Under-20-Minute Baked Ziti with Beef
When you want baked ziti without the long bake or the fuss.
If you’re tired and still want something that feels like real dinner, this is the move. It gives you the cozy baked ziti vibe with beef, marinara, and melty cheese, but it’s built to come together fast on a weeknight. You’ll boil the pasta, brown the beef, stir in sauce, and finish under the broiler so it tastes baked without waiting around for a long oven session. Expect a simple, satisfying pan of saucy pasta, not a fancy layered casserole. It’s best on nights when everyone is hungry now, you have a box of ziti, and you want dinner to feel comforting without turning into a project.
Ingredients
- 8 oz ziti pasta
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3 unit garlic cloves — minced
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 0.5 tsp black pepper
- 0.25 tsp red pepper flakes — optional
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1.5 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 0.25 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tbsp fresh basil — optional, for serving
Method
- 1 Heat the broiler and bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the ziti until just al dente, then drain.
- 2 While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up, until browned, about 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- 3 Add the marinara, crushed tomatoes, oregano, salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. Stir in the drained pasta and ricotta until everything is coated.
- 4 Sprinkle mozzarella and parmesan over the top. Broil 2 to 4 minutes, until the cheese is melted and spotty brown. Let it sit for 2 minutes, then top with basil and serve.
Variations
- Vegetarian swap — Use 2 cups of cooked lentils or a plant-based ground crumble instead of beef.
- Faster swap — Skip the broiler and just cover the skillet for 2 to 3 minutes until the cheese melts.
- Substitutions — Swap ziti for penne or rigatoni, and use cottage cheese instead of ricotta if that’s what you have.
Notes
If your skillet is not broiler-safe, transfer the pasta to a baking dish before adding the cheese. For a saucier result, add 2 to 4 tbsp of the pasta water before broiling.
Equipment that helps
- Large oven-safe skillet — You can brown the beef, mix the pasta, and melt the cheese in one pan.
- Pot — Boiling the pasta separately keeps the whole dinner moving quickly.
Find more dinners like this
More like this
