Baked Beef Ziti
Brown and chop up your ground beef, drain fat 
add oregano and garlic powder 
add your favorite marinara sauce, I love Rao’s 
Boil your Ziti or Rigatoni pasta to al dente, drain 
mix the ricotta, parm, egg and seasonings 
layer; sauce, pasta, meat sauce, cheese – repeat 
top sauce with shredded mozzarella cheese and parmesan 
bake until bubbly and brown on top 
serve with a side salad and garlic bread
- 2 lbs ground beef, brown and drain the fat
- 1 15 oz container of ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbs oregano
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 2 Tbs freshly chopped Italian Parsley
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 jars Rao’s sauce or your favorite sauce
- 1 box Rigatoni or Ziti Pasta
Preheat oven to 375.
Brown your beef, breaking it up with this handy tool! It makes breaking up sausage or ground meats so easy. Drain the fat. Once the beef is drained. Add the oregano and garlic salt. Stir and then add the marinara sauce.
Get your pasta to boiling! Cook al dente, drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, add the ricotta, parmesan cheese, egg, salt and pepper and Italian Parsley to a bowl. Mix until smooth and set aside.
You are ready to start layering! Grab your baking dish, I used a 9×13 pyrex dish. Layer: sauce, pasta, cheese mixture – dollop spoonfuls around and then spread it out. Top with more meat sauce, then shredded cheese. Repeat until you top with the last of the sauce and last of the shredded cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Serve with a side salad and garlic bread. Pictured above are pieces of naan bread cut in half, topped with a spiced butter and shredded cheese. Bake for 15 minutes until warmed through and the cheese is melted. This recipe is modified from one on Living with Landyn.
A Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel would be delicious paired with this dish.