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.
I am seeing different cook times in the recipe and comments. Can someone verify… low for 2.5 hours or low for 4 hours?
I meant to say high… so high for 2.5 hours or high for 4 hours?
Hi Krystal,
I’ve found it cooks perfectly on high for right around 2 1/2 hours give or take a few minutes. Based on standard crockpot conversions, this would mean you could cook it on low for 4 – 6 hours, but you would need to keep an eye on it after 4 hours to cook to your liking and avoid sogginess. I have not cooked mine on low before so I can’t recommend an exact time. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Thank you so much for this recipes!! I had to add a jar of water to mine for the noodles to cook completely but after that ,it turned out great. My son helped me prepare it and it was a hit for dinner at my house. I have 3 picky eaters but they all loved it!
So glad your family enjoyed the recipe!
My husband’s grandfather was 100% Italian, so we don’t EVER use canned pasta sauce. Instead of the jars of pasta sauce, I substituted 2-28oz cans of crushed tomato and used our herbs at home to season to taste. I still used the 15oz can of tomato sauce, and it was perfect!! I love how easy this was to throw together, and it was kind of fun! I found that even on low, on our slow cooker, I needed to keep an eye on it so it is probably a weekend “dump” dinner. Zero complaints here!
HI , I would love trying this for our church get together but would it be possible to make it the day before and the refrigerant it ?
Hi Dorothy,
I would not recommend making it ahead. You could prep it ahead (and put the assembled ingredients in the crockpot in the fridge) then bake the day of, checking often for doneness. I think that’s your best bet!
Hi. If I want to cook on low temp instead of high temp, how long would I have to cook
You could try on low for 4 – 6 hours, but be sure to check often after the 3/4 hour mark, to avoid getting soft noodles.
Made this as a vegetarian option to the oven baked ziti I was making for a family get-together. Everyone liked this one MORE, even without meat. Super easy, too. Thanks for the recipe.
So glad your family enjoyed the recipe, thanks for letting me know!
I made this yesterday to cook while we were at church (about 2 1/2 hours). I turned the crock pot to “keep warm” and added cheese when we got home to melt while we got settled in and ready to eat. I used a full container of cottage cheese instead of ricotta, used dried basil instead of fresh, and added a small amount of water to the spaghetti sauce to rinse the jars. The noodles were soft, but not overly mushy – actually quite perfect for my 16-month-old! The timing fit perfectly for church, and it was so flavorful! We loved it, and I’ll definitely be making this again!
So glad your family enjoyed the recipe! My toddler loves this one too 🙂
This turned out wonderfully! I made this for a work potluck and people LOVED how cheesy it was! I omitted the basil as I’m not a fan, but I added garlic powder and onion powder into the cheese to amp up the flavor in lieu of the basil. This will definitely be made lots going forward, thanks!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe Lisa!
I don’t like this recipe. I LOVE IT! My whole family does. I recently discovered the beauty of cooking with a crock pot. I didn’t have to search long before I came across this recipe. I added a lb of browned ground beef but otherwise I kept the recipe the same. Even my son ate it. He’s not picky but it doesn’t take much to fill him up. The night I made this for the first time he had FOUR helpings. Lol. Thanks for sharing. It will be a family favorite from now on.
So glad your family enjoyed it Emily!
Have you ever tried this recipe with some chopped veggies added throughout? Thinking it might make it too watery, but maybe if the sause was cut back a bit it could work?
I haven’t tried it, but I think if you accounted for less sauce it would work! Let me know if you try it!