Meatball Baked Ziti Recipes

BAKED ZITI WITH MEATBALLS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a 13- x 9-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, and place baking dish on prepared baking sheet. Stir together pasta, marinara sauce, meatballs, mushrooms, spinach, pepperoni, and orange juice in baking dish.
• Bake in preheated oven 10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, and continue baking until cheese is melted and pasta is thoroughly heated, about 10 minutes. Garnish with basil.

BAKED ZITI WITH SAUSAGE MEATBALLS AND SPINACH

Steps:

• Using your hands, shape the sausage into about 35 (1-inch) meatballs.
• In a deep 12-inch skillet or a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium. Working in two batches, fry the meatballs until golden all over, about 2 minutes per side, then transfer to a paper towel-lined sheet pan or platter. Cook the onion until softened, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano and red-pepper flakes, if using, and cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes and their juices to the skillet, gently crushing them. Stir in the meatballs, bring to a simmer and cook, 20 minutes. Gently fold in the spinach, tossing until it wilts. Season with salt and pepper.
• Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add pasta and cook until 2 to 3 minutes short of al dente (it will finish cooking in the oven). Drain pasta.
• In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, crème fraîche and half the pecorino. Season with salt and pepper. Stir half the meatball sauce into the ricotta mixture. Add pasta and toss together to coat. Pour into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish that's at least 2 1/2 inches deep. Top with the remaining meatball sauce, the mozzarella and the remaining pecorino. Place uncovered baking dish on a sheet tray and bake until the cheese is melty and bubbly, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Turn heat to broil and cook until the cheese and pasta brown in spots, 1 to 2 minutes. (Don't walk away; the cheese can burn very quickly!) Remove from oven and let rest for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

MEATBALL BAKED ZITI

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9 x 13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions for al dente; drain well. In a large bowl, combine ground beef, ground pork, Panko, egg yolks, garlic, basil and oregano; season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1-to-1-1/4-inch meatballs, forming about 24 meatballs. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned, about 2-3 minutes. Return meatballs to the skillet. Stir in wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Stir in marinara sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until flavors have blended, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in pasta, basil and parsley. Spread pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish; top with burrata. Place into oven and bake until bubbly, about 25-30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes. Serve immediately.

BAKED ZITI AND SAUSAGE

Steps:

• Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain; place in a large bowl. In a small skillet, cook sausage over medium heat until no longer pink; drain and cut into 1/2-in. slices., In a large saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper until smooth; gradually add milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from the heat; stir in 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Pour over pasta; toss to coat., In a small bowl, combine the egg, cottage cheese, parsley, and remaining Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Spoon half of the pasta mixture into a greased 2-1/2-qt. baking dish. Top with cottage cheese mixture. Add sausage to the remaining pasta mixture; spoon over the top. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and paprika. , Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 30-35 minutes or until a thermometer reads 160°.

BAKED ZITI IV

Steps:

• Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.
• Meanwhile, heat olive oil in large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook onion in oil until tender. Stir in rosemary and garlic. Transfer to a small bowl.
• Place ground beef and sausage in the skillet. Cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Stir in the onion mixture and the spaghetti sauce. Season with salt. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. In the prepared dish, layer 1/2 of the cooked pasta, provolone cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, and a little less than 1/2 of the meat mixture. Then layer the rest of the pasta, mozzarella cheese, remaining meat mixture, and Parmesan cheese.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until heated through and cheeses are melted.