This baked ziti with meatballs is a comforting dish made with pasta, marinara, cheese and homemade or frozen meatballs. Baked pasta is a family favorite for weeknights!
Our family loves pasta dinner recipes including Instant Pot baked ziti, meatball casserole and homemade spaghetti and meatballs!
Table of Contents
Meatball Baked Ziti
This baked ziti with meatballs is is a fun twist on easy baked ziti with similarities to baked mostaccioli and rigatoni pasta bake but with store-bought meatballs! Although, I often use a frozen batch of my homemade meatball recipe.
They get simmered in a creamy marinara sauce, tossed in a casserole dish with tender pasta and and then layered with burrata cheese! Once baked and bubbly, this is one of those rich and cheesy family-friendly casseroles that everyone loves!
Why I Love This Recipe
- Make ahead and freezer-friendly. What I love about easy pasta recipes are that you can make extra. Just pop it in the oven and bake when you’re ready to serve it.
- Comfort food. Whether it’s a weeknight dinner or Sunday supper, the sight of bubbly and golden cheesy baked pasta with meatballs is always good for the soul!
Recipe Ingredients
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Ziti noodles: I like to use traditional ziti noodles in baked meatball pasta (go figure!) but you can certainly use your favorite medium pasta noodles, like penne noodles.
- Olive oil: The classic choice for any Italian-inspired dish!
- Garlic & onion: This gives the sauce its base layer of flavor.
- Diced tomatoes & marinara sauce: Use 1-15-ounce can of tomatoes to give the sauce a textural component. Swap your favorite jar of store-bought tomato sauce with a homemade marinara sauce.
- Frozen meatballs: No need to thaw them first, just toss them in as is. They’ll thaw quickly while they simmer and heat through as they bake.
- Seasoning: Chopped fresh basil, dried oregano, salt, and pepper, you can add some Italian seasoning if you like.
- Sour cream: This adds a rich creamy consistency to the sauce and mellows out the acidity. Try ricotta cheese instead of sour cream.
- Burrata: This is a beautiful, extremely delicate, and soft cheese made from cow’s milk cheese and cream. It has a thin outer shell made of just the cheese and once broken, it exposes a runny soft interior made of cheese and cream.
How to Make Baked Ziti with Meatballs
In a large pot or large skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the garlic and onion until the onions are tender. Stir in the tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, meatballs, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Add the sour cream to the sauce along with the cooked ziti and give it a good stir.
Spoon 1/2 of the pasta and sauce mixture into the baking dish. Top it with 1/2 of the burrata cheese broken into pieces. Spread it out evenly across the first layer. Then, spoon the remaining ziti mixture overtop and top that with the remaining broken burrata pieces.
Bake in a 350°F preheated oven for 20-25 minutes until the cheese is nice and bubbly!
Tips and Variations
- Only cook the pasta to al dente. By the time it’s baked in the sauce and then finished baking, it’ll be mushy if it’s overcooked to begin with. Here are a few tips on how to cook pasta.
- For easy cleanup. Use a cast-iron skillet or another oven-safe skillet to make the sauce, and then use it to layer the casserole. Place it directly into the oven to avoid messing up one extra casserole dish.
- If using homemade meatballs, they shouldn’t be raw. They don’t need to be completely cooked through but at least browned on all sides. You can also use turkey meatballs or ground chicken meatballs.
- Cheese. If you can’t find burrata (or you don’t anticipate your family veering from a more traditional cheese), replace it with 1/2 cup of freshly grated mozzarella cheese (not the pre-shredded cheese in a bag).
Love comfy pasta dishes? Try Chicken Alfredo lasagna, baked macaroni and cheese, or million dollar spaghetti!
More Baked Pasta Recipes
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Baked Ziti with Meatballs
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound ziti noodles , or penne noodles
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup chopped yellow onion
- 4 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (26-ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 24 frozen meatballs
- 2-4 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano , or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ cup sour cream
- 8 ounces burrata torn into large pieces, divided (can substitute with 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese)
For serving (optional): Fresh basil or Parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
- Boil ziti according to package instructions. Drain.
- Make sauce. In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Stir in 1 cup onion and 4 cloves garlic and sauté 3 to 5 minutes, or until onions are tender. Stir in 1 can diced tomatoes, 26 ounces marinara sauce, 24 meatballs, 2-4 Tablespoons fresh basil, 1/2 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes.
- Assemble and bake. Stir in 1/2 cup sour cream and cooked ziti. Spoon 1/2 of the mixture into the baking dish. Top with 1/2 burrata cheese. Spoon the remaining ziti mixture over the cheese. Top with the remaining burrata cheese. Bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly.
- Garnish. Top with fresh basil or parsley, if desired, to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe FAQs
It doesn’t need to be. I might suggest placing aluminum foil on it if you notice the cheese is browning too quickly, but otherwise you want to give it a chance to turn golden brown.
If you do cover it while it bakes, place it under the broiler uncovered for a couple of minutes at the end.
Baked ziti can be made with or without meat! It doesn’t even need to be baked at all. There are plenty of ways to make it, including Instant Pot baked ziti.
If you want to make it vegetarian, replace the meatballs with loads of veggies!
Top with fresh parsley or basil and serve with a side of Olive Garden salad and garlic bread.
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Th best comfort food. I love that this is easy enough to make during the week. Everyone loved it!
We all loved this in my house, it was so delicious!! Definitely adding this to our weekly dinner rotation, thank you!