Sausage and Spinach Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- 1 pound ziti pasta
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 10 ounces talian sausage
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, divided
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 cups spinach, chopped
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, cut into small cubes, divided
- 6 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1 tablespoon chopped basil, or as needed for garnish (Optional)
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Instructions
- Gather the ingredients. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
- Spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in ziti and return to a boil. Cook pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until they just start to become tender, about 5 minutes. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta water.
- Meanwhile, heat oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat and cook and stir Italian sausage, breaking up the meat as it cooks, until it is no longer pink, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Reserve 1/3 cup crushed tomatoes and pour remaining tomatoes into sausage. Stir in garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, and spinach. Cook for 10 minutes.
- Combine ricotta, heavy cream, 4 ounces cubed mozzarella cheese, 4 ounces shredded Parmesan cheese, and garlic granules in a bowl. Season with salt.
- Add the cooked sausage mixture and ricotta mixture to the pasta and toss well. If mixture seems too thick, stir in reserved pasta water 2 tablespoons at a time.
- Spread the reserved 1/3 cup crushed tomatoes into the bottom of the casserole dish. Pour half of pasta in an even layer over tomatoes and top with 1/2 of the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining pasta and cheese.
- Bake ziti in the preheated oven until cheese is lightly golden brown and pasta is heated through, 25 to 30 minutes. Garnish with chopped fresh basil.
Source
Original recipe: View Original