Crock Pot Baked Ziti
on Jun 03, 2023, Updated May 17, 2024
This easy Crock Pot Baked Ziti recipe is a great recipe to feed a crowd! It’s super easy to make and even the noodles cook right in the crock pot.
This baked ziti recipe is so easy to prep and will feed a crowd. Even the noodles cook right in the slow cooker.
I love that the slow cooker does all the work for me with just a few minutes of prep work. Normally when making a pasta dish, I would spend extra time dicing up onion and garlic to get that extra depth of flavor.
For this baked ziti crock pot recipe I didn’t add any extra spices (except fresh basil) and it was so good! Ready for the step by step? I’ll show you just how simple it is! (full ingredient amounts are included in a recipe card at the bottom of this post).
Ingredients & Notes
- Jarred pasta sauce: go for a good quality pasta sauce for the best flavor
- Tomato sauce
- Uncooked penne pasta: yes, the pasta will go in raw. No need to boil it at all first!
- Ricotta cheese
- Eggs
- Freshly chopped basil: I don’t suggest leaving this out or substituting it. The fresh basil really makes the flavor of this dish!
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese
- Mozzarella cheese
How to make crock pot baked ziti
Step 1: Add 15 oz of ricotta cheese, basil, and 2 eggs to a bowl. Mix it up until it looks like what is pictured below. Fresh basil really adds a lot of flavor, so don’t leave this part out!
Step 2: Mix together the pasta sauce and tomato sauce in a bowl and divide your penne pasta into three equal amounts. Now it is time to assemble the baked ziti.
Before beginning, spray your crock pot with cooking spray. This will help cleanup be a lot easier!
Step 3: Measure out 2 and 1/3 cups of sauce mixture and pour it into the bottom of the crock pot. Next, measure the penne into three equal amounts and add 1/3 of it to the top of the sauce.
I have eye balled it in the past and usually mess it up, so it’s worth taking the extra minute to divide evenly into three bowls before you begin layering.
Step 4: add half of the ricotta/egg/basil mixture. You can either add the ricotta in dollops, or spread in an even layer.
Step 5: add half of the parmesan cheese in an even layer.
Step 6: repeat the steps for the next level: another 2 and 1/3 cups of sauce, 1/3 of the uncooked penne, the remaining ricotta mixture, and the remaining parmesan cheese.
Add the rest of your penne on top. And lastly, the rest of your sauce! Spread it out as evenly as you can, so that the noodles on top cook properly.
Step 7: Place the lid onto your crock pot and cook the baked ziti on high for 2 hours and 15 minutes.
I have tested this recipe several times, and the perfect amount of cook time appears to be right around 2 and a half hours, before the noodles get too soft. After the 2 hours and 15 minutes, it should look like this image below.
Step 8: Time for the last step which is the mozzarella cheese on top!
I have used both asiago and mozzarella, and both are delicious. Basically any italian cheese you can get your hands on will be great!
Several readers have commented with their substitutions that turned out to be delicious. After the remaining 15 minutes of cook time, the cheese will look all melted and amazing like this.
It’s time to eat! One note: this makes enough to feed a crowd, so you will need a 6 quart or larger slow cooker.
The flavor of this crockpot pasta is just out of this world delicious. If you have never made pasta in a crock pot, this is a great recipe to start with!
This is a family favorite in our house, and I can always count on it coming out perfect every time! I have tested this recipe to perfection and it gets RAVE reviews every time I make it.
Serving idea
We like serving ours with roasted veggies and garlic bread! My favorite is pairing it with my oven roasted frozen broccoli. Super simple and delicious dinner with barely any cooking!
The layers of pasta and cheese are so good. I love getting the bites of fresh ricotta and basil. And the noodles cook in the sauce so they soak up all the yummy flavor!
Can I substitute the ricotta cheese?
Cottage cheese is a commonly used substitute for ricotta in baked ziti as it has a similar texture. You could also try using cream cheese in place of the ricotta.
Reader Dee says, “Cottage cheese works just fine, the eggs act as a binder. Cream cheese also works well. I’ve made this recipe many times.”
How to store
Leftover baked ziti can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
More Pasta Recipes
Crock Pot Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- (2) 25 ounce jars of pasta sauce
- 15 oz tomato sauce
- 1 pound UNCOOKED penne pasta
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup freshly chopped basil
- 2 cups of freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Combine the ricotta, eggs, and basil in a bowl and stir well
- In a large bowl, combine both jars of pasta sauce and the tomato sauce together.
- Grate the Parmesan cheese and set aside.
- Grease the inside of a 6 qt slow cooker
- Add 2 1/3 cups of pasta sauce to the bottom of the slow cooker
- Add 1/3 of the uncooked penne.
- Dot on half of the ricotta mixture and spread out evenly.
- Add half of the Parmesan cheese (1 cup)
- Add another 2 1/3 cups of sauce mixture
- Add an additional 1/3 of the uncooked penne.
- Dot on the remaining ricotta and spread out.
- Sprinkle on the remaining parmesan cheese (1 cup)
- Add the last 1/3 of the uncooked penne.
- Top with the remaining 2 1/3 cups of sauce mixture
- Cover and cook on high for 2-3 hours, or until pasta is al dente (we cooked ours for around 2 1/2 hours)
- During the last few minutes, add the mozzarella cheese to the top and allow to melt
- Serve alone or topped with red pepper flakes and served with garlic bread
- Enjoy!
How long would I cook in an Instant Pot / Pressure Cooker? Would the recipe need to be altered? Thanks!
This would not translate directly to the instant pot.
This is a top notch recipe. I love it so much; thank you! I dance for joy every time I am making this and eating it. So good!
I made this recipe for a Bunco Potluck and it was a hit! Everyone wants the recipe. I used Prego sauce and fresh basil. You will love how easy and good it is.
I made this recipe for a pot luck/ food day at the office. 1/2 the group is “meat free” so it was the perfect combination of hearty and meatless. I added some diced green pepper and used whole wheat penne pasta. The whole wheat penne kept its texture while being kept warm throughout the afternoon. Everyone seemed to enjoy it and no left overs so I consider it a big hit!
Brilliant! So easy I made it while camping in our rv. Taste and texture turns out like lasagna. The whole family lived it!
Fantastic! This is perfect to feed a team of hungry teenagers and coaches! We have made it twice for our robotics team and everyone loved it…which does not happen often! Lol. I made two crock pots full and it was gone.
Thank you for sharing!
Can’t wait to try this recipe tonight! Do I use the high or low setting on my crockpot?? Thanks!!
High for 2-3 hours
Taste great added Italian sausage and had to use gluten free noodles. Took longer to cook about 2 hrs extra
This recipe is amazing! I tried this and everyone around the table loved it and wanted seconds. It also serves a lot of people which was a huge blessing since we were able to have it the next night for dinner reheated, plus my husband’s lunch for 2 days. The only change I made was adding 93% lean ground beef because I like meat in my ziti but as I was eating, I realized that this would have been amazing even without meat. Since the meat was lean and precooked, there wasn’t a lot of oil/ grease added to the dish which was a huge help since I try to monitor my family’s fat intake. I only used a pound and it was plenty.
Thank you for this easy, amazing recipe!
Can I add browned beef into this without messing up the cook time for the noodles?