This sausage and spinach baked ziti gets extra flavor from ricotta and Parmesan cheese and is easy to put together. Add a garden salad and garlic bread to complete dinner.
Ingredients
- ziti pasta: 1 pound
- olive oil: 1 Tbsp
- ounces bulk Italian sausage: 10 piece
- tomatoes: 1 can (28 ounce can, divided, crushed)
- garlic: 3 clove (minced)
- italian seasoning: 0.5 tsp
- red pepper flakes: 0.25 tsp (crushed)
- 1/2 cups spinach: 1 piece (chopped)
- ounces ricotta cheese: 15 piece
- heavy cream: 2 Tbsp
- ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes: 8 piece (divided)
- ounces shredded Parmesan cheese: 6 piece (divided)
- granulated garlic: 0.25 tsp
- salt: 0.25 tsp (to taste)
- basil, or as needed: 1 Tbsp (for garnish, chopped, optional)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
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Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in ziti and return to a boil. Cook pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until they just start to become tender, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
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Meanwhile, heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat and cook and stir Italian sausage, breaking up the meat as it cooks, until it is no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes. Reserve 1/3 cup crushed tomatoes and pour remaining tomatoes into sausage. Stir in garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and spinach. Cook for 10 minutes.
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Combine ricotta, heavy cream, 4 ounces cubed mozzarella cheese, 4 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese, and garlic granules in a bowl. Season with salt.
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Add the cooked sausage mixture and ricotta mixture to the pasta and toss well. If mixture seems too thick, stir in reserved pasta water 2 tablespoons at a time.
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Spread the reserved 1/3 cup crushed tomatoes into the bottom of the casserole dish. Pour half of pasta in an even layer over tomatoes and top with 1/2 of the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining pasta and cheese.
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Bake ziti in the preheated oven until cheese is lightly golden brown and pasta is heated through, 25 to 30 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh basil.