My old-school baked ziti from Smitten Kitchen by Deb Perelman

  • basil
  • ground beef
  • Show all ingredients...

  • EYB Comments

    Can substitute Italian sausages for ground beef, tomatoes for canned tomatoes, greens of your choice for baby spinach, and Parmesan cheese for pecorino cheese.

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Notes about this recipe

  • Eat Your Books

    Can substitute Italian sausages for ground beef, tomatoes for canned tomatoes, greens of your choice for baby spinach, and Parmesan cheese for pecorino cheese.

  • anya_sf on November 30, 2025

    Very good, streamlined version of baked ziti. I used sausage and added the optional fresh basil to the sauce. Skipped the optional ricotta; it was plenty cheesy.

  • foodgloriousfood on March 29, 2025

    We found this very ordinary. Admittedly I used Impossible meat and then decided to add some pancetta for additional flavor. I don’t think it would have tasted much different if I used beef. Couldn’t taste the difference and my husband didn’t notice it wasn’t beef. I did season it well with fennel seed, and chile flakes. But the dish itself was like something from a beginners cookbook. Onion, garlic, ground meat, sear add tomatoes and spinach add to pasta with a ton of cheese and bake. Would have been much better, richer and tastier with a cheesy Béchamel. Like a lasagne but with rotini. I knew what the result would be and I hate when a recipe ends up being just like I expect but not in a good way - as that’s on me! But I was pressed for time and had the impossible meat to use up.

  • Melanie on December 05, 2016

    Delicious. Made using minced beef and added lots of dried Italian herbs.

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