If you are a big fan of Ziti taste, you have to try this best baked ziti recipe. The following recipe is so easy to try. If you do not have ziti, you can even substitute it with other pasta, such as penne, rigatoni, or farfalle.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb of round Italian sausage
- 1 lb of ziti
- 2 large eggs
- 1 jar of marinara sauce
- 16ounces of cottage cheese
- 1 ½ cups of Mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 ¼ of Parmesan cheese, grated
- ¼ cup of basil, chopped
- 1cup of heavy cream
- 1 tsp of cornstarch
- Garlic, it is optional, you can nix it if you do not like it
Cooking Instructions:
- First, you need to preheat your oven in 350 degrees. After that, start to cook the sausage in a pan while cooking the pasta in another pan.
- In a skillet, take the brown sausage then drain and let it cool.
- Prepare a large pot. Fill it with water and boil it. Add 1 tbsp of salt and the pasta. After you have done it, let the pasta cool for about 5 minutes.
- On the other hand, prepare a large bowl. Put the marinara sauce, cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, and basil there. Do not forget to add the cooked sausage as well.
- In the pot of sausage, add heavy cream and cornstarch. Whisk then cook it in medium heat. After 3-4 minutes when it is already thickened, remove and stir it.
- Add pasta to the mixture and mix them all. Prepare a baking dish (9 x 13) and pour the mixture there. Spread marinara sauce on top of it along with Mozzarella as well as Parmesan cheese as the sprinkle.
- Cover it with foil and start to bake for about 30 minute. After that, remove the foil and bake it again for about 10 minutes. When the cheese is melted, you can take it off and then garnish it with basil.
- Finally, the delicious ziti is ready to enjoy.
Well, one special thing from this best baked ziti recipe is that you can enjoy the true Italian taste because of the Italian sausage. However, you can also mix it if you desire to have the vegetarian version. In addition, the recipe offers a unique taste comes from the combination of cornstarch and cream. As the result, it can give you an extra level of rich flavor.
Moreover, the other secret ingredient used by this best baked ziti recipe is the cottage cheese. This ingredient can add invisible creaminess since this cheese melts perfectly into the sauce. Last, you may feel strange about adding the egg in this pasta dish. However, the egg is a good bind for almost everything. Therefore, this is worth to try.
That is the recipe you can try at home. Hopefully, this best baked ziti recipe can get you the suitable taste for your preference.