- Today, you're gonna learn
how to make baked ziti. It is a beefy, cheesy,
saucy pasta casserole. You're gonna love it. (upbeat music) Hey everybody, it's Natasha,
of natashaskitchen.com and by the end of this video, you're gonna be a pro
at making baked ziti. It is so easy, simple ingredients. You can make it ahead. It reheats beautifully,
and it's just scrumptious. So let's get started. (table thudding) (bell dings) For this recipe, you'll need one pound of ziti pasta noodles, but you can also use penne
or any tube-shaped pasta. Cook the pasta in well salted water, according to the package
instructions until it is al dente or firm to the bite. I'm adding about two tablespoons
of salt to the water, followed by the pasta
and make sure you don't overcook the pasta at this point. Keep in mind, you're still
gonna bake it in the oven. Here's a quick tip. The best way to prevent
your pasta from sticking is to give it a stir after
adding it to the boiling water. While that's cooking, we're
gonna do some quick prep. Chop one medium onion, and it seems like a lot
of onion, but don't worry. It'll disappear into the
casserole once it's cooked. Whoops. (laughs) I don't know my own strength. (laughs) Next, mince two large garlic cloves, and to quickly peel a garlic
clove, first cut off the ends, then smash the clove with
the blunt end of the knife. The skins should come right off. Finally mince up that
garlic and set it aside. You'll also need one cup
of grated Parmesan cheese. And if you wanna great your own cheese, we love this little cheese grater. I will link to it in the notes. It's really easy to use, easy to clean, and it makes it feel like
you're in a restaurant when you serve it over pasta. All right, that looks like about one cup. You'll also need 12 ounces
of mozzarella cheese. I've shredded that on the
large holes of a box grater. Now that we have all of
the ingredients prepped, we're ready to fire up the stove. In a pot or Dutch oven, and I'm using my five and
a half quart Dutch oven that I use for everything. I will link to this in the notes. Heat up one tablespoon of olive oil. Then add one pound of ground
beef and your chopped onions. Cook that together over medium high heat, breaking it up with your
spatula and continue cooking until the beef is fully cooked through and the onions are softened. This takes about five to seven minutes. Now, add your minced garlic and season with one teaspoon of
salt and half a teaspoon of black pepper. Saute that for another minute or until the garlic is fragrant. Then add five cups of marinara sauce. We love using our homemade marinara sauce. I have a recipe for this that
I will link in the notes. It is so easy to make and truly delicious. Bring that to a boil, then reduce the heat to a
simmer and continue cooking for about five minutes
before turning off the heat. All right, our pasta is finished cooking. I always set a timer based
on the package instructions and I do like to taste one of the noodles to make sure it's perfectly cooked. Those noodles can be hot, so be careful. Drain the pasta into a
colander and do not rinse it because you want the sauce
to stick to the noodles. Now that our pasta is cooked
and our sauce is ready, we can assemble this pasta casserole. Spread a generous ladle of meat sauce over the bottom of a nine
by 13 casserole dish, and make sure to preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. That little bit of sauce
will keep the noodles from sticking to the bottom and you won't have to butter your dish. For a little extra flavor in the sauce, I do like to add some fresh basil. I'm using 10 fresh basil leaves. Basil is a delicate and
really fragrant herb, so you wanna be gentle with it. The right way to slice it
is to stack your leaves. Then roll them into a log
shape, and thinly slice. This prevents the leaves from
getting crushed and bruised. Add your chopped basil to the meat sauce. You'll also need 15
ounces of ricotta cheese. I love to keep some of
that ricotta cheese texture in the casserole, so start by spooning
it over the meat sauce, then gently stir just until
it's lightly combined. Now add your drained hot
pasta into the meat sauce and stir gently just until combined. You wanna make sure all of the noodles are generously coated in sauce. You can already tell
this is gonna be good. It is so saucy and beefy, and you'll be tempted
to eat it at this point, but just wait. It'll get better. Here's how we layer our
baked ziti casserole. Transfer half of that saucy
pasta to the casserole dish. Spread the pasta evenly into the dish. Then top with half of your
shredded mozzarella cheese. And I just love how much
cheese is in this dish. It becomes a gooey cheesy masterpiece. Because you can never have enough cheese, we're also gonna add half of
the grated Parmesan cheese. The combination of the two
cheeses really makes this dish and adds great depth of
flavor, so do not skip it. Now add the second half of the pasta. Spread the pasta evenly into the dish. Then top with the remaining
mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Topping the casserole with cheese creates a beautiful golden crust, that seals in all the
juiciness of the pasta. Bake the casserole in the
center of a preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit
for about 25 minutes. The cheese should be melted and you'll see bubbling at
the edges of the casserole. I like to broil at the
end for a couple minutes to create that beautiful
golden brown crust. I'm so excited 'cause I'm hungry. It is way past lunch time and
this is just calling my name. So cheesy and you can see the
little bubbling at the edges. You can garnish this with fresh basil. It's a nice touch. Adds that pop of color and
flavor, you know. (chuckles) Once it's out of the oven,
you do wanna let it rest for about 10 minutes because
it's piping hot inside and then we can dig right in. All right. We're gonna get a big scoop. You won't regret it. I'm telling you. Cheesy, saucy. So delicious. Oh yum. Okay, we need more. That wasn't a big enough scoop. It's not a big enough spoon
is what's happening. (laughs) Okay and then garnishing with
a little more fresh basil because there's basil in
the dish so it makes sense and it's so pretty. Look at this. Boom. Looks like something that came
right out of a restaurant. That's my little cheat,
using fresh garnish. Okay, here we go. I can't wait any longer. Let's do this. Oh wow. It's unbelievably cheesy. Just gooey with the
three cheeses in there. Yum, yum, yum. Here we go. Mm. This is so good. It has all the classic flavors of lasagna with the marinara and the meat sauce. And all the cheese, Except this is extra saucy. It's saucier than a lasagna, but it also reheats really well. My daughter loves to take this
in a hot thermos to school. You can make this ahead, which
is perfect for Sunday lunch. We love using homemade marinara for this. And I have a great recipe. I will link to that in the notes, but if you're short on time, you can use a store bought version. This is sure to become a family favorite. Make it once and you'll
make it over and over again. Oh, yum. I can't wait to enjoy the rest of this. For more easy dinner ideas, check out some of our
favorites right over there. Right down there. And then as always, all of our recipes are
on natashaskitchen.com. Thanks for watching. And we'll see you in our next video. Do you like me so much? It's so good that you love me. (hands clapping) (food sizzling)
