Million Dollar Baked Ziti Recipe
Million Dollar Baked Ziti Recipe is rich, cheesy and very comforting. This dish feels special but is easy to make. It tastes like a restaurant meal at home.
Ingredients
- Ziti pasta – 16 ounces
- Olive oil – 1 tablespoon
- Ground beef – 1 pound
- Onion chopped – 1 small
- Garlic minced – 2 cloves
- Marinara sauce – 24 ounces
- Salt – 1 teaspoon
- Black pepper – ½ teaspoon
- Italian seasoning – 1 teaspoon
- Cream cheese softened – 8 ounces
- Ricotta cheese – 1 cup
- Sour cream – ½ cup
- Mozzarella cheese shredded – 2 cups
- Parmesan cheese grated – ½ cup
- Fresh parsley chopped – 2 tablespoons
Instructions
Cook the pasta
- Boil ziti in salted water. Cook until just tender. Drain well and set aside.
Prepare the meat sauce
- Heat oil in a skillet. Add beef and onion. Cook until browned and fully cooked.
Add flavor to sauce
- Add garlic, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Stir well and cook one minute.
Add marinara sauce
- Pour marinara sauce into skillet. Simmer for five minutes on low heat.
Make cheese mixture
- Mix cream cheese, ricotta, sour cream and half mozzarella until smooth.
Preheat the oven
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease a large baking dish lightly.
Layer the pasta
- Spread half pasta in dish. Add half meat sauce evenly on top.
Add cheese layer
- Spread all cheese mixture evenly. Make sure pasta is fully covered.
Finish layering
- Add remaining pasta. Top with remaining meat sauce.
Add final cheese
- Sprinkle remaining mozzarella and Parmesan evenly on top.
Bake the ziti
- Cover with foil. Bake for 25 minutes until hot and bubbly.
Brown the top
- Remove foil. Bake 10 more minutes until cheese turns golden.
Rest and serve
- Let ziti rest five minutes. Garnish with parsley before serving.
Notes
- Cook pasta al dente to avoid soggy ziti.
- Use full-fat cheese for best taste.
- Let cream cheese soften for easy mixing.
- Make it ahead and bake later easily.
- Add red pepper flakes for mild heat.