Easy Baked Ziti Recipe (No-Boil)
This Easy Baked Ziti Recipe requires no boiling of the noodles, all you have to do is add the ingredients to a casserole dish, bake, and serve! It’s the most requested dinner recipe from my family because the flavors are so delicious. Pair it with a side salad and garlic bread for a quick weeknight meal.
When dinner feels impossible, this Easy Baked Ziti Recipe is my secret meal to get a home-cooked meal on the table with minimal effort. With just 5 ingredients, you don’t even have to boil the noodles, the oven cooks them for you!
I promise you that your whole family will love this easy no-boil baked pasta. It’s one of the most requested dinners by my kids any day of the week. I’ve also brought it to countless potlucks and there is never a bite left! The best part is it makes for delicious leftovers and also freezes nicely to enjoy at a later date.
If you love an easy pasta recipe, my one-pan Creamy Shell Pasta is a viral hit on social media as well as this Marry Me Tortellini.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
- 5 ingredient pasta bake recipe. You read that correctly! Minimal ingredients that are easy to shop for and keep on hand in your kitchen.
- Hassle-free dinner for a busy weeknight. Forget having to chop or even cook the noodles on the stovetop, this baked ziti recipe only requires you to add everything into a casserole dish to bake and serve.
- The whole family will love this dinner, even the pickiest eater! Everyone from my husband to my kids request this baked ziti over and over.
Leanna’s Tip: This easy baked ziti recipe has pretty much no-clean up! Just your cutting board and the baking dish (if you actually finish the eating the pasta in one evening!).
Ingredients
- Fresh mozzarella cheese: Makes each bite so cheesy and delicious.
- Parmesan cheese: Adds nice saltiness and bright cheese flavor to every bite.
- Marinara sauce: Use your favorite store-bought brand here.
- Dried ziti pasta: The noodles for this easy pasta bake of course!
- Whole-milk ricotta cheese: We love the whole milk kind for it’s extra creamy and rich flavor that makes every bite very decadent.
- Fresh chopped basil or parsley leaves: This is totally optional to garnish at the end, but we love the fresh flavor it brings.
How to Make this Easy Baked Ziti Recipe (no-boil)
1. Heat the oven to 400°F and coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Pour marinara sauce into baking dish. Add ziti pasta, cubed mozzarella, and half the Parmesan cheese.
3. Toss to combine and coat the pasta in the sauce.
4. Dollop whole-milk ricotta cheese over mixture and gently stir.
5. Spread mixture into an even layer and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.
6. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake until the pasta is almost tender (about 40 mins.)
7. Uncover and continue baking until pasta is tender (about 20 mins more.)
8. Broil until the top is browned (about 2 to 3 minutes.) Let cool, garnish the basil or parsley. Don’t worry if you don’t have a broiler option; you can just continue baking your Baked Ziti in the oven.
Expert Tips
- Be sure to buy fresh mozzarella, it makes this pasta bake so gooey and cheesy! Cube the cheese into similar sized cubes so they melt at an even rate.
- Add meat if desired. You can easily add ground beef or ground chicken to this no-boil pasta bake. Just brown the proteins on the stovetop in a skillet and let it cool until warm. Add into the casserole dish with the other ingredients.
- Buy your favorite jarred marinara sauce. We all have that one we love, it’s the store-bought solution to make this pasta so easy!
- Make sure you mix the ingredients well in the baking dish prior to cooking. This will help everything cook evenly including the noodles in the sauce.
- Broil the easy baked ziti at the end for the restaurant-quality finish that’s golden brown and extra delicious. If you don’t have a broiler, just bake for a couple of extra minutes.
- If you want to use another type of pasta, just be sure it’s a short noodle like penne so it cooks in the same amount of time.
- Add other Italian spices to your liking. You can easy also add some Italian seasoning, dried oregano, dried thyme, or red chili flakes to the no-boil pasta prior to cooking for even more flavor.
Serving No-Boil Baked Ziti
This easy Baked Ziti looks so delicious is just about any baking dish! Here are some of my favorites:
- Baking Dish – How cute are these Pioneer Woman designs from Walmart? I also this stoneware version from Target or these pretty designs from Walmart! For a smaller dish, this MacKenzie-Childs checkered dish is beautiful.
- Checkered Rectangular Dish– This Macenzie-Childs checkered dish is perfect for garlic bread, bagels, silverware, and more!
- Wooden Serving Boards: I use wooden serving boards all the time for prep, presentation, and kitchen decor! To start, I used my favorite MacKenzie Childs wooden checkered board. You also may enjoy, this option from Kirklands, this option from Amazon, or this raised trivet from Target. If you’re looking to start or add to a collection, Antique Hardware has this set of 3 that I get so much use out of year-round!
Storage
This Baked Ziti is just as delicious the next day! To store leftovers, you can either cover your baking dish with plastic wrap and store in the fridge, or transfer to an airtight container. Leftovers should stay fresh in the fridge for about 3 days!
Reheat any leftovers in the oven or microwave for a few minutes until warmed through. If you want to freeze the baked ziti, let it cool completely after baking, then place into airtight containers. Freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat in the oven or microwave for a few minutes until warmed through.
You can easily prep this no-boil pasta bake in advance. Once all of the ingredients are added into the casserole dish, you can cover with plastic wrap or foil and place in the fridge, where it should stay fresh for 2-3 days before baking.
FAQs
Yes! My baked ziti does just that. Be sure to have enough marinara sauce in the baking dish so that the noodles cook at an even rate.
It will take about 60 minutes for the noodles to become al dente in this easy baked ziti pasta bake.
Yes, we recommend ground beef or ground chicken. Cook the meat fully on the stovetop and cool until warm before adding it into the casserole dish.
More Delicious Italian Recipes
Easy Baked Ziti Recipe (no-boil)
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh mozzarella cheese cubed
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese finely grated
- 2 24-ounce jars marinara sauce
- 1 pound dried ziti pasta
- 1 16-ounce container whole-milk ricotta cheese
- Fresh chopped basil or parsley leaves for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°F and coat a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Pour marinara sauce into baking dish. Add ziti pasta, cubed mozzarella, and half the Parmesan cheese.
- Toss to combine and coat the pasta in the sauce.
- Dollop whole-milk ricotta cheese over mixture and gently stir.
- Spread mixture into an even layer and sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese.
- Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil and bake until the pasta is almost tender (about 40 mins.)
- Uncover and continue baking until pasta is tender (about 20 mins more.)
- Broil until the top is browned (about 2 to 3 minutes.) Let cool, garnish the basil or parsley.
Hi Leanna…
How can I make this without using ricotta? Family doesn’t like it.
Thank you for all your recipes, for making all the party ideas sparkle & know that your blogs brings much happiness to so many!
This was a hit in our home. My husband devoured it. I love how easy it is. As a full time working mom, this was perfect and easy to make!