Baked Ziti with Chicken
This Baked Ziti with Chicken is loaded with flavor, featuring a rich blend of seasonings and topped with a generous amount of cheese. This baked pasta casserole is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser for weeknight dinners or entertaining guests. It's surprisingly easy to prepare!
Servings 10 Servings
Calories 491kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ziti pasta
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds ground chicken
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 garlic cloves chopped
- 5 cups marinara sauce I used Prego, tomato basil & garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 15 ounce ricotta cheese
- ½ cup chopped fresh basil
- 2 to 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ to ¾ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook ziti for the recommended cooking time on the packet minus 2 minutes. Drain.
- Add olive oil into a large saute pan and place over high heat. When hot, stir in ground chicken, onion and garlic.
- Saute, breaking up the ground chicken with a spatula, until chicken is no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in marinara sauce, salt, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, black pepper and sugar. Reduce heat to medium, cook for about 4 to 5 minutes, until the sauce has thickened slightly. Remove pan from heat.
- Stir in cooked pasta, until evenly combined.
- Spoon in the ricotta and basil leaves, gently stirring just 2 to 3 times. Avoid fully mixing in the ricotta; we want it to remain distinct.
Assemble & Bake
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Spread half the pasta mixture into a 9 x 13 inch baking pan, sprinkle half the mozzarella and parmesan cheese. Add the remaining pasta, followed by remaining mozzarella and parmesan.
- Cover the pan loosely with foil. Bake 20 minutes. Remove the foil, bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and golden. Sprinkle fresh basil leaves and serve hot!
Video
Notes
Use a different pasta shape - Use penne or rigatoni as an alternative to ziti pasta.
Chicken - I found that using 1 and ½ pounds of ground chicken yields the perfect balance for this recipe. Nevertheless, using one or two pounds also produces excellent results.
Cooking pasta - Cook the pasta al dente since it will further cook while baking.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 Serving | Calories: 491kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 31g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 1065mg | Potassium: 923mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 7g | Vitamin A: 948IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 285mg | Iron: 3mg