 2 days ahead of baking.
When you want to serve it, let the ziti sit out while the oven preheats. Then just follow the rest of the baking instructions. Cover and bake at 375°F, then bake uncovered for another 15-20 minutes.
Vegetarian Baked Ziti (No Meat)
The base recipe for this dish is meat free! So if you’re looking for a vegetarian ziti recipe, just follow the recipe card as is. This is one of the great pasta dishes that doesn’t need meat to be incredibly delicious. It’s perfectly creamy, cheesy, and flavorful with just marinara sauce (and cheese, duh).
Pasta with Meat
That being said, if you prefer your baked ziti with meat, that’s easy to accommodate! Again, just follow the recipe as is, but add in Italian sausage, ground beef, chicken, or your favorite meat sauce. It’s easy to just cook up some ground beef to mix in with the marinara, and then mix that into the pasta. Meat or no meat, this is the best comfort food recipe and everyone will love it!
You and your family are going to LOVE this easy baked ziti recipe. So cheesy and creamy…there’s nothing not to love!
See the recipe card below for details on how to make this recipe. Enjoy!
If you like this recipe, try these other easy pasta recipes:
- Chicken Alfredo Pasta Bake
- One Pan Chicken Parmesan Pasta
- Easy Chicken Tetrazzini
- Caprese Pasta Bake
- Creamy Chicken Spaghetti
- Baked Pasta Primavera with Cream Cheese Alfredo
- One Pot Chicken Alfredo Skillet
- Creamy White Chicken Lasagna
- Italian Stuffed Shells with Meat and Cheese
Easy Creamy Baked Ziti Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound uncooked ziti
- 1 32 ounce jar Marinara sauce
- 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
- 16 ounces shredded mozzarella
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375°F and spray an 11x9-inch casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large saucepan, cook the pasta according to package (al dente/no salt) directions, drain.
- In the same large saucepan set over medium heat, cook the marinara sauce and cream cheese together until the cheese melts. Stir often.
- Add the pasta to the marinara/cheese sauce and mix well.
- Pour half the marinara/cheese/ziti sauce in the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with half the mozzarella and half the Parmesan cheeses.
- Sprinkle the cheeses with 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil.
- Layer the remaining marinara/cheese/ziti sauce over the cheese and top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
- Cover and bake at 375° for 30 minutes.
- Remove the cover and bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until the baked ziti is bubbly and cheese is golden.
- Garnish with the remaining chopped basil and serve with toasted baguette.
- Enjoy!
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Nutrition Information
This turned out awesome! I added Italian sausage. My family loved it!
Thanks for sharing, Traci!
Can you add like ground turkey meat and be ok?
Definitely modify to your liking!
This is an amazing recipe! All the other baked ziti recipes I found had so many ingredients we didn’t have available! My family loved this!
So happy to hear you’ve found a recipe that works for your crew!
Hi, what is your favorite jar of marinara sauce for your pasta recipes? Do you use the same brand for all your recipes or do you switch it up? Thx
I love DeLallo!!
My favorite is Bertolli
Easy to make and filling as well with all that cheese! I do agree with another poster that it could use more spices, but I wasn’t really sure what to add.
You can always add salt/pepper or some Italian seasoning!
Interesting, I just left a comment, but I now see this one, meaning I must have made it before and forgot to mark it. This time I added Italian seasoning and some hot red pepper flakes, and the flavor was great.
Yummmy!!
Becky,
My family loved this recipe. Crisp around the ended after cooking it. I never have ricotta cheese in the house, but I always have cream cheese. I think that I may try this next time with my homemade sauce. Would that work?
I think that would work just fine!! I’m so happy you all loved this one so much!
Can this be frozen before baked.
Yes, absolutely!
Can this be made with lower fat mozzarella cheese?
Yes, absolutely!!
This was great! My family was wondering why I’ve never made this before. Thank you for the new addition in the line up!
No problem!! I’m always happy to help!
Loved this recipe I never used cream cheese in it before. The only thing I did was add hamburger, fresh spinach and while assembling I added cold cream cheese doll ups so good people came back for seconds
YUM! Those additions sound great!