Baked Ziti with Ground Beef (Print Version)

Tender ziti pasta combined with savory ground beef, tangy marinara, and melty cheeses baked to golden perfection.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pasta

01 - 1 pound ziti or penne pasta

→ Meat

02 - 1 pound ground beef (85% lean)

→ Sauce

03 - 3 cups marinara sauce
04 - 2 cloves garlic, minced
05 - 1 medium onion, finely chopped
06 - 2 tablespoons olive oil

→ Cheeses

07 - 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
08 - 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
09 - 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

→ Spices & Seasonings

10 - 1 teaspoon dried Italian herbs
11 - 1/2 teaspoon salt
12 - 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
13 - 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

# How-To Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 375°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
02 - Boil salted water and cook pasta until just al dente. Drain and set aside.
03 - Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onion until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook 1 minute more.
04 - Add ground beef to skillet, breaking it up, and cook until browned and no longer pink, about 6 to 8 minutes. Drain excess fat.
05 - Stir marinara sauce, Italian herbs, salt, pepper, and optional red pepper flakes into the beef. Simmer for 5 minutes.
06 - In a large bowl, mix cooked pasta with half the meat sauce, ricotta cheese, and 1 cup mozzarella cheese gently to combine.
07 - Pour half the pasta mixture into the baking dish. Top with half the remaining sauce and half the Parmesan. Repeat layers with remaining mixture, sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
08 - Cover with foil and bake 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 to 15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden.
09 - Let rest for 10 minutes before serving; garnish with fresh basil if desired.

# Expert Tips:

01 -
  • It comes together faster than you'd expect, leaving time to set a real table instead of rushing.
  • The combination of ricotta and mozzarella creates this impossibly creamy texture that nobody forgets.
  • You can make it hours ahead and bake it when guests arrive, which feels like cheating but works beautifully.
02 -
  • Don't cook the pasta fully—it needs to be slightly underdone because it will continue cooking in the oven and you want tender, not mushy.
  • If you drain too much fat from the ground beef, the dish gets dry; a little richness is intentional here.
  • Layering matters more than stirring everything together; it creates pockets of sauce and cheese throughout instead of one uniform texture.
03 -
  • Use a meat thermometer to avoid overcooking the beef—ground meat is done at 160°F, not when it looks brown, which happens faster than you'd think.
  • If your cheese topping isn't browning enough, turn your oven to broil for the last 2 minutes, but watch it carefully because the difference between golden and burnt happens in seconds.

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