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Baked Ziti is classic comfort food made with ground beef, tomato sauce, and plenty of cheese. Easy single serving recipe.
Baked ziti is a simple casserole made with a zesty meat sauce, tender pasta, creamy ricotta, and mozzarella cheese.
Traditionally, the pasta is cooked separately while the meat sauce is being prepared. Then, the ingredients are combined, topped with cheese, and baked for just 20 minutes in the oven.
Why This Recipe Works
- This mini baked ziti recipe is easy!: If you’ve got a craving for lasagna but don’t want to go through all the hassle, this baked ziti recipe is for you.
- Rich, cheesy, and so delicious: We use plenty of mozzarella and Parmesan cheese in our pasta casserole.
- The perfect size: This single serving baked ziti is ideal for anyone cooking for themselves and might also be enough for two people if served with a side dish.
Ingredient Notes
See below for ways to use leftover ingredients.
- Pasta: I use ziti noodles but you can also use penne instead. Ziti is a tube-shaped pasta that is great for baked casserole dishes and holds on to sauces well.
- Olive oil: I use extra virgin olive oil in this baked ziti recipe as well as in every other recipe on One Dish Kitchen that calls for olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil is the least processed form of olive oil. It is an unrefined oil and the highest-quality olive oil you can buy. Because of the way extra virgin olive oil is made, it retains more true olive taste. It also contains more of the vitamins and minerals found in olives. It’s my favorite type of olive oil to use but you may use a lighter olive oil instead.
- Onions and garlic: Chopped onions and garlic add quite a lot of flavor to this casserole, definitely don’t leave them out.
- Ground beef: You may use ground turkey instead for a lighter version.
- Marinara sauce: This recipe calls for using 1 cup of sauce. Use you favorite brand of Marinara sauce or make a small batch of tomato sauce with our sauce recipe. See below for ways to use leftover ingredients.
- Cheese: Ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese are all used in this recipe which helps make this dish extra cheesy and creamy.
- Salt: To help flavor the ground beef.
How To Make This Recipe
See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Cook the ground beef in a skillet with the chopped onions and garlic. If you have a lot of oil left in the pan after cooking the ground beef, then transfer the cooked beef to a paper towel lined plate to drain, remove the oil from the pan and continue with the steps in the recipe. If you use ground beef with a low fat content, you probably won’t have much oil to remove (a little oil is ok).
- Stir in the sauce and cooked pasta.
- Combine the ricotta, Parmesan cheese, some of the mozzarella cheese, and salt in a small bowl. Fold into the ground beef/pasta mixture.
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of Marinara sauce into a small lightly greased baking dish; top with half of the pasta/meat mixture. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella over the noodles.
- Add the rest of the meat sauce and noodles and top with 2 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese.
- Cover and bake in a 350 degree F oven (177 degrees C) for 20 minutes.
Expert Tips
- You can use ground turkey, ground pork, or any combination instead of ground beef.
- Feel free to use a different type of pasta in this baked ziti recipe. I would recommend using a similarly shaped pasta such as penne or rigatoni. But truly, just about any type of pasta will work.
- Other cheeses work well in this recipe and feel free to add additional cheese if you’d like a cheesier baked pasta dish. Creamy fontina, smoked gouda, and sharp cheddar all work well.
- Stir in a handful of fresh spinach into your meat sauce mixture or add sliced mushrooms.
- You can make a vegetarian baked ziti by leaving out the meat and substituting other vegetables such as chopped zucchini.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Prepare the baked ziti with ricotta up until you are ready to bake it. Cover and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Bake according to the directions when ready.
Freeze for up to a month in a tightly sealed dish. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before cooking. Bake as directed in the recipe.
This single serving baked ziti recipe can easily be doubled to make two casseroles.
Lasagna and baked ziti share many of the same ingredients but baked ziti is so much easier to put together.
Baked ziti is very much like a classic lasagna casserole however, there is no layering of noodles. The ingredients are mixed together, then spooned into a small baking dish and topped with a hefty amount of melted cheese.
For this small baked ziti recipe, I use a 10-inch skillet to cook the meat and sauce. I bake the ziti in a 5-inch baking dish which has an area of 25 square inches. For best results, use a pan of similar size.
If you would like additional information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
What To Do With Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this baked ziti recipe, you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes.
