Easy baked ziti with chicken in a delicious homemade sauce that's quick to make from scratch with pantry ingredients. A classic Italian baked pasta recipe.
Make it with raw or precooked chicken, a quick homemade or jarred sauce, and optional ricotta or cottage cheese.
Hi Readers, Did you add us to your Google Search already? Thank you, but it probably did not work. Please click the button and try again—it is now fixed.
Jump To (scroll for more)
🤔 TL;DR: Recipe Summary
What: Easy baked ziti with chicken made with raw or precooked chicken, a quick homemade sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
Why: A hearty Italian pasta bake that's easy enough for weeknights and great for make-ahead dinners.
How: Cook the chicken or use precooked chicken, make the quick homemade sauce, stir with cooked ziti and cheese, then bake until hot, bubbly, and lightly browned.
🐓 Ingredients
- Chicken—raw chicken breasts or precooked chicken
- Homemade sauce—garlic, onion, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, olive oil, basil, optional crushed red pepper, salt, and black pepper (or use about 7 cups of your favorite jarred pasta sauce)
- Pasta—ziti, penne, or other dry pasta
- Cheese—mozzarella and Parmesan, with optional ricotta or cottage cheese
👨🍳 Quick Overview: How to Make Baked Ziti with Chicken
Brown trimmed raw chicken (or use precooked chicken) with the onion and garlic.
Make the quick homemade sauce (or use jarred sauce) and simmer with the chicken while the pasta cooks.
Stir the cooked pasta and mozzarella into the sauce. If using ricotta or cottage cheese, dollop it throughout the casserole. Finally, top with Parmesan cheese.
Bake at 375°F until hot, bubbly, and lightly browned.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
🥣 Options and Variations
- Chicken: Use about 1½ pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts, thighs, or about 3 to 4 cups of precooked chicken, including rotisserie chicken.
- Sauce: The quick homemade, from-scratch sauce is recommended, but you can substitute about 7 cups of your favorite jarred pasta sauce.
- Cheese: The mozzarella can be cubed for pockets of melted cheese or shredded for more even coverage. Add dollops of ricotta or cottage cheese throughout the casserole before topping with Parmesan for a more traditional baked ziti.
- Pasta: Ziti is traditional, but penne, rigatoni, farfalle, or other medium pasta shapes work well.
- Meat: Substitute Italian sausage, ground beef, ground chicken, or ground turkey for the chicken.
- Heat: Add the optional crushed red pepper flakes for a little heat, or leave them out.
🤔 How to Use Ricotta or Cottage Cheese
For a more traditional baked ziti, add dollops of ricotta or cottage cheese throughout the casserole after transferring it to the baking dish.
For extra flavor and a creamier texture, combine 1 cup (8 ounces) of ricotta or cottage cheese with 1 egg white, ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, ½ teaspoon dried parsley, and ½ teaspoon salt. Mix gently, then dollop it throughout the casserole before topping with Parmesan cheese.
⬇️ How to Make a Half Recipe
The full recipe makes about 8 servings. A half recipe fits nicely in a 6×9-inch baking dish and makes about 4 servings.
- Use the recipe card and adjust the servings from 8 to 4.
- Use the ingredient amounts in the recipe card ingredient list, not the instructions—they do not adjust.
- Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes until hot, bubbly, and lightly browned. If needed, use the broiler for a minute or two for additional browning.
Save this recipe!
Enter your email address and we'll send the link straight to your inbox!
📅 Make Ahead and Bake Later
Assemble the casserole, cover tightly, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking.
Freezing: Only freeze unbaked if no egg is used.
For longer storage, wrap well and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking. If baking straight from the refrigerator, allow about 10 extra minutes of baking time.
🍽️ Serving
Serve with a garden salad and crusty bread like Basic White Stand Mixer Bread or Julia Child's French Bread.
❄️ Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw frozen leftovers overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave, covered in the oven, or in an air fryer until hot throughout.
❓ FAQs
Yes. The quick homemade sauce is recommended, but you can substitute about 7 cups of your favorite jarred pasta sauce.
No. Ziti is traditional, but penne, rigatoni, farfalle, or other medium pasta shapes work well.
Yes. Use about 3 to 4 cups of precooked chicken, including rotisserie chicken. It is a great way to save time.
No. They are completely optional. The recipe is delicious with just mozzarella and Parmesan, but ricotta or cottage cheese gives it a more traditional baked ziti texture.
📋 Other Pasta Recipes
Check out other great pasta dishes such as Baked Chicken Spaghetti, Baked Pasta and Sausage, Creamy Smoked Sausage Pasta, and Parmesan Chicken Alfredo.
Crock Pot Chicken Baked Ziti
Delicious Crock Pot Chicken Ziti is loaded with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, tender chicken, and pasta. It is cooked in an easy homemade marinara sauce that cooks the dry pasta and chicken while it simmers.
📖The Recipe Card
Easy Baked Ziti with Chicken
Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 1½ pounds raw skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs - 3-4 cups shredded precooked chicken
- 1 pound dry pasta
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese - shredded
- 1 pound mozzarella - cubed or shredded
- 1 cup ricotta or cottage cheese (optional)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion - medium
- 4-6 cloves garlic - crushed
- 1 tablespoon basil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼-½ teaspoon crushed red pepper - optional
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 14 oz diced tomatoes
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 6 oz water
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Trim and dice 1½ pounds skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs into approximately ½ inch cubes. Or use 3-4 cups of shredded precooked chicken.
- Chop one medium onion.
- In a large pan over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. When shimmering, add the chicken. Sauté raw chicken for 3 minutes, or just add precooked chicken, then add onion and continue to saute for 5-6 minutes more until onion is clear. Add 4-6 cloves crushed or minced garlic and saute for 1 minute until fragrant. Remove from heat.
- Add 1 tablespoon basil, 1 teaspoon salt, ¼-½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional), ½ teaspoon black pepper, 28 oz crushed tomatoes, 14 oz diced tomatoes, 6 oz tomato paste, and 6 oz water. Simmer on low while cooking pasta and cubing mozzarella.
- Cook the pasta al dente according to package instructions. Cube mozzarella cheese into ½ inch cubes or use shredded cheese.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the pasta and mozzarella.
- Pour into a prepared baking dish, 9×13 or 12-inch round. If using ricotta or cottage cheese, combine with the optional ingredients below and dollop throughout the casserole. Top with ¼ cup Parmesan, then refrigerate or bake.
- Place in a preheated 375° convection oven until bubbling and browning—about 30-40 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- This is an easy recipe to cut in half. Adjust the ingredients in the servings area of the recipe card. It will change the ingredients but not the instructions. You will need to adjust those yourself.
- For a full recipe, use a 12-inch round or 13X9 casserole dish. For a half recipe, use a 9X6 casserole dish.
- Use the pasta of your choice. I prefer smaller pasta, so I use penne.
- Adjust your red pepper to taste.
- You can save some time using jarred sauce, but you really don't want to do that. It will not be as flavorful, and it will cost more.
- Store refrigerated for 3–4 days or freeze for up to 3 months
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Editor's Note: Originally Published May 13, 2010. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Dr Dan says
I called it 8 servings. This is one of the "with lots of left overs" recipe. I will usually make this on a Sunday and use the left overs for quick weeknight suppers.
TwoTabsOfMesc says
Just made for the second time.. Very good but have to say that this IS NOT a 2 person serving. More like 6. Would like to see more scaled down recipes.