This easy crock pot baked ziti recipe cooks uncooked pasta right in a rich homemade meat sauce with plenty of melted cheese. Ricotta gives it the creamy flavor of lasagna without the work.
With about 20 minutes of prep, everything cooks together in the slow cooker for an easy cheesy pasta dinner with no need to boil the pasta first.
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Featured Comment by Kathleen:
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"I have made this several times for my Husband. He is a very picky eater…he absolutely loves this!!! It is a 5-star rating for us!!"
📝 TL;DR — Recipe Summary
What: Easy baked ziti in a crock pot is made with uncooked pasta, homemade meat sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan.
Why: Cheesy comfort food with no need to boil the pasta first, and only about 20 minutes of prep.
How: Add the sauce, uncooked pasta, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella to the crock pot in steps, then cook on LOW for about 4 hours.
🥣 Ingredients
- Pasta – Use regular uncooked ziti or penne, not oven-ready or no-boil pasta. It cooks directly in the sauce.
- Mozzarella cheese – Provides the melted, gooey cheese throughout the baked ziti.
- Ricotta, Parmesan, and egg white – Ricotta gives the dish its creamy lasagna-like flavor. Parmesan adds flavor, while the egg white helps the ricotta mixture hold together.
For the Homemade Meat Sauce
- Crushed tomatoes – The tomato base for the homemade sauce.
- Ground beef or Italian sausage – Use either one or a mix of both. Brown and drain before adding to the sauce.
- Onion and garlic – Cook with the meat to build the flavor of the sauce.
- Seasonings – Basil, salt, pepper, and optional red pepper flakes.
👨🍳 Quick Overview: Crock Pot Baked Ziti
1. Prepare the meat sauce
Brown the meat with the onion and garlic; drain. Add the meat to the seasoned crushed tomatoes.
2. Mix the ricotta cheese
Mix the ricotta with Parmesan, egg white, parsley, and salt.
3. Add to the crock pot
In order, add half of the meat sauce, uncooked pasta, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella to the crock pot. Repeat, finishing with sauce and mozzarella.
4. Cook
Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours. Check at 3 hours and stop when the pasta is tender.
👇 Scroll down for the printable recipe card with step-by-step photos — or keep reading for cooking tips, options, and storage.
⏲️ How Long to Cook
- LOW (recommended): About 4 hours. Start checking at 3 hours since crock pots vary.
- HIGH: About 2 hours. Start checking at 1 hour.
- Doneness: Stop cooking when the pasta is tender but not mushy.
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🍝 Pasta Tips
- Use regular uncooked pasta—not oven-ready or no-boil. Ziti and penne work well.
- Pasta shapes cook at different rates. Smaller shapes cook faster, so check for tenderness early.
- Be cautious with whole-wheat or gluten-free pasta. Cooking times and results can vary by brand.
✔️ Sauce Options & Variations
- Sauce: Homemade sauce gives the best results, but jarred marinara works as a shortcut.
- Meat: Use ground beef, Italian sausage, or a mixture of both. Brown with onion and garlic, then drain before adding to the sauce.
- Vegetables: Add mushrooms, spinach, or bell peppers if you like.
- Seasoning: Adjust basil, oregano, or red pepper flakes to taste.
↕️ Scaling for Two or Family Size
- Half recipe: Use a 2-quart mini crock pot and check the pasta early.
- Full recipe: Use a 3- to 4-quart crock pot.
- Double recipe: Use a 6-quart or larger crock pot.
- Cooking time stays about the same. Cook until the pasta is tender.
Scaling the ingredients: In the recipe card, change the number of servings. Use the adjusted amounts in the ingredient list—the instructions do not adjust automatically.
🍅 Crock Pot Italian Recipes
You may also like these crock pot Italian favorites:
Crock Pot Italian Chicken Pasta
Delicious Crock Pot Italian Chicken Pasta 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. You will love this cheesy Italian bake.
🥗 Serving and Storage
- Serve with a green salad and garlic bread.
- Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat in the microwave or covered in the oven. Thaw frozen baked ziti overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
❓ FAQs
Baked ziti is an Italian-American pasta dish made with tomato sauce, cheese, and ziti pasta. It often includes ground beef or Italian sausage but can also be made without meat.
Ziti has straight-cut ends and is slightly larger, while penne has angled ends. Either works well in this recipe, and penne is often easier to find.
Yes. Skip the meat and use the tomato sauce and cheeses. You can also add mushrooms, spinach, or bell peppers.