- Ricotta: Zucchini Lasagna For One, Traditional Lasagna For One, Ricotta Cookies, Spinach Manicotti
- Mozzarella cheese: Chicken Margherita For One, French Bread Pizza, Eggplant Parmesan, Caprese Salad
- Marinara sauce: Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls, Slow Cooker Italian Chicken, Giant Italian Meatball, Chicken Parmesan Tenders
- Pasta: Roasted Vegetable Pasta, Goulash, Beef Stroganoff, Pasta Primavera
- Parmesan cheese: Parmesan Crisps, Buttered Noodles, Alfredo Sauce, Broiled Tomatoes
- Onions: Zuppa Toscana, Chicken Spaghetti, Pico de Gallo, Chicken and Rice Casserole
- Ground beef: Beef Enchiladas, Hamburger Casserole, Beef Tacos, Juicy Lucy
If you’ve tried this baked ziti or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
If you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!
Recipe
Baked Ziti For One
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ounces dried ziti (or penne pasta)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ cup chopped onions
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 4 ounces ground beef
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt , divided
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 1 cup Marinara Sauce or tomato sauce (plus 2 tablespoons for the bottom of the dish)
- ⅓ cup ricotta cheese
- 6 tablespoons shredded mozzarella cheese , divided
- 4 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese , divided
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). While the oven is heating, bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the pasta and cook until just tender. Drain and set pasta aside.
- Heat the oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, ground beef, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is cooked through and no longer pink, about 8 minutes.
- Stir in the Marinara sauce and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat, stir in the cooked pasta and set pan aside.
- Combine the ricotta, 2 tablespoons of the mozzarella cheese, 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese, and the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Fold into the pasta/meat sauce mixture.
- Spoon 2 tablespoons of Marinara sauce into a lightly greased 5-inch baking dish; top with half of the pasta/meat mixture. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of shredded mozzarella over the noodles.
- Add the rest of the meat sauce and noodles and top with 2 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese.
- Cover and bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove the baking dish from the oven and let cool 10 minutes before eating.
Video
Notes
- You can use ground turkey, ground pork, or any combination instead of ground beef.
- Feel free to use a different type of pasta in this baked ziti recipe. I would recommend using a similarly shaped pasta such as penne or rigatoni. But truly, just about any type of pasta will work.
- Other cheeses work well in this recipe and feel free to add additional cheese if you’d like a cheesier baked pasta dish. Creamy fontina, smoked gouda, and sharp cheddar all work well.
- Stir in a handful of fresh spinach into your meat sauce mixture or add sliced mushrooms.
- You can make a vegetarian baked ziti by leaving out the meat and substituting other vegetables such as chopped zucchini.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This baked ziti dish was delicious I highly recommend it, I served it with Creamed coleslaw & Sourdough bread. My husband and I will be having the leftovers this evening I did double it… make sure to add the red pepper flakes gives it a little zip!
I’m so happy you and your husband enjoyed the baked ziti, Cindy. Thank you so much for your feedback.
If you double the recipe and put it in two dishes should both be baked using one for now and one for later. Or should the second on not be baked but frozned unbaked?
It’s best to freeze unbaked ziti. Freeze for up to a month in a tightly sealed dish. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before cooking. Bake as directed in the recipe.
I have just had this for my tea.. It was absolutely delish… I made it with your recipe for tomato sauce…
I used rigatoni pasta& when I weighed out the 2oz, I honestly thought it wouldn’t be enough.. but it’s very decieving..
I baked it in my Ninja Foodi health grill, & lowered the cooking temp by 10° but raised temp back up to brown the top when I removed the foil..
Baking in my Ninja was great.. It saved having to preheat my normal oven, so was much more economical as we, here in the U.K. have been facing ENORMOUS Gas& electricity price hikes..
Again Joanie, I have to say I absolutely love your recipes.. Now I just need to decide what to have tomorrow night!!😊🏴
Thank you so much, Lorna. I appreciate your feedback and know that the instructions for cooking this in your Ninja will be helpful to many.
Super delicious and easy to prepare. “If” there are any leftovers can it be frozen?
Yes, freeze for up to a month in a tightly sealed dish. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before cooking. Bake as directed in the recipe.
Excellent dish! After 20 minutes baking covered with foil the cheese was barely melted and not browning at all. I took off the foil and cooked another 5 minutes at which point the sauce was bubbling over, otherwise I may have left it in the oven a couple more minutes to slightly brown the cheese. Overall a wonderful tasty addition to my dinners for one.
This was very good and not difficult to make. It’s definitely enough for two meals.
Just came out of the oven and had a small taste. Yummy. Am so glad I found your site. I cook for one now and am still getting used to it. Love the single or double servings. I figured out I don’t like making food and eating leftovers all the time.
would rather make a single dish or make a couple of servings and freeze one and enjoy the variety. Love your cooking style and the seasoning of your dishes.