Crock Pot Baked Ziti Recipe – seriously delicious! Meat sauce, ziti pasta, and 3 kinds of cheese! The BEST pasta casserole EVER! Ziti pasta, marinara sauce, cottage cheese, Italian sausage, parmesan cheese, and mozzarella cheese. Serve with a green salad and garlic bread. Great for dinner parties and potlucks! One bite and this easy slow cooker recipe is sure to become a family favorite.
In a large skillet, cook Italian sausage over medium-high heat until it is no longer pink. Drain excess grease. Add marinara sauce and stir to combine. Set aside.
In a large bowl, stir together cottage cheese, an egg, and dried parsley.
Pour half of the uncooked ziti into the bottom of a slow cooker that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Layer half of the meat sauce and half of the cottage cheese mixture. Sprinkle with half of the shredded mozzarella and half of the grated parmesan cheese. Repeat layers.
Cover the crock pot and cook on LOW for 3 to 4 hours or on the HIGH setting for 1 to 2 hours, until the pasta is cooked through and the cheese is melted. Garnish with fresh basil.
Notes:
Can substitute ground beef, ground turkey, breakfast sausage, or turkey sausage for the Italian sausage.
My favorite store-bought pasta sauce is Rao's. We also enjoy Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic Marinara (green label), Rao’s, Carbone, and La Famiglia DelGrosso.
This casserole uses cottage cheese. I NEVER ever eat it straight out of the container – yuck! BUT it is heavenly in casseroles. If you haven’t tried it, I really encourage you to branch out and try it.
If you aren’t ready to trust the word of a tried and true picky eater, you can try and substitute ricotta cheese for cottage cheese.
Store leftover baked ziti in an airtight container in the refrigerator.