📖The Recipe Card
Crock Pot Baked Ziti Recipe (Easy Cheesy Pasta)
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef - or Italian sausage
- 1 small onion - chopped
- 2 cloves garlic - crushed
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 egg white
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese - grated
- 1½ teaspoons salt - divided
- ½ teaspoon dry parsley
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 1½ teaspoons basil
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper - optional
- 2 cups dry ziti noodles - or penne
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese - shredded
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Brown the Meat — Chop 1 small onion. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown 1 pound ground beef (or Italian sausage). Add the onion after 3–4 minutes. Add 2 crushed garlic cloves in the last minute. Cook until no longer pink, about 9–10 minutes total. Drain excess fat.
- Mix the ricotta mixture — In a bowl, combine 1 cup (8 oz) ricotta, 1 egg white, ¼ cup grated Parmesan, ½ teaspoon dried parsley, and ½ teaspoon salt; do not overmix.
- Make the sauce — In a medium bowl, mix 28 oz crushed tomatoes, 1½ teaspoons dried basil, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
- Stir in the drained cooked meat to finish the meat sauce. Add ⅛ teaspoon crushed red pepper if you like a little heat.
- Layering — Spray a 3- to 4-quart (or larger) slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Spread about 1½ cups of meat sauce over the bottom. Add 1 cup uncooked ziti (or penne).
- Dot with half of the ricotta mixture. Sprinkle ½ cup shredded mozzarella.
- Second layer and top — Repeat: 1½ cups meat sauce, 1 cup uncooked pasta, the remaining ricotta, and ½ cup mozzarella. Top with the remaining meat sauce and 1 cup mozzarella.
- Cook — Cover and cook on LOW for about 4 hours. Start checking the pasta at 3 hours—crock pots vary. Stop when the pasta is tender to prevent overcooking.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips
For scaling and crock pot sizes (half-batch in a 2-quart mini, double in a 6–7 quart), see the Scaling section in the post. The pasta goes in uncooked. Standard ziti or penne works best. Very small shapes, whole-wheat, or gluten-free pastas can be unpredictable. Crock pot temperature and pasta shape affect cooking time. Start checking at 3 hours and stop when the pasta is tender—pasta can go from undercooked to overcooked quickly.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)
Inspired by a Pioneer Woman recipe for Baked Ziti, which is more lasagna-like with ricotta and Parmesan. I adapted it for the crock pot.
Editor's note: Originally published December 5, 2013. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Garry says
Made this today. I liked it, wifey not so much. She said it lacked flavor and was dry. It was dry, to much penne, easily solved problem. Taste, I don't know, she said she is adding some tom sauce with her next helping. I thought it was fine. She had radiation therapy about 2 years ago and since then it seems her taste buds are messed up. Like she absolutely cannot tolerate any spicy food even black pepper. This might account for taste.
DrDan says
Hi Garry,
Welcome to the blog.
Sorry, it didn't work that well for you. Increase the fluid with care or recipes like this can become "soup". I have done this recipe at least 25 times with nothing I would call dryness. I'm suspecting pasta variation. Whole wheat paste could definately do it.
I'm not sure there is much to do about the effect of chemo/radiation on taste buds. Patient have told me about it and I believe it usually returns but not always. Since taste and smell are important drivers in nutition, you need to watch that.
Dan
Elizabeth says
Dr. Dan, thanks so much for sharing your recipe! It sounds so good!! I can't wait to fix it! It's just the two of us here, but I don't have a small crock-pot. If I doubled the recipe, do you think the leftovers could be frozen?
DrDan says
Hi Elizabeth,
I do double this all the time since I use it for semi-formal. Like dinners before holidays with company.
I will freeze great and is good refrigerated for 3-4 days.
As written, I do think it needs the smaller crock pot. I would double if using a bigger crock pot.
I use my 3.5 qt pot over half the time. A great investment.
Dan
Amanda says
I am making this for a Super Bowl party, and I will be pressed for time. Do you think I could prep (layer it in the stoneware crock) this ahead of time then slow cook it the next day? Do you think it will make the noodles too soggy?
DrDan says
Hi Amanda,
Welcome to the blog.
It might be ok and might not. I wouldn't do it. I would cook the meat and make the sauce then mix the cheese then refrigerate. Assembly is fairly quick.
Dan
Mike says
Hi Dan,
I was looking for a lasagna recipe but this sounds even better (and easier). About midway through the instructions you mention cooking the pasta with juice from the chicken. If this isn't a typo, I'm confused. I'll be attempting this recipe regardless. Thanks for all the great meals!
DrDan says
Hi Mike,
Welcome to the blog.
Yep, a typo. It must have been there there for years and has had 500,000 plus views and you are the first to see it. Fixed and thanks for the proof read.
I love this dish. It is very lasagna like but much easier.
Dan
Lishers says
This is an edit to my above comment: I used rigatoni, not rotini. Sorry about that.
Lishers says
I’ve made a lot of recipes I’ve found online, but I don’t think I’ve ever been as pleased with any of them as I was this. “Pleased” is actually quite an understatement. We were all fairly blown away, to be honest.
