Weeknight Baked Ziti with Italian Sausage [Ricotta Free]

This large batch baked ziti is a crowd pleasing pasta that can feed a lot of people and is a non-ricotta version of a classic baked ziti.

My husband originally made this dish on Christmas Eve and it’s my favorite pasta to date.

I make two versions of this pasta: traditional and the speedy “cheater” method for those busy weeknights.

Both are amazing. Give them and try and let me know which one is your favorite!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• The Steps
• Speedy “Cheater” Sausage Pasta Bake method
• The perfect pasta for feeding a crowd
• How to keep pasta warm in a crockpot when feeding large crowds.
• Sausage Pasta Bake [Crowd Pleasing Pasta]

Ingredients

• Italian sausage
• Parmesan cheese
• canned crushed tomatoes
• cream
• dried basil
• sugar
• garlic
• red pepper flakes
• salt
• starch water from the drained pasta water
• white American cheese
• dried pasta noodles (I used ziti but use whatever you want)

The Italian sausage is essential, I wouldn’t recommend substituting with regular sausage.

Fresh basil can easily be substituted for the dried basil but you may need a larger quantity.

Don’t be afraid of the red pepper flakes. They add flavor and just a touch of heat which to the sauce.

The starch water is adds depth and loosens the sauce up a bit for a smoother, creamy texture.

The Steps

First, brown and drain the Italian sausage.

Next, add add 28 ounce crushed tomatoes, ⅓ cup grated Parmesan cheese, 4 cloves crushed garlic, 1 cup cream, 1 teaspoon dried basil, 1.5 teaspoon sugar, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, and 1 ¼ teaspoon salt to the Italian sausage and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally.

Add ⅓ cup of the starchy pasta water to the sauce prior to draining the pasta noodles.

Then add the sauce to 1 lb of al dente (slightly firm) pasta noodles and stir well. Make sure the noodles are not over cooked at this point. They will continue to cook and soften as they bake in the oven.

Place into a 13 x 9 greased casserole dish.

Top with white american cheese. Don’t be stingy with the cheese!

Then bake until bubbly and the cheese just starts to brown.

Serve with my Copy Cat Pasta Express Salad. Yum!

Speedy “Cheater” Sausage Pasta Bake method

A happy accident occurred one night. I had the browned sausage ready for the sauce ingredients to be added when I discovered…no crushed tomatoes.

I ALWAYS have canned crushed tomatoes! But not that night. Sigh.

I did, however, have a jar of my favorite pasta sauce (Simply Ragu Traditional) on hand so I added the pasta sauce, cream, and starch water to the sausage and proceeded with the normal steps.

The result?

An absolutely amazing pasta that tasted almost identical to the original.

This simple hack put this pasta on the weeknight rotation list!

The perfect pasta for feeding a crowd

This pasta is my go-to choice for feeding a crowd. The recipe is easily adjusted to feed A LOT of people. The recipe below feeds 8-10 people, so adjust accordingly. Why is this the perfect pasta for a crowd? The reasons are endless but here are a few:

• The recipe scales easily so you can double, triple, or even quadruple the recipe to fit your needs.
• It is delicious and the majority of adults and kids alike love it. Trust me, you will get tons of requests for this recipe.
• You can prep the pasta in advance and then keep it warm in a large crock pot for easy serving during parties.
• It’s cheap. As in so cheap that you can feed 30 people for $30. No joke! Add a few loaves of french bread, a Copycat Pasta Express salad (link above), and my famous Missouri Girl Gooey Chocolate Chip Cookies and you have an entire party meal for under $50.

How to keep pasta warm in a crockpot when feeding large crowds.

This recipe can be prepped and kept warm in a large crockpot for up to 2 hours before serving. Just follow these simple steps:

1. Adjust the oven rack so that your crockpot insert sets just under the broiler. In my oven I usually put my 3 racks on the 3 lowest positions and it is the perfect height.
2. Make the pasta according to the instructions below to the point where you combine the sauce and noodles.
3. Instead of transferring the pasta to a casserole dish use a greased crock pot crock insert.
4. Top with the shredded white American cheese.
5. Turn the broiler on high and place the crock into the oven.
6. The time needed under the broiler with vary. I recommend checking every 30 seconds after the first couple minutes to make sure the cheese is not burning. Remove from under the broiler when the cheese is bubbly and just starting to brown.
7. Turn crockpot to low to keep warm until ready to serve. If serve time is more than an hour away then the crockpot may need to be kept on the “warm” setting to prevent burning.

Enjoy!