Big Baked Ziti Recipe — Makes 2 Pans for a Crowd!
One Recipe. Two Pans. Zero Leftovers Either Way.
Big Baked Ziti is one of those recipes that just works every single time — and the best part? This recipe makes TWO pans. Two. That means you can feed your family tonight and freeze the second pan for a busy weeknight, or do what I love to do and take one to a friend who needs a meal. You’re already making a mess in the kitchen anyway, right? You might as well make it count! I have been making this big baked ziti for years and I cannot tell you how many times I have shown up somewhere with one of these pans and watched it disappear in minutes.
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Watch me make this big baked ziti from start to finish — or scroll down for the full printable recipe card.
Featured Tools & Ingredients
- Chef's Choice Stainless: Mirror finish. Classic looks, professional performance.
- Unsurpassed Heat Distribution: Aluminum encapsulated base heats quickly and spreads heat evenly...
• My 20-year-old Cuisinart stock pot — #2 in my 5 Essential Tools. Big enough to toss 16 oz of cooked ziti with all the ricotta filling without it turning into a mess.
- Premium Quality - Made with lightweight but durable, high grade thick aluminum and reinforced walls...
- Eco-Friendly & Safe - Fully recyclable. Toss these disposable aluminum pans after use for a mess...
• My secret weapon for crowd cooking. Make two pans, send one home with a friend, and never worry about getting your dish back.
- ESSENTIAL KITCHEN TOOL: 2 piece set includes 1-cup, and 2-cup, measuring cups that are perfect for...
- EASY TO READ: Featuring bold and large measurements in both ounces and milliliters making this...
• The sauce-to-pasta ratio is everything for big baked ziti. These are the measuring cups I use for the two to three cups of sauce that go into the pasta mixture before the pans even get assembled.
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Big Baked Ziti Recipe — Makes 2 Pans for a Crowd!
Ingredients
- 16 oz ziti pasta
- 2 15 oz containers whole milk ricotta cheese
- 1 egg beaten
- 1½ lbs shredded mozzarella cheese divided (1 lb for ricotta mixture, ½ lb for topping)
- 1 to 1½ lbs ground beef
- 2 jars spaghetti sauce 24 oz each, your favorite variety
- Salt pepper, garlic powder, and oregano (for seasoning the beef)
Method
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Cook ziti pasta according to package directions. Drain and return to the pot.
- Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium heat, seasoning with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and oregano. Drain excess fat. Add both jars of spaghetti sauce and stir to combine.
- In a large bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, beaten egg, and 1 lb of the shredded mozzarella until combined.
- Add 2 to 3 generous cups of the meat sauce into the pot with the cooked ziti. Then add all of the ricotta cheese mixture. Stir everything together until well combined.
- Divide the pasta mixture evenly between two 9×13 disposable aluminum pans.
- Spoon the remaining meat sauce evenly over the top of each pan.
- Sprinkle the remaining ½ lb of mozzarella cheese over the top of both pans.
- Bake uncovered at 375°F for 30 minutes, until the cheese is melted, golden, and bubbly.
- Serve hot and watch it disappear!
Video
Notes
Why This Big Baked Ziti Works
One of the things I love most about this big baked ziti is how forgiving it is. You can use more or less ground beef depending on what you have on hand — anywhere from one to one and a half pounds works great. Same with the sauce. I add a generous two to three cups into the pasta mixture and use the rest to top the pans, but if you like it extra saucy just add a little more. You really cannot mess this up. The Kitchn has a great walkthrough on the three-cheese baked ziti technique if you want to read more on the why — but the gist is: ricotta, mozzarella, and a generous sauce-to-pasta ratio are what keep the bake from drying out.
I use whole milk ricotta for the best creamy texture and I always grab whatever brand is on sale at Walmart — this is not the time to overthink it. The ricotta, egg, and mozzarella mixture is what makes this baked ziti so rich and satisfying. It melts into the pasta and creates something that is genuinely hard to stop eating.
The disposable aluminum pans are my secret weapon when I am cooking for a crowd. Easy transport, easy cleanup, and you can send the whole pan home with someone without worrying about getting your dish back. If you are making this for a potluck, a church dinner, a family gathering, or a friend who just had a baby or lost a loved one, these pans are the way to go.
This big baked ziti heats up beautifully the next day too. It is kind of like lasagna that way — it might even be better the second day once everything has had a chance to settle together. And if you freeze the second pan, you will thank yourself on that night when you are exhausted and need a real dinner on the table fast. Just pull it out of the freezer the morning before, let it thaw in the fridge, and bake as directed. If you love the idea of cooking once and eating twice, come check out how I attended a freezer meal party and stocked my whole freezer in one afternoon.
