MEATY BAKED ZITI

Meaty Baked Ziti image

This baked ziti recipe takes a little time to make, but it's worth it in the end! This meat sauce is way better than a jar sauce, and I use it for other Italian recipes as well. You can also make the sauce ahead of time and store it in the fridge for a few days until you are ready to eat it.

Provided by Bridget

Time 2h5m

Yield 12

Number Of Ingredients 18

Ingredients

1 pound bulk mild Italian sausage
1 pound ground beef
2 (14.5 ounce) cans tomato sauce
1 (28 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with juice
½ cup diced white onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon white sugar
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 (16 ounce) package ziti pasta
1 (15 ounce) container whole-milk ricotta cheese
4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 large egg, beaten
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf (Italian) parsley, or to taste
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
12 slices provolone cheese

Steps:

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. Cook and stir sausage and ground beef in the hot skillet until browned and crumbly, 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomato sauce, whole tomatoes with juice, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, basil, sugar, and red pepper flakes; bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes to 1 hour. Turn off the heat. Transfer 3 cups sauce to a bowl and leave remaining sauce in the pot; allow to cool while you prepare ziti.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain ziti and rinse under cool water to stop it from cooking.
Combine ricotta, 2 cups mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, 2 tablespoon parsley, and pepper in a bowl; stir together with a few turns but do not mix completely. Pour drained ziti into the bowl and toss until slightly combined with large lumps. Add the reserved 3 cups meat sauce and toss to combine.
Place 1/2 of the pasta mixture into a 9x13-inch casserole dish. Spoon 1/2 of the remaining sauce over top, layer with 6 slices of provolone and 1 cup mozzarella. Repeat layers: pasta mixture, remaining sauce, 6 slices provolone, and 1 cup mozzarella. Cover with foil.
Place on a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven until bubbling, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove foil and bake until cheese is fully melted and slightly browned, 5 to 10 more minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parsley. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 593.1 calories, Carbohydrate 37.3 g, Cholesterol 111.2 mg, Fat 31.5 g, Fiber 2.3 g, Protein 39.2 g, SaturatedFat 16 g, Sodium 1030.4 mg, Sugar 4.3 g