Kitchen notes · a little help before you start
Slow Cooker Baked Ziti
Pasta tucked into a savory beef-and-tomato sauce is an inviting dinner to come back to. The melted mozzarella top gives every warm scoop a little extra comfort. Let the cheese soften under the cover, then bring the pasta to the table while it is tender.
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cook
- 385 min
- Total
- 400 min
- Original yield
- Serves 6
- Ingredients
- 11 listed
Make it part of your week
Recipe categories & planning details
- Meal type
- Main course
- Primary protein
- Beef
- Cuisine
- American
- Cooking method
- Slow cooker
- Preparation & total time
- Prep: 15 minutes or less · Total: over 60 minutes
- Dish type
- Pasta
A few quick notes
1. Brown before slow cooking
Cook the beef and onion in a skillet before transferring them, giving the garlic and herbs a minute with the browned meat.
2. Leave pasta for later
Slow-cook the beef sauce first. The dry pasta joins only for the final high-heat stage, keeping its cooking separate.
3. Check at fifteen minutes
Stir and check the pasta at the fifteen-minute mark, continuing only until al dente before taking the cooker off the heat.
Get to know the ingredients
Tomatoes with liquid
Keep the liquid from the canned diced tomatoes. It joins the marinara and broth in the slow cooker with the beef.
Penne or ziti
Either dry penne or dry ziti is listed. Stir it thoroughly into the cooked sauce before covering for its brief cooking stage.
Shredded mozzarella
Save all the mozzarella for the top after removing the pasta from the heat, then cover to let it melt.
Let’s make it
Choose your servings, then check things off as you go.
Original recipe: Serves 6. Original quantities shown.
Check ingredients as you prepare them. These checks stay on this page.
How to make it
0 of 6 steps completeMake room for Slow Cooker Baked Ziti
Review ingredients in your pantry before anything is added. Meal plans use your household size; grocery-only additions use the servings selected above.
The last little job
Let the cheese melt
Cover the cheese-topped pasta off the heat for three to five minutes, giving the mozzarella time to soften before serving.
A little more help as you go
Use the larger cooker
The beef mixture, tomatoes, sauce and broth go into a five-to-six-quart slow cooker before their first covered cooking stage.
High heat for pasta
Turn the slow cooker to high before adding the dry pasta, even if the sauce cooked on low earlier.
A few questions you might have
Can the sauce cook on either setting?
The directions allow six hours on low or three hours on high before adding the uncooked pasta at the end.
Does the pasta need boiling first?
Add it uncooked directly to the sauce in the slow cooker, then cover and cook on high until al dente.
When do basil and parsley go in?
Cook the dried herbs with garlic and salt for a minute after the beef and onion brown, before transferring to the cooker.
Should the first sauce mixture be stirred?
Stir the browned beef mixture together with diced tomatoes, marinara and broth before covering for the long sauce-cooking stage.
How tender should the finished pasta be?
Stop at al dente. The directions give fifteen to thirty minutes, with a check and stir halfway through that range.
Storage & reheating safety
For cooked, perishable leftovers, refrigerate within 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F), using shallow containers for prompt cooling. Keep the refrigerator at 40°F or below, use refrigerated leftovers within 3–4 days, and reheat hot leftovers to 165°F, checked with a food thermometer. Follow any shorter package limit.
These are general safety limits, not a tested storage or freezing recommendation for this particular dish. USDA leftovers guidance · Safe cooking temperatures
Recipe source: thereciperebel.com. Ingredient names and quantities may be adapted for the pantry.
Preparation notes follow the recipe shown here.
