I thought this was great - I read the other reviews and made some modifications: I used a whole cup each of chopped onion and celery and I used a 28 oz. can of tomato sauce. I used fresh crushed garlic fresh and dried basil fennel seed white pepper and a pinch of hot pepper flakes. And less salt. I used part skim mozzarella to bring down the fat content and instead of canned mushrooms I used a pound of fresh sliced mushrooms. The many layers shown here by keeping the mushrooms sauce and sausage mixture separate seemed too time consuming so I mixed those together and my layers were simply pasta sauce cheese repeat. I also added some fresh chopped parsley to the top before baking it for 25 minutes. We really enjoyed it with a loaf of french bread and it makes lots - I'm happy to have yummy leftovers!
This is great but the second time I made it I made modifications: I sauteed the sausage along with the vegetables and then just added the tomatoes and seasonings. I made extra sauce by using a 28 oz. can tomatoes (ran them through the food processor) and an extra 8 oz. tomato sauce adding extra seasonings as well. I also used fresh mushrooms and just sliced them and cooked them in the sauce. Instead of layering everything I just mixed the cooked pasta together with the sauce and layered that with the cheese (using lots more cheese than called for). I ended up with two layers of sauce/cheese. I was looking for something very saucy and cheesy and that was pretty much perfect!
I found that this recipie didn't use nearly enough sauce. I would triple the sauce on this. 45 minutes in the oven may also be too long. If everything is already cooked and fairly warm it should only take 15-20 minutes in the oven. It came out very dry and near the edges the macaroni was crunchy. Definitely would be better with a lot more sauce and less time in the oven.
Use hot italien sausage for more flavor; after removing from casing brown in olive oil and a little garlic powder. I don't use the canned tomatoes or sauce I find that Clasico brand Spagetti bottled sauce is best because it's a little chunky and good flavor. I always double the recipe and make two portions freezing one. In the process I probably use about 4 or 5 bottles of sause (28oz - I think).
Delicious and easy! Like others I used a premade sauce - I used Emeril's "Kicked Up Tomatoe". The changes I made after reading the reviews was to use only 1/2 the amt. of pasta (I was cooking for 3) 1/2 the amount of sausage but used the full amount of onions (omitted the celery) used one can of mushrooms used a 28 oz jar of speghetti sauce the full 8 oz. of mozzarella and parmeasan cheese. I also just mixed everything together except for the parmeasan which I added to the top as directed. It turned out perfectly - I was told it was the best ziti I had ever made and I agree. If you are going to do the recipe for 8 servings I agree with most of the others - you will need more sauce. Thanks submitter!
We use Boca Italian sausage for this and absolutely love it. I too use pre-made pasta sauce and I mix everything together rather than layering it-also I cover the casserole while cooking so it doesnt dry out-thanks for a great recipe!
A delicious change from regular pasta and sauce. If you work during the week this is an excellent dish to make ahead and re-warm. It's also a hit at pot-lucks.
This was a delicious recipe for baked ziti. Subbed bottled pasta sauce and only used about 12 oz of ziti based on other reviews. Also used 8 oz fresh mushrooms. Fabulous! Will repeat often.
I was in a hurry so I used a jarred sauce. It was still YUMMY!
