Really easy baked ziti – seriously!
Really easy – this is pretty much the only way that I cook. I like to do the bare minimum prep work, set up the cooking process, walk away, and when I return the meal is ready to eat! I’ve got too much to accomplish in my day, so cooking needs to be as simple as possible. Every so often, I do like to take my time and experiment with a new recipe, but for the most part, I like my meals as quick and easy to make as possible. (Anyone else feel this way?) Even though this does take some time to cook, the prep work is a snap and the baking time allows you the opportunity to take care of other important items while you wait!
This baked ziti dish usually takes me around 10 minutes to prepare. I don’t even boil the noodles! I put everything inside of my oven safe pan, cover it with foil, and then pop it into the oven to bake. While it bakes, I do other things – like get ready for work. Did I mention that this time around, I cooked this meal in the morning, so that I would have it ready to bring with me for lunch? I thought it was an inspired idea, except for the fact that it smelled so good, that I ended up also eating some for breakfast! 🤭
Measurements
As for the measurements? I eyeball everything when I cook this meal. I know, I know, I’m sure some of you chefs are really appalled right now, but I honestly don’t feel the need to precisely measure things out for this meal. Let me repeat my initial point: really easy baked ziti. It’s super simple and doesn’t require all of that additional work, plus it’s more fun this way! Just add enough ingredients to feed the number of eaters!
Ingredients:
- 1 box of ziti pasta
- 1 jar of your favorite pasta sauce
- Grilled chicken breast strips
- Shredded mozzarella & Parmesan cheese blend
- Ricotta cheese
- Garlic granules (or fresh garlic)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Place all of the ingredients into a baking dish. That’s right, just open up all of the packages (except for the sauce) and pour them right into the dish. Shake that garlic, salt and pepper in there too.
- Take a big spoon and mix all of the ingredients together in the baking dish.
- Pour the pasta sauce on top of everything in the dish.
- Fill the empty pasta sauce jar (a little more than halfway) with water.
- Pour that water along the inside edges of the dish.
- Cover the dish with foil.
- Place the dish in your oven.
- Turn the oven on to 375°F and bake for 45 minutes
- Uncover the baking dish and let it bake for 7 more minutes or until it reaches your desired color or crunch level
- Remove from the oven and let it cool for 20 minutes. Oh who are we kidding? Scoop a big, heaping portion onto a plate, and burn your mouth because you couldn’t wait to start enjoying this delicious dish! 🤣
Like I said, really easy baked ziti! Of course you can add many different options to this dish – different meat, other herbs, veggies, whatever you prefer!
Have any of you ever tried making easy baked ziti with chicken? Let me know in the comments!
