Spicy Italian Sausage Baked Ziti

In this Spicy Italian Sausage Baked Ziti, sausage and lean ground beef cook with onions before simmering in a flavorful tomato sauce. This gets layered with ziti pasta noodles, pesto and topped with creamy ricotta and mozzarella cheese.

Course Mains & Entrees

Cuisine Italian

Keyword baked pasta, Italian, italian sausage, pasta, tomato sauce

Prep Time 45

Cook Time 30

Total Time 1 15

Servings servings

Calories 507

Author Laurie McNamara

Ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
2 medium shallots diced (about 1 cup)
kosher salt
4 cloves garlic minced
2 teaspoons italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon (heaping) fennel seed crushed
1¼ pound Italian sausage links casing removed (about 4 larger links)
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1/3 cup low-sodium chicken broth or dry red wine
56 ounces canned San Marzano tomatoes crushed
1 pound ziti pasta dried
2 to 3 tablespoons basil pesto
15 to 16 ounces ricotta
2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Add olive oil and shallots with a pinch of kosher salt to a deep sided skillet and heat over medium heat. Saute for about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent.
Add in minced garlic, italian seasoning, basil, fennel and red peppr flakes. Stir and cook for 1 mintue.
Remove the casings from the italian sausage and add it into the skillet along with the beef. Use a wooden spoon to break it up into small crumbles. Stir occasionally until no longer pink. Increase the heat to medium-high and cook until browned and crispy bits form on the bottom of the pan.
With a spoon, remove any fat from the pan and discard. Pour in the broth use the spoon to scrape up the bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Add in crushed tomatoes. Stir and bring to a simmer, reduce to low and simmer for 20 minutes.
Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta to 1 minute short of al dente, then drain.
Preheat your oven to 350℉ (or 180℃).
In a large baking dish add 1/3 of the sauce. Top with pasta and another 1/3 of the sauce. toss the pasta with the top layer of sauce.
Drizzle spoonfuls of the pesto and pour the remaining 1/3 of the sauce over top. Drop spoonfuls of the ricotta on top.
Lastly, sprinkle with 2 cups mozzarella.
Bake for 30 minutes.

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