Slow Cooker Baked Ziti

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Slow Cooker Baked Ziti

For baked ziti in a Crock Pot or slow cooker that's unlike any other, take a look at this!

Slow Cooker Baked Ziti
Slow Cooker Baked Ziti
SERVES
6
COOK TIME
4 Hr 10 Min

This easy Slow Cooker Baked Ziti is a perfect meal for those busy weeknights during the summer. Why the summer, you ask? Well, this delicious slow cooker recipe gives you fantastic Italian flavors, without you having to turn on your oven!

With slow cooker pasta bakes like this, you get to enjoy a delicious, hearty meal with very little work. It might sound a little...cheesy...but it just doesn't get better than that. 

If you love a good slow cooker cheesy pasta bake, then our baked ziti that you can set up and leave is going to be your new go-to! Watch the video right below and then check out the written instructions and get ready for a tasty dinner!

 

What You'll Need

  • 1 (16-ounce) package ziti, uncooked
  • 1 pound bulk Italian sausage
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
  • 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 (24-ounce) jars spaghetti sauce
  • Chopped fresh parsley for sprinkling

Slow Cooker Baked Ziti Directions:

  1. Coat a 5-quart or larger slow cooker with cooking spray. Rinse uncooked pasta, drain, and set aside.
  2. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage, onion, and garlic 6 to 8 minutes or until browned; drain and set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, eggs, 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and oregano; mix well.
  4. In the slow cooker, layer 2 cups sauce on the bottom, top with half the sausage mixture, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, half the ziti, and half the ricotta mixture. Repeat layers one more time. Top with remaining sauce and remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese on top. 
  5. Cover and cook on low 4 to 5 hours, or until pasta is tender. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.  

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Can you do this is the crockpot

Does the sausage go in raw?

The second instruction says to COOK it.

This was amazing. I made it with hamburger vs sausage. On my list of bring to the party dishes.

I am always skeptical using uncooked pasta in the slow cooker. It always turns out hard and dry. The same happened here. I think you need to add a can of tomato sauce as the original recipe called for 26 oz jars of pasta sauce. Also I always use 2 lbs of meat to 1 lb of pasta. Next time I make this I will cut the pasta in half.

My family loves pasta meals, and I love to use my slow cooker! It's nice to have home-cooked meals without heating up the kitchen in the summer. We enjoy pasta meals with garlic bread and side salads. I have a slow cooker lasagna recipe that is in my regular rotation, but now I can make ziti, too!

Would creamed cottage cheese yield the same result as ricotta cheese?

I would say yes. I use cottage cheese in lasgna

Why would you? Unless there is no ricotta to be found, maybe. But I would just make something else and wait for the ricotta to make this recipe.

This is a wonderful recipe for Baked Ziti! Rachel

I have never been able to find 26 ounce jars of spaghetti sauce even though recipes call for it.

Hi there! We've updated the recipe to reflect a 24 oz jar of sauce. Sorry for the confusion. We hope you enjoy the amazing flavors in this delicious recipe!

This is currently sitting in my crockpot that I forgot to turn on.... Can you cook it on high for a shorter amount of time?

Hi there! This ziti can be cooked on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours or until heated through. Enjoy!

Can I use ground beef in place of the Italian sausage?

Yes, you can certainly swap these two proteins. Enjoy!

Is it me or does the picture look completely different than what the Crockin' Girls made in the video? In addition, it looks as if ground beef was used as well as some cheddar cheese. I want mine to look like the picture! -)

Hi there! The photo may look a little different from the other photos on our site because it was provided to us by the Crockin' Girls. The photo shows what was made in the video and what is listed in the ingredients/instructions. :) Enjoy!

For some reason the sound isn't always coming through on these videos. One day it does on the site and the next time it doesn't. All the old ones with Mr. Food always come through with sound. Almost all the new ones do not. Is anyone else having this problem??

I brought this to a tricky tray. The table of 10 loved it! It was the best slow cooker recipe yet

My family absolutely LOVED this recipe. It is now added to my "Make Again" list of recipes.

