Description
This Slow Cooker Baked Ziti is a hearty and comforting pasta dish featuring Italian sausage, a rich homemade tomato sauce, and melted mozzarella cheese. Perfect for busy days, it allows effortless meal preparation with slow cooker convenience, delivering a flavorful and satisfying dinner with minimal hands-on time.
Ingredients
Scale
Meat and Vegetable
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound Italian sausage (or ground beef or ground turkey)
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
Tomato Sauce and Seasonings
- 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 ½ cups water
Pasta and Cheese
- 16 ounces uncooked ziti pasta (or penne pasta)
- 1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Cook the Meat: Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the Italian sausage (or ground beef/turkey) and cook for 3-4 minutes, crumbling the meat as it cooks. Add chopped onion and continue cooking until the sausage is fully cooked. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for another minute. Drain excess grease.
- Combine Ingredients in Slow Cooker: Transfer the cooked meat mixture to a slow cooker. Add crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, Italian seasoning, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and water. Stir everything well. Do not add pasta yet; the sauce may seem liquidy but will thicken as pasta cooks.
- Slow Cook the Sauce: Cover and cook on HIGH setting for about 3 hours or on LOW setting for about 6 hours to allow flavors to meld and sauce to develop.
- Add Pasta and Continue Cooking: After initial cooking, stir in the uncooked ziti pasta, pushing it down into the liquid. Cover again and cook on HIGH for 15-25 minutes, stirring once after 15 minutes to ensure even cooking. Pasta cook time may vary depending on your slow cooker.
- Add Cheese and Rest: When the pasta is tender, turn off the slow cooker. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese evenly on top. Cover and let the dish rest for 5 minutes to allow cheese to melt.
- Serve: Serve the baked ziti hot, scooping generous portions of cheesy, saucy pasta to enjoy this comforting meal.
Notes
- This recipe is perfect as a make-ahead meal, which can be prepared in advance and cooked later in the slow cooker.
- You can substitute Italian sausage with ground beef or ground turkey depending on preference or dietary restrictions.
- Pasta cook time may vary by slow cooker brand and model, so check pasta tenderness accordingly.
- If you prefer a spicier dish, consider adding crushed red pepper flakes with the seasonings.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 515 kcal
- Sugar: 8 g
- Sodium: 935 mg
- Fat: 24 g
- Saturated Fat: 9 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 55 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 21 g
- Cholesterol: 54 mg
