A super comforting pasta dish, this Easy Baked Ziti is a classic that takes minimal ingredients. You can have this on your dinner table in about an hour and it's perfect for the whole family.
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray, set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together the ground beef, parmesan, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, salt, pepper, and chili flakes until combined.
Place a dutch oven or large skillet with deep sides on the stove over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the meat mixture and brown it, stirring occasionally until no longer pink, 8-10 minutes.
Add the marinara sauce to the meat and bring to a simmer. Reserve ¼ of the sauce on the side.
Add the ziti to the remaining sauce in the pot and stir it until the noodles are coated. Take off the heat.
Add half of the ziti mixture to the bottom of the prepared dish.
Top with dollops of half of the ricotta cheese. Add about 1 cup of the mozzarella on top.
Add the remaining ziti and spread the reserved sauce on top. Dollop the rest of the ricotta all over. Top with the remaining mozzarella. Add a sprinkle of dried oregano.
Place in the oven, uncovered for 20-25 minutes until bubbly and the cheese is melted. Turn the broiler on high and brown the cheese (keep an eye on it!). Serve immediately.
Notes
You can use other pastas, see some of my suggestions above.
This can be halved and made in a 9x9-inch baking dish to serve a smaller family.
Switch up your meats, see above on what I like to do.
We like to use marinara in this but you can use your favorite spaghetti sauce as well.
The meat is seasoned like meatballs, I would not skip this step as it really adds flavor to the dish.