Baked Ziti with Meatballs
This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Baked Ziti with Meatballs is loaded with marinara sauce, three cheeses, and the best homemade meatball recipe you've ever tasted.
It's the perfect family-friendly meal that freezes well and just screams comfort food!
Jump To
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- This baked ziti with meatballs recipe includes everything you love about pasta dishes. It's cheesy, packed with flavor, and delicious!
- Homemade Italian meatballs are the best you'll ever taste because they’re tender and created with simple ingredients.
- Use ground beef, chicken, turkey or pork in this ziti recipe. Some folks like to use Italian sausage or a combination. The choice is yours!
- Both meatless marinara sauce and tomato sauce (with meat) pair well with this ziti pasta. Use your favorite jarred sauce or make your own.
Ingredients
Your whole family will love this easy meatball recipe and beg for seconds! (My hubby likes to take leftovers to work the next day.)
Make this dish ahead of time and keep in the fridge until ready to bake. It's great for sharing with family for a casual weeknight meal, or taking to friends who need a little pick-me-up.
Quantities are listed in the recipe card.
Meatballs
- ground beef (85% lean)
- onion
- garlic powder
- dried Italian seasoning
- freshly grated parmesan cheese
- seasoned bread crumbs
- large egg
- salt and pepper
Ziti and Sauce
- ziti noodles (or penne pasta)
- large jar of marinara sauce
Toppings
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- shredded parmesan cheese
- whole milk ricotta cheese
- dried Italian seasoning
- large egg, beaten
How to Make Meatballs
Combine bread crumbs, ground beef, diced onion, garlic powder, freshly grated parmesan, dried Italian seasoning and salt and pepper in a large bowl.
Add beaten egg and using your hands, combine with meatball mixture until fully incorporated. Scoop out mixture with a medium 1.5 inch scoop and roll into balls.
Place meatballs in a skillet with olive oil on medium high heat. Brown on both sides (about 3 minutes), then remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm until time to assemble ziti.
How to Make Ziti
- Cook the pasta per the package directions in quarts of salted water until it is al dente.
- Drain cooked ziti and place in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap until ready to assemble.
Assembling Baked Ziti
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix shredded parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, and Italian seasoning together in a large bowl with a beaten egg.
- In a large 13-inch baking dish or aluminum pan, add a little sauce on the bottom to keep pasta from sticking.
- Alternate layers of ziti noodles, sauce, mozzarella cheese, then cheese mixture. Repeat until you almost reach the top of the pan. Leave 1 inch for meatballs.
Adding the Meatballs
- Transfer meatballs on top of cheese and drizzle with sauce. Shake a little dried Italian seasoning on top.
- Sprinkle entire dish with the rest of the shredded parmesan cheese.
- The meatballs will cook while pasta bakes in the oven for 45 minutes.
Recipe Highlights
- These flavorful meatballs are made without any artificial ingredients and the Italian flavor is spot-on. They turn out fork-tender every time!
- This pasta recipe tastes great with a loaf of crusty bread and a mixed green salad.
- The bite-size meatballs freeze well and so does the rest of the pasta.
- Best of all, it's a great one pan dinner recipe that's easy to make in advance!
Variations
- use cottage cheese instead of ricotta
- try another type of pasta sauce that you enjoy
- add sausage, ground turkey, or ground veal to the meat mixture if desired
Freezing and Storage
Freeze Baked Ziti with Meatballs in an aluminum pan with an airtight lid for up to 3 months.
When ready to cook, simply take out of freezer and bake as directed. Add a few minutes to the baking time to allow for frozen food.
To store leftovers, wrap tightly in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven in an oven-safe baking dish.
Make this dish ahead and keep in the refrigerator up to 2 days in an airtight container.
Recipe FAQS
In order for the top to brown and the cheese to melt properly, bake the ziti uncovered. If it starts to get too brown towards the end of the cooking time, cover it with aluminum foil.
Not all recipes require that you brown the meatballs before baking, but it adds extra flavor and expedites the cooking process in this recipe.
The proper temperature should read 160 to 165 degrees Fahrenheit when a meat thermometer is inserted in the middle of a meatball.
Sure! If you want to save time and have a favorite product you love, frozen will work fine too. However, homemade isn't always difficult and the taste is worth it!
More Pasta Favorites
Looking for a meatless ziti recipe? Try my Baked Ziti to Go! Or, find more great ideas with these other delicious pasta dishes...
Recipe Card
Baked Ziti with Meatballs
*See notes in blog post for detailed tips, photos and instructions.
