Crock Pot Baked Ziti
on Jun 03, 2023, Updated Feb 11, 2025
This easy Crock Pot Baked Ziti recipe is a great recipe to feed a crowd! It is so simple to assemble and even the noodles cook right in the crock pot.
The Best Easy Baked Ziti!
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 the 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.
Recipe Tip
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 basil, freshly chopped
- 2 cups parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Combine the ricotta cheese, eggs, and fresh 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. It's worth measuring the penne into 3 parts. before you begin to ensure an evenly cooked dish.
- 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 the crock pot baked ziti and cook it on high for 2-3 hours, or until the pasta is al dente. Mine was perfect right around 2.5 hours.
- During the last 15-30 minutes, add the mozzarella cheese to the top and allow it to melt.
- Serve alone or topped with red pepper flakes and served with garlic bread and a side salad.
Hello! Could you use Alfredo sauce instead of pasta sauce?
Hi Rebecca,
I haven’t tried using Alfredo sauce so I am not sure if it would work the same. Let me know if you try it out!
Hi im always trying to find something different to make in my crock pot. Was curious to know wether mot if i can cook ground beef and add too the pot with the rest of the ingredients?
Hi Jessica,
I don’t eat beef, so I can’t speak from personal experience, but I don’t see why that wouldn’t work! Let me know how it turns out!
Did anyone try preparing this the night before? Was it soggy?
See Amy’s reply above.
My slow cooker is only 4qt. How do you suggest I adjust the measurements for everything? Thanks!
Hi Giselle,
You could try cutting the recipe in half and just making that much. It will still feed 3-4 easy! Hope that helps 🙂
do you still cook the same amount of time if i cut it in half?
Hi Carli,
I have never tried making a half recipe, so I am not entirely sure on cook time. I would assume it to be around the same, but perhaps check on it on the low end of suggested cook time to see if it has finished early.
How long does it need to cook I can’t find it
Hi Crystal,
3-4 hours on high.
Did u stir the pasta throughout the cooking time ?
Hi Jaime, there is no need to stir the ziti while it cooks.
I went to three different stores and could not find this brand of of sauce! Do you have any other options for me???
Hi Shavon,
Any other brand of sauce will work, just use the same quantity 🙂
How do you keep the noodles from getting soggy? This has happened to me before with other slow-cooker pasta recipes. Thanks!
Hi Kristen,
I didn’t have a problem with the noodles getting soggy at all. This recipe uses uncooked noodles (rinsed first) so that cooked noodles don’t cook for 4-5 hours.
HI!
Just put it all in the crock to cook. Looing forward to a great dinner! And then I read the comments where you mentioned rinsing the noodles. That wasn’t noted in the recipe. Thought you might like to know.
Thanks for your time!
Hi Jenn,
I removed that part as I have made it both with and without rinsing the noodles and it works great either way. Thanks for catching that! Hope you enjoyed the recipe!
How about on low?
Hi Donna,
You can cook on low for 6-8 hours, or until it looks done.
trying to feed a theater cast of high school kids – about 60 of them with this meal. There will be some other sides – so portions can be relatively small, but wondering about how much was left over from one crock pot. I am planning to do six crock pots full and not sure if that is enough. Also, can mozzerella be substituted for either of the cheeses? Or is that too soft a cheese for the slow cooker? Thanks,
Nicole
Hi Nicole,
I would estimate a crock pot full would make around 8-9 small servings. It would be close if you did 6 crockpots but it may be enough depending on what else is served. And you could substitute the Asiago for mozzarella and it should work well (this is added at the end of cook time anyway) Let me know how it goes!!
Thanks Joy! Maybe we’ll up it to 7 or 8 crock pots! This kids will love this! Thanks for the receipe.
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Hi Joy!!
I just mixed all the yummy ingredients right to the letter of your recipe; EXCEPT, I love lots of garlic & that’s what I added in every step! Just a question; do I set the cooker for HIGH@ 4hrs? Tks so much
Frank
Hi Frank!
Yep, high for 4 hours is good, but you may want to check it at 3.5 hours to see if it’s done. Time will vary based on your slow cooker. Hope you enjoy it!