We're so glad to hear they loved it! :)

I thought this was a great dish....

Bummer the video link no longer works but I think I can figure this out by the recipe and the comments. Cant wait to try this!

Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We fixed the link and you can now watch the video. Enjoy!

An addition to my previous post. We used Sweet Italian sausage.

We enjoyed this recipe. I might have cooked it too long as it was a bit dry. we just added additional spaghetti sauce on top when we reheated leftovers. It made a lot. Will definitely make it again. Would be great for a pot luck.

we liked it. I will make this for a tailgate party so everyone can enjoy it.

where is the nutritional value of the recipes

This dite doesn't provide that. Most of us are smart enough to figure out by the ingredients if we can eat it as is or need to make adjustments with low fat or non fat ingredients. If you can't accept that do not come on this website. There are plenty of excellent recipe sites that give you all that information.

This site is starting to add that information to recipes. They realize people have busy lives and enjoy seeing the info right here for them to read. It's unfortunate that "Cook for One" chose to be condescending and snarky about your inquiry. I had a chuckle though when I saw that they had typed "site" as "dite". In words Cook for One might use, most of us are smart enough not to do that:)

I just made this tonight for the first time and it was AWESOME! I followed recipe exactly as I do when I make something for the first time although I did toss in some green & red peppers chopped that I had in the freezer and some red pepper flakes. It's a keeper and next time, might add some nushrooms and black olives.

Sounds like a nice and easy recipe for those busy days. I LOVE my crockpot and I will be making this one soon! Thanks!

Reading some of the comments below wouldn't the seasoning depend upon what type of spaghetti sauce one purchased?

made this for my fussy family. They all just loved it. Cooked perfectly when I was a little nervous of the uncooked pasta. And what flavor. I will make it again

This was an amazing dinner! I made it for company and we ate it almost in one setting! I did it in the regular oven and I lost track of time and the only thing I did differently was to cook the pasta al dente first. Will definitely be making this again!!

Very good and easy. Slow cooker makes for far less heat in summertime kitchen. I cut down on amount of mild Italian sausage and ziti by about one-third since was making this for three rather than six. One hint, rinse ziti immediately before putting in, i.e. don't let it sit in the drain for a while or it will stick together. Or coat with a little olive oil. I also added a little black pepper and Italian seasoning. Rather than two egg whites I used one whole egg.

Either too much pasta or too little sauce! Either way, not a success! Also needs a LOT of extra seasoning.....more oregano, parsley, maybe fennel. Would not make again.

Will feed 6-8 easy. Good, Steve did not like.

you rinse the dry uncooked pasta to remove some of the starch. it will fully cook into the sauce

I used my leftover spaghetti sauce as my base and just kept layering until I ran out. It filled the crockpot and fed 2 teenage boys and 4 other family members. It got a thumbs up from the teenagers who said it tasted just like lasagne! We will be using this recipe a lot! Btw was there a reason for rinsing the pasta? I did not and it turned out just fine. J

The recipe calls for 1 (16-ounce) box ziti pasta (uncooked, rinsed and drained) and that is correct. The pasta will cook in the slow cooker with the spaghetti sauce. Rinsing and draining the past first helps to remove some of the extra starch. It could not be easier! Enjoy!

Reply to "bnrudy"..You do not cook the ziti first. If you did it would be mush by the time you took it out of the slow cooker.

Why would you rinsed and drained uncooked pasta???? Thanks

1 (16-ounce) box ziti pasta (uncooked, rinsed and drained)????? Don't you mean cooked, rinsed and drained?

If it's not cooked why would you rinsed and drained the Pasta

"Cover and cook on low 4 to 5 hours, or until pasta is tender." Sounds uncooked to me. Also, watch the attached video. The "Crocken Girls" specify that it is Uncooked.

You do not precook the ziti

How can I order The Crockin Girls Slow Cookin Companion?

You can go to their website and order it or go to their facebook page. Here is the link to the website. I have it and LOVE it! I hope this helps. :) http://crockingirls.com/store/

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