Easy Baked Ziti Recipe With Ground Beef
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This Easy Baked Ziti Recipe is a household favorite! We have so many crazy weeknights that having easy dinners the whole family loves is crucial for me as a mom! I can’t believe that up until a couple of years ago, I thought Ziti was a fancy dinner.
Now, we always seem to be in a season where our weeknights are busy, even with the kids getting older. Someone always has practice, homework, plans, or work. It seems like so fast and easy dinners are a must! You will love how quick this is to make and how much the kids will love dinner.
We are huge bakers and grillers in our house; the kids are too. I hate using pot holders, and truthfully so, Oven Gloves are a huge lifesaver for me and the kids. I constantly lose my grip on potholders or find them awkward to grab around pans. Plus, if they aren’t the gloves, so much skin is left exposed to be burnt by the racks. Yes I have some special skills.
Easy Baked Ziti Ingredients:
- Penne Pasta– You can use a different form of pasta or whole-grain pasta in this recipe.
- Pasta Sauce– Any pasta sauce or spaghetti sauce will work with this; you can also use homemade spaghetti sauce.
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Ground Beef– I always have cooked ground beef ready to defrost in my freezer
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How To Prep Ground Beef And Freeze It
Take a lot of prep work out of weeknight dinners and precook and freeze your cooked ground beef! Pull and defrost the ground beef from the freezer to put in this recipe for an easy weeknight dinner! (If you aren’t sure how to best do this, check out Freezing Cooked Ground Beef)
How to make baked ziti with ground beef
Brown your meat or pull out pre-cooked frozen ground beef. You will want to strain any grease from the cooked meat.
Boil your Penne Pasta and strain the water out when the noodles are cooked.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees to bake the Ziti.
In your pot, put back in the cooked pasta and add in the sauce and meat.
Mix the mixture until it is well blended.
Spray your baking dish with nonstick spray to ensure clean-up is a breeze.
Dump your sauce-covered noodle meat sauce mixture into your baking dish.
Cover with cheese and bake for about 5 minutes till cheese is melted.
Serve and enjoy!
Alternate Ingredients for Baked Ziti:
So many ways to change up baked ziti! These are some great ways to do different add-ins to ziti.
- Ground Chicken
- Ground Sausage
- Meatballs
- Mushrooms
- Black Olives
- Minced Garlic
- Basil
- Oregano
- Italian Seasoning
How to store leftover ziti
Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to five days after cooking.
You can freeze ziti, but the cheese may turn out differently after defrosting. Store in the freezer for up to ninety days.
Storing leftovers properly requires the right tools! My preferred storage method is if the leftovers can be sealed in a food saver. If not, then an air-tight container or Ziploc bag for the fridge is the way I go. The airtight container or a freezer Ziploc bag are the next best bet for freezing the leftovers. I also use a food scale to measure portions into serving sizes.
what to serve with baked ziti
Bread: Cheesy Garlic Pull Apart Bread, Garlic Parmesan Bisucti Pull Part Bread, English Muffin Garlic Cheese Bread, Easy Cheesy Monkey Bread, Corn Bread
Side Dishes: Air Fryer Bacon Asparagus, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Oven Roasted Baby Potatoes, Air Fryer Brussell Sprouts, Green Beans, Ceasar Salad, Acorn Squash, Green Salad, Baked Sweet Potatoes, Air Fryer Broccoli, Grilled Zucchini, Grilled Corn On The Cob, Air Fryer Zucchini Chips, Macaroni And Cheese, Broccoli Salad
Easy Baked Ziti Recipe
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Ingredients
- 16 Ounce Penne Pasta
- 24 Ounce Pasta Sauce
- 8 Ounce Mozzarella cheese
- 1 Pound Ground Beef
Instructions
- Brown your meat or pull out pre-cooked frozen ground beef.
- Boil your Penne Pasta and strain the water out when the noodles are cooked.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees for baking the Ziti in.
- In your pot put back in your pasta and add in your sauce and meat.
- Mix the mixture together until it is well blended.
- Spray your baking dish with nonstick spray to make sure clean up is a breeze.
- Dump your sauce-covered noodle meat sauce mixture into your baking dish.
- Cover with cheese and bake for about 5 minutes till cheese is melted.
- Serve and enjoy!