I was a little worried as I was layering everything, as the ratio of ingredients seemed strange to me. Then, prior to serving, I was sure to give my son the requisite “now, remember, this is kind of an experiment” qualifier, but it was completely unnecessary. Everything was DELICIOUS!
A couple of notes: I made this with Italian sausage in lieu of ground beef and would never have it any other way. I used rotini instead of ziti since I couldn’t find ziti. Finally: the pasta was a teensy bit mushy, but I don’t blame the recipe AT ALL. My crock pot tends to cook hot, and I know this from experience; BUT since this was my first time making this, I wanted to follow the instructions as closely as possible. Next time (okay, in three days), I’ll cut off cooking at about 3:30 or 3:40 (like I said, it was only a teensy bit).
Anyway, I SUPER HIGHLY RECOMMEND this recipe to anyone who may be on the fence about it. With Italian sausage.
DrDan says
Hi Lishers,
Welcome to the blog.
This is one of my personal favorites and I really appreciate your comment. I cook this frequently as a double recipe and will usually use half Italian sausage and half burger.
I have used different pastas with this and a few seem to run a bit soft. The mass market standard pasta seems to do the best. A little odd.
Having said that, there is a lot of value in knowing your pot and that hot pot could make the pasta a bit mussy.
Thanks again for the note.
Dan
Beverly Barndt says
Hello Rockstar,
Made this today and it was DELISH! Again are you happily married? LOL
I just love everything about this site!!! It has been a great help to me! Thanks for your time!
Adam says
Hey I was just wondering why the egg white and not the whole egg like some of the other recipes I've seen?
DrDan says
Hi Adam,
Welcome to the blog.
Generally I model a recipe after 3-4 others then add my touches. The egg is generally in a ratio of 1 egg to 16 oz of ricotta cheese. That is also true in most lasagna recipes. It is added to firm up the texture some with the protein. So this is a "for two" recipes and only needed 8 oz of the ricotta cheese so half an egg. The white is the most important part for the texture. A whole egg might make the cheese more "soupy".
Sometimes I would use whites over whole eggs to decrease the fat but this is not a low fat recipe so 5 gms of fat doesn't really matter.
Dan
Chelsea says
This looks good. Do you think I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta? Also can I use a jar of sauce instead of the crushed tomatoes? Obviously it won't be as fresh but it's easier sometimes.
DrDan says
Hi Chelsea,
The crushed tomatoes are canned also. Sauce would be ok but more watery.
Cottage cheese: My mother used it. It is not preferred and will be different but ok. I prefer ricotta by far.
Dan
Rebecca says
This looks sooo good. Quick question. Will it hold up well if it cooks on low for 4-5 hours and then sets on warm for another three? I'm worried about it becoming dry and/or burned before I can get home.
DrDan says
I suspect it will be mush with the pasta overcooked.
Dan
Burgandy says
Hello looking to try this recipe for me and my boyfriend my crockpot has a "keep warm" setting to keep contents at warm temperature once finished. Would this effect my pasta? Will I run into the noodle mush problem?
DrDan says
No but maybe. I have done this and other pasta containing crockpot recipes that ended up on keep warm for a while. My general feeling is that cooking continues but only a little. So my feeling is an hour or so on keep warm is ok but if you are going past that, it may overcook some and could affect texture. I definitely would not be doing 3-4 hours on warm.
Patty says
Can I double the ricotta or would it effect the moisture level too much? Many thanks! I love this site!
DrDan says
Hi Patty, This recipe runs a little dry. I make it that way to avoid the "ziti soup" trap. I believe it would be fine.
Dan
Crystal Ellis says
I tried this recipe and it was absolutely amazing. I was wondering can i cook this for 2 hours on the high setting instead of 4 hours on the low setting? Would it make a difference?
DrDan says
Hi Crystal,
I have not tried 2 hours on high although I believe it would work. My only question is the pasta. Using uncooked pasta in crockpot recipes can get a little tricky. If you try, please post and let us know.
I do love this recipe.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Lori says
Made this last week. Very flavorful and really easy. I added just a tad more pasta than called for... My mistake, as it turned out just a little dry. (What was I even thinking?) :) But that's a mistake that can and will be remedied next time. The whole family enjoyed it so there will be a next time! By the way, this made plenty enough to feed a family of 4 and even had enough for leftovers!
Peter Beckles says
What is ziti? The pasta illustrated is penne, isn't it?
DrDan says
Ziti pasta is cut straight across on the end and is slightly bigger than penne. My local store doesn't even carry Ziti. I use them interchangeably.
Dan
Nancy says
This looks right up our alley. Definitely putting this in my summer rotation when we want a hot meal but don't want to heat up the kitchen.