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.
Joy, i noticed you decided not to publish my comment. Probably because Asiago and Parmesan are major ingredients in this recipe. While it’s not possible to find a vegetarian Asiago, you can find a microbial Parmesan at Trader Joe’s. I hope you’ll pass this info along to those vegetarians trying this recipe. i will be making it myself, today, using mozzarella. Thanks for the recipe!
Rhonda,
All new comments require approval and I just simply was not at my computer as I am prepping for Memorial Day dinner 🙂 Everyone has different eating beliefs and I personally don’t have an issue eating parmesan myself. Thank you for your comment for those who do not know and want to make the choice as to which cheese they use!
Joy, since you are vegetarian you should be aware that both Asiago and Parmesan cheeses are made with animal rennet. Rennet is the enzyme which curdles the milk into curds. There are 3 different types of rennet in the cheese making process: microbial, vegetarian and animal-based. The animal based rennet comes from the stomach lining of an animal — usually bovine. For this reason both of these cheeses are not suitable for vegetarians.
Has anyone made using brown rice pasta? How did it turn out? Any adjustments necessary? Would love to make with a healthier pasta 🙂 Thanks!
Just wondering if anyone has made this with gluten free noodles?
Not sure if you still read the comments here but figured I’d comment anyways. This recipe was amazing. My family loved it. The only thing I did differently was added hamburger( only because my husband would have been asking wheres the meat lol) into the sauce and instead of two pasta sauces I put one pasta sauce and one Alfredo sauce. I’m not even sure if that’s even a thing but I love the way they taste together so I decided to do that way. I also wasn’t able to get get shredded Parmesan cheese so I ended up using mozzarella all the way through, with the ricotta. I saved and printed out this recipe because we loved it so much!! Thank you!
Amanda, I am so happy you loved the recipe. I do read every single comment, and I’m so glad you made it work for you! I love the idea of alfredo mixed in, I’ll have to try that sometime!
Hi, i don’t know if you still read these comments but i am slowly transitioning into a vegan so i’ve been looking up meatless recipes and i love this one for my meatless day of the week! however, i do not like ricotta cheese, is there something i could use to substitute the ricotta? only trying meatless monday’s for now so still eating cheese and such, thank you!
Hi Nikki!
There isn’t really a good sub for ricotta, but you could either try cream cheese, or leave it out all together and just add in the fresh basil to the layers still. I hope you enjoy the recipe!
Cottage cheese is a good substitute
Our crock pot is a round 4 quart size. Will this recipe work as is or should I cut it in half?
I would half it. This recipe completely fills a 6 qt to the top.
I made this recipe, and it turned out great! The only thing I added – I had an extra frozen parmesan rind that I had saved and put that in on the second layer of sauce. I removed it at the end.
I can turn my crockpot ion wirelessly . If I sssembled this at 7 am but didn’t turn it on until 3:30 would it be ok or would we get sick from the cheese being at room temperature that long?
I wouldn’t leave the cheese at room temperature that long for food safety issues.
I made this for dinner tonight. It was really good. I juse think it needed more sauce. So next time I think I will add another half of a jar or so. I cooked exactly according to the directions. But will definitely make this again.