I found this recipe in a magazine years ago with the title Weeknight Lasagna…and that was a great title because it has all of the tastes and textures of lasagna with less than half of the work. The whole thing comes together in less than an hour…and if you prepare everything in the baking pan ahead of time and refrigerate it until you are ready to bake then that part just takes about 30 minutes. We usually serve it with a tossed salad and sometimes with some crusty garlic bread.

Baked Ziti (makes 6-8 servings) 

1 pound ziti or penne pasta 

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1 pound sweet Italian sausage (you can also use ground beef, ground turkey or plain ground pork) 

1 large onion 

4 cloves garlic 

1 tablespoon basil 

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning 

4 cups prepared pasta sauce 

8 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese 

1 cup Parmesan cheese 2 cups ricotta cheese 

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  2. Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add salt, then add the pasta and cook until almost done. (Usually about 1 minute less than the package directions call for—it will finish cooking later in the oven.) Drain in a colander when finished.
  3. While the pasta is cooking chop the onion and garlic, or you can run the garlic through a garlic press.
  4. Brown the meat in a large skillet. As the meat begins to brown add the chopped onion, basil and Italian seasoning. When the onion begins to be translucent, add the garlic.
  5. Add the sauce to the meat mixture and cook about 5 minutes until the sauce is warmed through.
  6. Assemble the casserole:
    • Spread a layer of the sauce and meat mixture in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish.
    • Dot the surface with ½ of the ricotta cheese.
    • Add a ladle full of the sauce mixture to the cooked pasta, mix it together, then add the pasta to the casserole dish.
    • Pour the rest of the sauce over the pasta.
    • Dot the surface with the other half of the ricotta cheese.
    • Sprinkle both the mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese on the top of the casserole.
  7. Bake uncovered until the top is slightly browned and the cheese is completely melted—approximately 30-35 minutes.
  8. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.