Ingredients
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1.5 lbs hot Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups ziti
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, thinly sliced
Set up your slow cooker
Take two pieces of aluminum foil, each about 18 inches long and 4 inches wide. Create a collar by placing them around the inside edge of your slow cooker.
Hit the foil with some cooking spray to prevent sticking.
Cook the sausage and vegetables
Pour 2 tbsp canola oil into a Dutch oven and crank the heat to medium-high. Wait until the oil starts moving freely around the pan.
Throw in your 1.5 lbs of sausage (casings already removed). Use a wooden spoon to break it into chunks as it cooks. You want it nicely browned all over, which takes ~6-8 minutes.
Toss in the diced onion and keep stirring. Cook until the edges start to brown, about ~5 minutes.
Add your granulated garlic, oregano, sea salt, and pepper. Stir everything together and cook just until you can smell the garlic, roughly ~1 minute.
Add pasta and build the sauce
Turn the heat down to medium-low. Pour in your 2 cups of ziti and keep stirring constantly. The pasta edges will start looking slightly translucent after ~4 minutes – that’s what you’re after.
Pull the pot off the heat. Pour in both cans of tomatoes (crushed and sauce). Scrape the bottom of the pot to get all those browned bits mixed in.
Pour everything into your prepared slow cooker. Pop the lid on and set it to LOW. Let it go for ~3 hours until the pasta’s tender.
Add the cheese and serve
Grab some tongs and carefully pull out those foil strips from the slow cooker. Give the pasta a gentle stir.
Drop spoonfuls of ricotta across the top – use the whole cup. Scatter the mozzarella evenly over everything.
Put the lid back on and let it sit for 20 minutes. The residual heat will melt both cheeses perfectly. Scatter the fresh basil on top right before you serve.
Crockpot Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1.5 lbs hot Italian sausage casings removed
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 cups ziti
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 15-ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tbsp fresh basil thinly sliced
Instructions
- Line slow cooker with foil collar and spray with cooking oil.
- Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Brown sausage 6-8 minutes, breaking into chunks.
- Add onion, cook 5 minutes until edges brown.
- Stir in garlic, oregano, salt, pepper; cook 1 minute.
- Add ziti, cook 4 minutes until edges turn translucent.
- Add crushed tomatoes and sauce, scraping bottom of pot.
- Transfer to slow cooker, cook on LOW 3 hours until pasta is tender.
- Remove foil strips, stir gently.
- Top with ricotta and mozzarella.
- Cover and rest 20 minutes until cheese melts.
- Garnish with basil before serving.