A Few Things That Make Big Baked Ziti Even Easier
- Cook the ziti just under al dente. The pasta keeps cooking in the oven. If you boil it fully soft, it will be mushy by the time the cheese is melted on top. Pull it about a minute earlier than the box says and drain it well.
- Use a big stock pot for mixing — not a regular bowl. Once you add 16 oz of cooked ziti to the ricotta, egg, and a pound of shredded mozzarella , you need real room to stir. A standard mixing bowl will overflow. The stock pot you cooked the pasta in is exactly the right size — one less dish to wash too.
- Be generous with the sauce. Two 24-oz jars covers both pans, but err on the side of saucier rather than drier. I add two to three generous cups into the pasta mixture using glass measuring cups and use the rest to top the pans. Dry ziti is sad ziti.
- Save the second pan for someone who needs it. This is the whole reason I make this recipe. Freezer-wrap the second pan with foil + plastic wrap, label it with the bake instructions, and have it ready to drop off when a friend has a hard week, a new baby, or a loss in the family. A meal someone else made you is one of the kindest things you can give.
- Don’t skip the second layer of cheese on top. Half a pound of mozzarella for the topping (split across two pans) is what gives you that golden, bubbly crust everyone fights for. Save half the mozzarella from the bag specifically for the top — don’t be tempted to mix it all into the filling.
Big Baked Ziti FAQ — The Questions I Get Every Time
What temperature and how long do I bake big baked ziti?
Bake at 375°F for 30 minutes uncovered, until the cheese is melted, golden, and bubbly. If the cheese is browning faster than you’d like, loosely tent a piece of foil over the top for the first 15 minutes, then uncover for the rest. Pull when the edges are bubbling and the cheese on top is golden brown.
Can I make big baked ziti ahead of time?
Yes — assemble both pans fully, cover tightly with foil, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking. Pull the pans out about 30 minutes before they go in the oven to take some of the chill off, then bake as directed adding 5 to 10 extra minutes if the pans are still cold from the fridge. This is one of my favorite recipes to make the night before a busy day.
How do I freeze the second pan of big baked ziti?
Let the assembled pan cool to room temperature (do not bake first — assemble it raw, freeze it raw). Cover tightly with foil, then wrap the whole pan in plastic wrap. Label it with the bake instructions and the date. It will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. To bake from frozen: thaw in the fridge overnight, then bake at 375°F for 45 to 60 minutes covered with foil for the first 30, then uncover until golden and bubbly.
Can I make big baked ziti without meat?
Absolutely. Skip the ground beef entirely and use the sauce as-is, or sauté some mushrooms, zucchini, or spinach in olive oil and stir those into the sauce instead. The three-cheese filling is the star of this recipe — the meat is a bonus, not a requirement.
What size pan do I need for big baked ziti?
This recipe is built to fill two 9×13 pans — that is the whole point. I use disposable aluminum 9x13 pans for both because they are easy to transport, easy to freeze, and easy to send home with a friend. If you’d rather use one big pan instead of two, a deep 10×15 lasagna pan will fit the full batch, but you will need to add about 10 extra minutes to the bake time.
Can I use a different shape of pasta?
Yes — penne, rigatoni, or even medium shells all work great in this recipe. Ziti is traditional and the tube shape holds the sauce beautifully, but if you cannot find ziti at your store, penne is the closest substitute and bakes up almost identical. Just keep the total weight at 16 oz so the sauce-to-pasta ratio stays right.
How many people does big baked ziti serve?
The full recipe makes two 9×13 pans, which serves about 16 people total — or feeds my crew of seven with one pan and lets me freeze or share the other. If you are taking one pan to a potluck and keeping one for your family, plan on 8 servings per pan. Generous servings, not skimpy.
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Ingredients
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More Crowd-Pleasing Pasta Recipes You’ll Love
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- Creamy Beefy Shells — five ingredients and thirty minutes to a pasta dinner the whole family clears their plates for
- Boursin Orzo Bake with Sausage and Spinach — dump it in a pan, bake it, and watch your family lose their minds over it
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Big Baked Ziti — About Stephanie’s Recipes
Stephanie Longstreth is the home cook, mom, and storyteller behind StephanieCooksForACrowd.com. She cooks for a family of seven in Florida — five kids, two cats, and one husband who appreciates a good meal. Four of her children came home through adoption, and family stories are woven into everything she makes and shares. Find her crowd-friendly recipes, weekly meal plans, and real family life on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest @stephaniecooksforacrowd.