Baked Ziti with Meatballs

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This no boil Baked Ziti with Meatballs is the perfect make-ahead meal for when you are short on time.

Yield: 1 (8x8 pan) (Double the recipe to fill a 9x13 pan.)

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: people

Calories: 445kcal

Author: Sarah | Curious Cuisiniere

Ingredients

For the Sauce (yields roughly 4 cups of thin sauce)

1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes, un-drained
1 (6oz) can tomato paste
2 ¼ teaspoon onion powder
1 ½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon marjoram
½ teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon parsley
¼ teaspoon salt
1 ½ c water
½ c red wine

Putting It All Together

½ lb ziti pasta, dry
½ lb meatballs pre-cooked
1 c mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 400F.

For the Sauce

In a medium saucepan, mix tomatoes, tomato paste, and spices. Add water and wine, and bring to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Putting It All Together

In a greased 8x8 pan, spread 1 c of the sauce. Top with half of the dry pasta. Spread 1 cup of sauce over the pasta. Nestle all of the meatballs into the sauce. Sprinkle ½ cup of mozzarella cheese over the meatballs. Spread 1 cup of sauce over the cheese. Layer the remaining pasta over the sauce. Finally, spread the last 1 c of sauce over the pasta.
Cover the dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20-30 minutes, until you start to see bubbles forming around the edges.*
Remove the dish from the oven and top with the last ½ cup of cheese.
Return the dish to the oven and bake, uncovered, 15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the dish is bubbly to the center.
Remove the dish from the oven. Tent it loosely with aluminum foil and let it stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

*To make ahead: Cover the dish with aluminum foil and refrigerate up to 24 hours. When you are ready to bake the pasta (roughly 1 hour before you would like to eat), place the covered dish from the fridge into the oven as it preheats to 400F. Bake for 30 minutes, until the edges are bubbly. Continue with the recipe as directed above.

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