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Home | Recipes | Easy Crock Pot Baked Ziti

Easy Crock Pot Baked Ziti

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe Pin Recipe
2 hours 50 minutes

Written by Allison Treadwell on May 1, 2020
This post may contain affiliate links. See Privacy Policy for details.

Make this easy classic comfort food in your Crock Pot! Cheesy, Gooey and Delicious in every bite.

Breaking News! You can make pasta in your slow cooker. This Crock Pot Baked Ziti was made completely in the slow cooker. Cheesy, gooey pasta is a must try in your slow cooker! I know, I know. It’s hard to believe!

You don’t even have to cook the pasta before. I thought that the pasta would turn to mush but they ended up just like regular baked ziti. The best part is that I didn’t have to heat up my kitchen since it was 102 degrees the day I made it! There are actually tons of Italian recipes you can make in your slow cooker, two other easy ones are Creamy Italian Chicken and Bruschetta Chicken, if you aren’t feeling pasta.

Disclaimer- Some links below are Amazon affiliate links, meaning at no extra cost to you, I will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Secret Step for Crock Pot Baked Ziti

The secret is that you don’t add any water to the pasta and the tomato sauce slowly cooks the pasta for you. This recipe is so simple that all you have to do is mix a few ingredients together and then layer them all just like the traditional baked ziti.

Cheese, Cheese, and more Cheese!

The triple cheese blend makes this baked ziti a melty cheesy masterpiece. All of these cheeses add a unique flavor and gives you that real Italian restaurant Baked Ziti experience.

– Ricotta

– Parmesan

– Mozzarella

Types of Pasta

I actually used this gluten free penne pasta instead of ziti! I couldn’t find gluten free ziti at the grocery store. As you can see it doesn’t make a difference at all. You can use any tube pasta you should be good to go.

Ingredients to Make Crock Pot Baked Ziti

Jarred pasta sauce or homemade pasta sauce

Uncooked ziti/penne pasta

Ricotta cheese

Eggs

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Mozzarella cheese

Basil

Salt and Pepper

Step by Step Directions for Crock Pot Baked Ziti

STEP 1. Spray Slow Cooker with Non Stick Spray

STEP 2. Mix Ricotta Cheese with egg and spices.

STEP 3. Layer sauce on bottom of the Slow Cooker

Slow Cooker Baked Ziti

STEP 4. Layer Noodles

Crock Pot Baked Ziti
Pasta Layer

STEP 5. Scoop Five Dollops of Ricotta

Ricotta Layer

STEP 6. Add Layer of Mozzarella

Mozzarella Layer

STEP 7. Repeat these layers two times times.

STEP 8. Add one more layer of pasta, sauce, mozzarella and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. (No Noodles on this layer)

Last Layer

STEP 9. Cook on high for 2 1/2 hours

Crock Pot Baked Ziti
Finished Crock Pot Baked Ziti

Perfect for Potluck

Crock Pot Baked Ziti makes A LOT of pasta! I love to make this as a main dish to bring to potlucks and everyone always raves about it. This will easily serve 6-8 people with large portions for a family dinner or you can freeze the leftovers and eat it later. We always freeze our leftovers and then eat it the following week!

Food Allergies

Gluten Free – I make everything gluten free in our house because my husband has celiac disease, which is when you are allergic to gluten. Our favorite pasta is the Gluten Free Barillla Pasta line. It doesn’t have the after taste of some pasta’s made with beans. I find that it is the best one at staying together while cooking. Some brands disintegrate especially when using in this kind of recipe where the pasta is soaking in sauce soaking.

If you are not gluten free swap the gluten free pasta for any ziti or penne.

Need A New Crock Pot?

My favorite is this Crock Pot 7 quart Programmable Slow Cooker. First and foremost, I love being able to set the timer in case I’m not home when the food is finished cooking and it just switches to warm. Plus you can lock the lid and just carry it to a party. Not only is it easy to carry but also you will never lose another Tupperware or serving dish again at a potluck party!

Crock Pot Baked Ziti

Author: Allison Treadwell
Make this easy classic comfort food in your Crock Pot! Cheesy, Gooey and Delicious in every bite.
PRINT PIN
3.86 from 264 votes
Course : Dinner
Cuisine : Italian
Servings : 8 servings
Calories : 586
Total Time : 2 hrs 50 mins
Prep Time : 20 mins
Cook Time : 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

  • 32 oz ricotta
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon basil
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 cup grated parmesan plus more for topping
  • 48 oz marina sauce 2 jars
  • 12 oz gluten free penne
  • 16 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
US Customary – Metric

Instructions 

  • Spray entire slow cooker insert with non-stick spray.
  • In large bowl, mix ricotta with two eggs, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, basil, salt and pepper.
  • Cover bottom of slow cooker with sauce.
  • Layer pasta on top of sauce.
  • Take 5 scoops of the ricotta mixture drop onto sauce.
  • Top with a layer of mozzarella cheese.
  • Repeat steps 3-5 two more times.
  • End with layer of sauce, mozzarella and parmesan.
  • Cook on high for 2 1/2 hours.
  • Serve with grated parmesan cheese on top.