Equipment
- 1.5 inch cookie scoop
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1 pound ground beef (85% lean)
- 1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
- 1 small onion (diced)
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (dried)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 large egg (beaten)
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil (extra virgin)
Pasta & Sauce
- 1 pound ziti pasta (boiled and drained)
- 48 ounces pasta sauce (any brand)
Toppings
- 16 ounces parmesan cheese, shredded (divided in half)
- 16 ounces ricotta cheese (whole milk)
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (dried)
- 1 large egg (beaten)
- 16 ounces mozzarella cheese (shredded)
Instructions
Meatballs
- Combine bread crumbs, ground beef, diced onion, garlic powder, freshly grated parmesan, dried Italian seasoning and salt and pepper in a large bowl.
- Add beaten egg and using your hands, combine with meatball mixture until fully incorporated. Scoop out mixture with a medium 1.5 inch scooper and roll into balls.
- Place meatballs in a skillet with olive oil on medium high heat. Brown on both sides (about 3 minutes), then remove with a slotted spoon and keep warm until time to assemble ziti.
Pasta
- Cook the pasta per the package directions in quarts of salted water until it is al dente.
- Drain cooked ziti and place in a large bowl covered with plastic wrap until ready to assemble.
Toppings
- Mix half of the shredded parmesan cheese, ricotta cheese, and Italian seasoning together in a large bowl with a beaten egg.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large 13-inch baking dish or aluminum pan, add a little sauce on the bottom to keep pasta from sticking.
- Alternate layers of ziti noodles, sauce, mozzarella cheese, then cheese mixture.
- Repeat until you almost reach the top of the pan. Leave 1 inch for meatballs.
- Transfer meatballs on top of cheese and press down into noodles. Drizzle with sauce. Shake a little dried Italian seasoning on top.
- Sprinkle entire dish with the other half of the shredded parmesan cheese.
- Bake pasta and meatballs in the oven for 45 minutes until golden brown and cheese is melted.
Notes
- This recipe feeds a large crowd and usually has leftovers.
- Freeze Baked Ziti with Meatballs in an aluminum pan with an airtight lid for up to 3 months.
- When ready to cook, simply take out of freezer and bake as directed. Add a few minutes to the baking time to allow for frozen food.
- To store leftovers, wrap tightly in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven in an oven-safe baking dish.
- Make this dish ahead and keep in the refrigerator up to 2 days in an airtight container.
- View the Google Web Story for Baked Ziti with Meatballs!
Nutrition
Nutrition info is an auto generated estimate.
Sharing is Caring! Love my RECIPES? Please SHARE with friends!
Ziti is the ultimate comfort food for my family! There were no leftovers!!
I’ve yet to make it. Can you do 1/2 of everything. We are only 2 people.
Sure! In fact, if you hover over the servings number in the recipe card, there's a slider you can change to the amount of servings you need! It will tell you exactly what quantity to fix for 2 people! 🙂
This was delicious! It makes a huge pan so went ahead and froze half to send back w my daughter to college. I accidentally only used 1/2 of the ricotta (misread the recipe) and it still turned out great! Leftovers need a little sauce added but even better next day thanks!!
That's awesome Jane! So glad you loved my baked ziti recipe and had leftovers for your daughter! 🙂
This is a great recipe. I made it exactly as written and it turned out. meatballs were very tender. Family loved it. Will make again.
The overall flavor of this dish was good. We found that the amount of sauce listed was not enough for our liking, as the pasta was a bit dry. We've never been fans of meatballs with breadcrumbs, so if I make this again, I would greatly reduce the breadcrumbs to possibly a tablespoon, just enough to help bind the meat together. Additionally, I would press the meatballs down into the pasta before baking, to allow them to maintain their moisture. This recipe will feed a large family, or a crowd.
Thanks for the suggestions. I changed the amount of pasta sauce to make sure everyone had plenty.
What size and brand scoop did you use on the meatballs?
Thanks Katherine
I used a Pampered Chef medium scoop.
Hi would it be possible to receive a reply soon, I would like this for dinner and need time to cook it. Also hoe many tsp/tbsp is a 1 inch scoop?
Thanks
Katherine
A one inch cookie scoop is a little more than 1 tablespoon. Feel free to make substitutions if you wish.
Please send me emails.
Hi Jack. To get on my email list, please follow this link and fill out the form: https://mailchi.mp/5f8022a282d9/quichemygrits
What if we don't like ricotta cheese? Can you substitute some cottage cheese?
Can Rao's homemade Marinara be used instead of spaghetti sauce?? If you use ground sirloin for the meatballs Can you mix in some ground veal?
Thanks
Katherine
Yes, Katherine. You can substitute whatever you wish.
Looks delicious, can't wait to make it!
thanks Shelley! Let me know what you think!
So happy to find a meatball and pasta recipe that uses spaghetti sauce. It's much easier than making my own. This recipe makes a huge amount. We had leftovers for days.
Sometimes using shortcut pasta sauce is totally necessary!
This meatball recipe looks amazing! Can't wait to try putting two of my favorite things together - meatballs and pasta.
I love the flavor of this baked ziti. The meatballs are my favorite!