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.
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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
STEP 4. Layer Noodles
STEP 5. Scoop Five Dollops of Ricotta
STEP 6. Add Layer of Mozzarella
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)
STEP 9. Cook on high for 2 1/2 hours
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
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 (24 oz jars)
- 12 oz gluten free penne
- 16 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
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
More Casseroles
Looking for more easy casseroles? Try this easy Mexican Casserole.
Slow Cooker Enchilada Casserole
Angela says
Hi, can I use the casserole crock pot to make this?
Allison Treadwell says
Absolutely! The most important thing is to make sure all the noodles are covered in the sauce so as long as you do that it should work just fine!
Emily Zipprich says
Do I cook the noodles first or put in raw?
Allison Treadwell says
Hi Emily! The noodles are raw and you just want to make sure to cover all of them completely in the red sauce. Hope you enjoy!
Kathy says
Can I add ground beef. If so, how much?
Allison Treadwell says
Hi Kathy! Yes, you can! I usually add 1 pound of 80/20 ground beef. I brown it and drain the fat. After that I mix it in with the red sauce and layer as usual. Hope you enjoy it!
Joyce Hickey says
Can u use different pasta?
Kensie says
Hey! So I made this, and the most of the noodles weren’t cooked at all. Can I cook them a little before, other than that, it tasted good, the noodles just weren’t cooked.
Allison Treadwell says
Hi Kensie, I’m so sorry to hear that. You could try and par boil them for about 4-5 minutes. You just don’t want them to get mushy with the red sauce. Also, it’s really important to use enough sauce if you don’t cook them before adding them to the crockpot. I always make sure that every noodle is covered in sauce but it sounds like that wasn’t your issue since not of them cooked. Again, so sorry it didn’t turn out well.
Jenny says
Can you double the recipe?
Allison Treadwell says
Hi Jenny! I have not doubled the recipe before but if you have a big enough crockpot it should work! Make sure all the noodles are fully covered in red sauce so they cook!
Sue says
Is it 2 jars of 24 oz each or 2 jars for a total of 24 oz? And do you have to use gluten free pasta?
Allison Treadwell says
Hi Sue, It is 2 jars of 24oz pasta sauce so a total of 48oz of pasta sauce. I can’t figure out how to write that without confusing people. It needs lots of sauce because that is what cooks the pasta. Regular pasta works great too.
Shae says
If I cut the recipe in half does the time also get cut in half?
Allison Treadwell says
Hi Shae, I don’t think I would cut it in half. I would check at an hour and a half to see if the noodles are soft.
Mandi says
Can I use spaghetti sauce, or does it have to be marinara?
Allison Treadwell says
Hi Mandi! Any tomato based spaghetti sauce will work! Hope you enjoy it!
Mary Beth says
Have you ever doubled this recipe? I’m looking to make it for a crowd. How do I know if my crock pot is big enough?
Sarah Kellogg says
If I’m leaving the crook pit all day on warm should I just cook the pasta for 4 to 5 mins and stick it in the crook pot? I don’t want to over cook the pasta.
Allison Treadwell says
Hi Sarah! This is a tough recipe to leave on warm all day. I’m not sure I would recommend that for pasta since it might become too soft. You could probably do low for 4-5 hours and just make sure to cover all the pasta very well with red sauce since that is what cooks it. I think cooking it ahead of time will make it even more overcooked.
Angela says
The flavor was okay, but almost none of the noodles were cooked. Next time I’ll cook them first. I’m not sure how this worked for anyone
Allison Treadwell says
Hi Angela, I’m so sorry to hear this! The biggest problem is if you don’t use enough red sauce and cover the noodles since that liquid is what actually cooks them noodles. However, I think if you want to parboil the noodles ahead of time that should work as well. Again, sorry for the uncooked noodles. I always hate to hear that.