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.
Can I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta? My husband doesn’t like ricotta(insert eye roll lol)?
Hi Kate,
I’m not sure but I think that will work! Perhaps anyone that has tried it can chime in?
Good recipe. My only change would be to add ground beef or sausage to it. We like meat! But it was hit. Will make again!
So glad you enjoyed it Rachel!
Came out wonderful! Thanks so much for the recipe! I also added some extra garlic, onion and some thawed frozen spinach (wrung out on a towel) and used a Vodka sauce as one of the sauces… it cooked perfectly.
So glad you enjoyed it!
Turned out amazing. My very picky family each had 2 servings! Very simple and tasty.
So glad your family enjoyed it!
I added some bell pepper , Spinach and onion to the recipe. Just to add some substance to it. I’ll let you know how it turns out in about 2 hours ;). I didn’t have any basil to put in with he Ricotta unfortunately but I had Cilatro, so I used that, hoping this works out.
Hi. I don’t like basil, can I substitute frozen spinach instead? With the cooking time, will the spinach lose its texture?
Hi Dee,
I’m not sure that substituting spinach would work. Perhaps if anyone has tried it they can chime in!
I’m an expat in Saudi Arabia and it’s hard to find ricotta cheese or cottage cheese. Can anyone suggest substitutions and quantity? Someone asked about cream cheese … how much did you use and how did it work?
Absolutely delicious and family-proof! Of course, I can not leave well enough alone and added spinach in several layers, as well as mixing a healthy amount of Costco pesto in the ricotta (which was actually creamed cottage cheese since a family member does not like ricotta) because I didn’t have any fresh basil. Also used the mozzarella on top as the store did not have Asiago. Just a great basic recipe to make it your own. Easy to make from whatever ingredients you DO have on hand. Thanks!
So glad you enjoyed it Robin!
Can you use other pastas instead of Ziti?
Hi April,
I’ve never tried using other pastas, but they should work. The only variable would be more or less cook time depending on the pasta and consistency. Let me know if you try it!
Why doesn’t your page allow readers to m and all of that. I just want to be able to print the recipes to try them!
I just found your site, signed up, but if I can’t print, I will be dropping out. Seniors are getting into the computer world more now, but are not as techy as you young people. Maybe try to make it a little easier for us. I couldn’t even copy and paste recipes on your site and didn’t find ANY “print” box anywhere either. Not too friendly for us older folks.
Hi Connie,
Did you see the “read more” button? Just click on that and scroll down for the full recipe. No signup required. There is a print button right in the recipe box. Right below the picture. If you click on this button it will send you to an easily printable page.