Creamy Baked Ziti- Creamy pasta sauce mixed together with pasta and baked until warm and cheese on top is melted. This is comfort food at its best.
I have been making this creamy baked ziti since our first year of marriage, and we've been married for over ten years. Obviously, we must like it! It's quick, easy and makes enough to feed a lot of people. Another plus is that our kids devour this dish and will gladly eat the leftovers for lunch. I serve this with a side salad and bread. This is also a great meal to make for a family in need of a good, comforting meal.
Creamy Baked Ziti Ingredients
- Ground Beef
- Box of Penne Noodles
- 24 oz. Jar of your favorite pasta sauce-this is the sauce I prefer
- Cream Cheese
- Sour Cream
- Mozarella Cheese
- Parmesan Cheese
- Diced Tomatoes
This dish could easily be made vegetarian style by leaving the meat out. I have done this numerous times for a Meatless Monday Meal. If you prefer, you can also use sausage or turkey instead of the ground beef.
The name has ziti in it but I have found that it's easier to find penne noodles or rigatoni than ziti, at least where I live. They're all similar and work equally well in this recipe.
Looking for more pasta recipes? Check out these taco stuffed pasta shells that are perfect for Taco Tuesday and this Chicken Tetrazzini which is great for using leftover chicken or turkey and a classic lasagna recipe.
This dish can be made up to one day in advance, after pasta is in 9x13' pan, refrigerate instead of baking and remobe from oven about 30 minutes before it goes into the oven. Baking time will take longer.
Creamy Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- 4 cups ziti pasta (uncooked)
- 1 pound ground beed
- 1 14.5 oz. Can of diced tomatoes
- 6 oz. cream cheese
- 1 24 oz. Jar of your favorite pasta sauce
- ¾ cup sour cream
- 1 8 oz. Package of mozzarella cheese
- ⅓ cup Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to pasta directions
- In a large skillet cook ground beef until cooked through and drain
- In skillet with ground beef add diced tomatoes, pasta sauce and cream cheese
- Cook until cream cheese is melted, stirring frequently.
- Pour meat mixture into pot with pasta and mix well
- Spray a 9x13 inch pan with non stick spray and add the pasta mixture, then the sour cream and all but one cup of the mozzarella cheese and then the final layer of pasta. Sprinkle parmesan cheese and the remaining one cup of mozzarella cheese.Bake 15-20 minutes or until heated through.
Please leave a comment to let me know if you've made this dish. You can also tag me on social media. I'd love to hear from you.
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