Easy Baked Ziti with Sausage, Pesto, and Mozzarella
Easy-to-make lasagna with crumbled beef, creamy ricotta, mafalda noodles in place of lasagna sheets, and prepared pesto for a boost of flavor.
Servings: 4
Equipment
Ingredients
- 28 ounce canned crushed tomatoes
- 8 ounces canned tomato sauce
- 1 tablespoon canned tomato paste
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 tablespoons prepared pesto
- 16 ounces mafalda pasta
- 16 ounces whole milk ricotta
- 4 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 12 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
Prep Ahead:
- Make the meat sauce according to instructions 8-12, then transfer to a resealable bag or container.
- Mix the ricotta, cream cheese, garlic powder, and onion powder, and transfer to a resealable bag or container.
- The meat sauce and ricotta mixture will last in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- The meat sauce can be frozen for up to 3 months.
Prepare From Prepped:
- Preheat the oven to 350*F.
- Bring a large pot of alted water to a boil and cook the malaflda pasta until al dente.
- Drain the pasta, then layer the dish according to instructions 16-24.
Make From Fresh:
- Preheat oven to 350*F.
- Cook the sauce: Combine the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste in a large pot over medium heat, til simmering.
- Add the ground beef to sauce ingredients and use a wooden spoon to gently break it up.
- Let the sauce heat back to a simmer.
- Cook the sauce, stirring occasionally to break up any large pieces of ground beef, for about 15-18 minutes, until the meat is cooked through.
- Stir in the pesto and set the sauce aside.
- While the sauce is cooking, boil the noodles in a large pot of salted water until al dente.
- Drain and rinse with cold water, then set aside.
- Combine the ricotta, cream cheese, garlic powder and onion powder until smooth and combined.
- When the sauce is ready, spread half the sauce on the bottom of a greased 9x13 casserole dish.
- Top the sauce with half the noodles, gently spreading to cover the sauce.
- Top the noodles with half the ricotta, gently spreading with a spoon to cover the noodles.
- Cover the ricotta mixture with sauce, reserving about ½ a cup
- Add the remaining noodles and gently spread
- Add the remaining ricotta, gently spreading.
- Top the ricotta with the last bit of the sauce, gently spreading.
- Top the last layer of sauce with the shredded mozzarella.
- Place the pan in the oven and bake 15-18 minutes, until the mozzarella has melted and it beginning to lightly brown.
- Serve hot
Notes
I call this “La-ziti” because it’s a little like lasagna, a little like ziti, and a lot like me being lazy in the kitchen!
This recipes uses mafalda noodles, sometimes called “mafalda corta”, which look like little baby lasagna sheets. If you can’t find mafalda, you can substitute ziti noodles, broken pieces of lasagna sheets, or even rotini or macaroni- it’s a forgiving recipe that I use when I don’t feel like making a whole lasagna!
The prepared pesto is one of my “secret ingredients” to making a tasty spaghetti sauce super quick; it adds just the right amount of cheese and basil to sauce that boosts the flavor.
This recipes uses mafalda noodles, sometimes called “mafalda corta”, which look like little baby lasagna sheets. If you can’t find mafalda, you can substitute ziti noodles, broken pieces of lasagna sheets, or even rotini or macaroni- it’s a forgiving recipe that I use when I don’t feel like making a whole lasagna!
The prepared pesto is one of my “secret ingredients” to making a tasty spaghetti sauce super quick; it adds just the right amount of cheese and basil to sauce that boosts the flavor.