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Baked Ziti with Sausage & Ricotta

This Baked Ziti with Sausage & Ricotta is filled with flavor - browned sausage, creamy ricotta, marinara, spinach, and ziti pasta.
Servings 10 servings
Author Shannon Lyon

Ingredients

  • 1 lb. ziti pasta (or another short cut pasta)
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 lbs. mild sausage
  • 36 oz. marinara sauce (1½ jars)
  • 4 cups fresh spinach

Ricotta Mixture

  • 1 cups ricotta cheese
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream
  • 1/2 cup fresh parmesan cheese

For Assembly

  • 2 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • fresh basil, optional

Instructions

Sausage Red Sauce

  • Start by browning the sausage in a medium-sized saucepan. I like it pretty brown, as it gets really flavorful as it gets more color.
  • Once the sausage is browned and broken into small bits, add the pasta sauce and the spinach.
    Cover and cook until spinach is cooked down. Keep warm until ready to build the pasta dish.

Pasta

  • Cook the ziti in a large pot of boiling water until Al Dente.
  • Once cooked, lightly drizzle with olive oil so pasta doesn't stick.

Ricotta Mixture

  • While pasta is cooking, mix all the ricotta ingredients together.

Assembly

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13" pan with cooking spray.
  • Start by adding a layer of half the pasta in the pan.
    Then cover that layer with half of the sausage red sauce mixture.
  • Next, add dollops of the ricotta mixture across the top of the red sauce mixture.
  • Repeat by adding the remaining pasta, another layer of red sauce, dollops of the remaining ricotta mixture, and then top with the shredded mozzarella cheese.
  • Bake for 20-25 minutes in the preheated oven until cheese is melted and red sauce is slightly bubbling.
  • Remove from oven and top with fresh basil, if desired. Wait about 10 minutes before serving - it will be hot. Enjoy!
  • Stores well in an airtight container in the fridge for a week.