Nutrition

Calories: 586kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 34g | Fat: 31g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 152mg | Sodium: 1722mg | Potassium: 747mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1720IU | Vitamin C: 12mg | Calcium: 585mg | Iron: 3mg

More Casseroles

Looking for more easy casseroles? Try this easy Mexican Casserole.

Slow Cooker Enchilada Casserole

Looking for a list of Essential Kitchen Tools for Crockpot Meals?

Here’s all my favorite kitchen tools!

Filed Under: Dinner, Gluten Free, Italian, Most Popular, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: Baked Ziti, Crock pot, crock pot baked ziti, easy dinner, family dinner, Gluten Free, italian food, slow cooker, vegetarian

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Recipe Rating




Comments

  1. JENNIFER LYDA says

    May 3, 2020 at 1:04 pm

    I add chopped zucchini, yellow squash, onions and diced tomatoes in my homemade pasta sauce to this ziti recipe. Can’t wait to try this! YUM!

    Reply
    • allisonetreadwell says

      May 3, 2020 at 1:32 pm

      I love veggies!!! Let me know how it turns out because that sounds so delicious!

      Reply
  2. Brittany says

    October 26, 2021 at 7:27 am

    I loved this recipe! So cheesy and tasty 😋

    Reply
    • allisonetreadwell says

      October 26, 2021 at 10:30 am

      Hi Brittany!! Thanks so much for the comment!! So happy you liked it. It’s a favorite of mine too!

      Reply
  3. Jean says

    October 30, 2021 at 9:45 pm

    Did you cook the noodles first? Tks

    Reply
    • allisonetreadwell says

      November 2, 2021 at 11:51 am

      Hi Jean! You do not cook the noodles first. They get cooked in the red sauce. Hope you enjoy it!

      Reply
  4. Vickie says

    October 31, 2021 at 5:53 am

    This looks delish! Quick question…. do you cook the pasta first?

    Thank you!

    Reply
    • allisonetreadwell says

      November 2, 2021 at 11:50 am

      Hi Vickie! Thanks so much! The pasta goes in uncooked and cooks in the red sauce. Hope you enjoy it!

      Reply
  5. Darcy says

    November 1, 2021 at 2:13 pm

    Is there a substitute for ricotta cheese?

    Reply
    • allisonetreadwell says

      November 2, 2021 at 11:49 am

      Hi Darcy! I haven’t used it but people tell me they use cottage cheese or cream cheese to substitute the ricotta. Hope you enjoy it!

      Reply
      • SaRenna Minano says

        November 28, 2021 at 6:51 am

        I wanted to cook this recipe today. I seen you said some people used cream cheese in substitution of ricotta cheese. Did they by any chance tell him how much cream cheese they used? Thank you!

        Reply
        • allisonetreadwell says

          November 30, 2021 at 9:39 am

          Hi SaRenna! I haven’t made it myself with cream cheese but I would guess that 8 oz would be a good subsitution.

          Reply
  6. Megan says

    November 7, 2021 at 12:59 pm

    Can you tell me what the cool time would be on low as opposed to high?

    Reply
    • allisonetreadwell says

      November 8, 2021 at 1:41 pm

      Hi Megan! I have never done it on low. I get worried that the pasta might become too soggy. However, I have had people tell me they cooked it for 5 hours on low and it turned out great. I might have to try it just to find out…

      Reply
  7. Cori says

    November 28, 2021 at 4:41 pm

    Has anyone ever added ground beef to this recipe?

    Reply
    • allisonetreadwell says

      November 30, 2021 at 9:40 am

      Hi Cori! I have absolutely used added ground beef. I just brown the meat and then drain the fat. Then I add the ground beef to the red sauce and layer.

      Reply
  8. Betsy Markman says

    November 29, 2021 at 8:16 pm

    Please clarify: 2 jars of 48 oz each, for a total of 96 oz of spaghetti sauce?

    Reply
    • allisonetreadwell says

      November 30, 2021 at 9:49 am

      Hi Betsy! Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I will try to make it more clear in the instructions. It should be (2) 24 oz jars of sauce so a total of 48 oz. 96 oz would be too much sauce! Hope you enjoy the recipe!

      Reply
      • Help Me says

        January 6, 2022 at 9:37 am

        You completely glazed over the pasta sauce in your directions. Picture shows red sauce but you only instruct to mix together eggs, ricotta, parmesan, basil, salt and pepper. So how much of the pasta sauce do we use in that mix??

        Please fix this in your instructions. Very confusing.

        Reply
        • allisonetreadwell says

          January 7, 2022 at 9:18 am

          HI! I will have to go through and remake the recipe so I can give better directions on the sauce portion. I totally see what you mean. I did the sauce layers separate so I would say that I used 3/4 cup to 1 cup of sauce for each layer and 1/2 cup of sauce for the bottom of the crockpot. The most important part is to make sure the noodles are covered with the sauce at the end. This will help them all cook evenly. Thanks for your feedback and hopefully that answers your question.

          Reply
  9. Chandler says

    December 21, 2021 at 1:03 pm

    My crockpot doesn’t have 2 ½. Hours. Can I cook it for 4?

    Reply
    • allisonetreadwell says

      December 24, 2021 at 1:09 pm

      Hi Chandler! I have never cooked it for 4 hours. I think the noodles might get a little soft.

      Reply
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