Baked Ziti The Way Grandma Made It

Old fashioned homemade baked ziti is a comfort food that brings back great memories of family get togethers! Although there are as many baked ziti recipes as there are grandmas, this recipe is the one I always use. It is easy, requiring only 5 basic ingredients and it's a real crowd pleaser. In addition, it freezes beautifully ( before or after baking) , and is absolutely lip smacking either way!

Do you have to be Italian to love baked ziti? No, it seems like everyone loves it, so it's a perfect recipe to make for company. I only make it when my daughter- in -law Jackie visits because she is a pasta lover. Of course once it's made, everyone else enjoys it too!

The recipe is so simple and basic, I never thought of posting it before. However, when I looked through my cookbooks, I couldn't find a recipe for baked ziti. So, I decided to make it easy on myself and record my recipe right on my blog. Of course I found hundreds online, but they where not as simple as grandma's recipe.

So, if you like baked ziti, or are looking for a dish to make for a crowd- this is it! Now you know where to find the recipe ( and so do I) . Of course I used gluten free penne which is available at Trader Joe's for $1.99 a bag or available now in most supermarkets!

I don't make recipes with this much cheese and eggs very often and truthfully, I didn't really eat it myself!!  My husband and kids loved it and so did my other company. So, If you eat and like cheese and eggs- Enjoy! It's so easy to make.. and lends itself so well to gluten free eating too.

ricotta cheese mixture

I combine the ricotta cheese mixture, some sauce and  the cooked penne noodles before layering it 

I divided the baked ziti into two deep baking dishes. 

Start to layer the sauce, pasta, cheese mixture, repeat in each baking dish

Author: Judee Algazi @ Gluten Free A-Z Blog
Prep Time: 10minutes
Cook Time : 20 minutes for the noodles
Bake Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients: 

1 pound box of gluten free penne 

1 15 ounce jar of your favorite marinara sauce ( I use BJ's brand bc no added sugar) 

1/4 cup of chopped fresh parsley

15 ounce container of ricotta cheese

2 eggs, beaten ( might be able to leave these out if you don't eat eggs like my friend Vicki)

1 bag of Italian shredded cheese combination
1/2 cup of shredded or freshly grated parmesan cheese 

Directions

Boil the penne according to the instructions, drain, rinse and set aside

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large mixing bowl, mix eggs, parsley, ricotta cheese, 1 cup of sauce and 1/2 bag of the cheese and 1/4 cup of parmesan.

Mix with the cooked penne.

Pour 1/4 cup each of sauce over the bottom of 2 deep baking dishes. Add a layer of noodle mixture, some sauce, noodle mixture, some sauce and the additional cheese. 

Bake for 55 minutes

My notes: 

1. You could probably leave out the eggs in this recipe and it would still be good.
2. This is a crowd pleaser
3. If you prefer not to use any grain, you could spiralize zucchini in place of the pasta and bake-
4. Can you make this without the eggs????