Dinner
Cottage Cheese and Sausage Baked Ziti
Ziti cooks directly in sausage marinara and bakes with pockets of seasoned cottage cheese and melted mozzarella.
- Yield
- 6 to 8 servings
- Cuisine
- Italian-American
Serving ideas
Let the ziti settle briefly and top with the remaining parsley.
Ingredients
See the ingredient checklist
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, optional
- 5 cups marinara
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more as needed
- 16 oz whole-milk cottage cheese
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 oz finely grated Parmesan, divided, about 1/2 cup
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
- ground black pepper
- 16 oz ziti or other tube-shaped pasta
- 2 cups water
- 12 oz shredded low-moisture mozzarella, divided, about 3 cups
Before you cook
Use a high-sided skillet so it can hold the sauce and uncooked pasta.
How to make Cottage Cheese and Sausage Baked Ziti
Heat the oven to 450°F with a rack in the upper third. Heat the oil in a high-sided, 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Brown the sausage, breaking it up, for 3 to 5 minutes. Add optional pepper flakes for 1 minute.
Add marinara and 1 teaspoon salt and simmer about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the cottage cheese, garlic powder, half the Parmesan and half the parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
Stir the ziti and water into the skillet. Bring to a simmer and stir about 2 minutes, then take off the heat. Fold in half the cottage cheese mixture and half the mozzarella, leaving pockets of cheese.
Spoon the remaining cottage cheese mixture over the pasta and sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until the pasta is tender and the sauce is bubbling.
The full recipe
Check off ingredients as you get them ready.
The ingredient list scales when you change the servings. Adjust any quantities mentioned in the steps to match your batch.
Cottage Cheese and Sausage Baked Ziti
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Ingredients
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil- 1 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes optional
- 5 cups marinara
- 1 tsp kosher salt plus more as needed
- 16 oz whole-milk cottage cheese
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1 oz finely grated Parmesan, divided about 1/2 cup
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
- ground black pepper
- 16 oz ziti or other tube-shaped pasta
- 2 cups water
- 12 oz shredded low-moisture mozzarella, divided about 3 cups
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 450°F with a rack in the upper third. Heat the oil in a high-sided, 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium-high. Brown the sausage, breaking it up, for 3 to 5 minutes. Add optional pepper flakes for 1 minute.
- Add marinara and 1 teaspoon salt and simmer about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix the cottage cheese, garlic powder, half the Parmesan and half the parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir the ziti and water into the skillet. Bring to a simmer and stir about 2 minutes, then take off the heat. Fold in half the cottage cheese mixture and half the mozzarella, leaving pockets of cheese.
- Spoon the remaining cottage cheese mixture over the pasta and sprinkle with the rest of the mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until the pasta is tender and the sauce is bubbling.