Easy baked ziti with ground beef is a comfort food that you’ll go back for again and again. This gorgeous, luscious pasta dish will knock your socks off! I could eat it everyday for the rest of my life.
This is a recipe for baked ziti without ricotta cheese. My kids do not like ricotta in fact they’ve used to hate any kind of cheese on pasta but now they have changed a lot, since I made this chicken tetrazini casserole and they have fallen head over heels. Although they love mac and cheese, they hated any other pasta with cheese on it!!
This simple baked pasta recipes with ground beef will make everyone come for seconds. Everybody needs a little dose of pasta every now and then, although I try to limit my pasta intake I like pampering myself with a small portion once in a while.
I think I have a very serious problem, which is very embarrassing most of the time, I forget people’s faces and names! Last year, we were fairly new in the neighborhood and there was this fine man who lives right next to us. I was used to see him in the patio or in his car, you know like neighbors always bump into each other. He waves and I wave and that was it.
Then I saw him once in a neighbor gathering only to ask him where do you live! The man was like” is she a lunatic?”! He said I am the man living right next to who you wave to a couple of time a day😳.
Last Saturday, in my youngest soccer game, parents were talking together after the game and I stupidly turned to a man asking him and which one is your kid?. Well, I have to tell you that I’ve had a 30 minutes long conversation with this man who was so excited to know that I am from Egypt because he stayed in Egypt for about 5 years when he was young.
I really looked like an idiot!
All people look alike to me, white, colored eyes and yellow 👱 or brown hair!! How am I supposed to distinguish them and remember the names and faces? Do you have any tips, pleeeeease I am seriously embarrassed and terrified to the point that I’ve decided not to ask anyone anymore who he is anymore 😰.
Back to the recipe, this is a one dish recipe that is kid friendly, freezer friendly but unfortunately not diet friendly😂.
We’ll need to brown the ground beef first, I like to saute onion and garlic a bit then add the beef and brown then drain. This was the onions are not so crunchy which is something my kids do not like.
But if you are used to browning the beef first then add the onion, it is completely ok. Add spices, tomato sauce and broth, let it simmer until hot and bubbly. Meanwhile, cook ziti pasta as directed on the package.
Ladle some of the meet sauce in the pasta pot and mix well. Pour half of the pasta meat mixture at the bottom of a 13×9 baking dish. Add some of the cheese then the remaining meet sauce then top that with the other half of the pasta.
Bake for 20 minutes covered, then sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top then pop again in the oven for 10 minutes until cheese is melted and top is browned if you like.
Let it cool down then serve, so delicious and amazingly comforting. As I said before, I did not add ricotta because of my kids 🤷, but if you like it feel free to add in the middle with the other cheese combination .
I hope you’ll like this recipe and please if you make this recipe, snap a pic and hashtag it #amiraspantry — I love to see your creations on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter!
Don’t want to miss a recipe? Sign up for the FREE Amira’s Pantry newsletter delivered to your inbox with lots of tips and surprises! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram for all the latest updates.
Easy baked ziti with ground beef is a comfort food that you'll go back for again and again. This gorgeous, luscious pasta dish will knock your socks off! I could eat it everyday for the rest of my life.
- 2 Tablespoons oil.
- 1 small onion diced.
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1.5 lb ground beef.
- 1/2 teaspoon cardamom ground.
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon ground.
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper.
- 1.5 teaspoon dried oregano.
- Salt to taste.
- 1 29 oz can tomato sauce.
- 1 cup broth I’ve used chicken.
- 1 16oz package ziti pasta, cooked and drained.
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese.
- 1 cup grated parmesan cheese.
-
Preheat oven to 350F.
-
In a large skillet over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in oil. Add beef and cook until no longer pink.
-
Drain the fat then return to stovetop.
-
Add seasonings and mix well.
-
Add tomato sauce and broth then stir to combine. Cook until bubbly and hot all through.
-
Stir about 1.5 cup of the meat sauce into the cooked pasta.
-
Put half of the pasta in the bottom of a 13x9 baking dish. To that with 1 cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup of pares am cheese.
-
Add the remaining sauce then the rest of the pasta, cover and pop in the oven for 20 minutes.
-
Uncover and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and put back in the oven for 10 more minutes or until cheese is melting or until it is golden brown if you would like it that way.
You may also like:
Quick and easy beef stroganoff
Who doesn’t like baked pasta? Such a nice, comforting dish. I could probably eat pasta every single day — I like it that much. Anyway, this looks excellent — thanks.