The creamy, sauce-y cheese ziti that you love, made in your slow cooker!
I’ve got another one pot wonder for you guys today: Slow Cooker Three Cheese Ziti. Complete comfort food bliss!
Baked ziti has always been high on my list of favorite cheesy pastas. It’s usually my go-to if we’re ever eating at olive garden. It’s simple amazing, especially paired with their awesome breadsticks (here’s my homemade olive garden breadsticks, in case you want to make them yourself!).
I have a one pan baked ziti recipe on my blog that I shared a little while ago. It’s one of my family’s favorites and it contains a yummy meat sauce. This slow cooker three cheese ziti recipe is a little different. First, it’s easier than the other (although both are made in just one pan, so you can’t go wrong!).
This one has even more cheesy-ness going on than the other. It’s reminds me of my favorite slow cooker lasagna recipe in the way that everything is layered in the crock pot. I love how the noodles are added, uncooked, straight from the box. You don’t have to cook or pre-prep anything before making this.
This meal is a total winner in the “fix it and forget it” category and the end result is tender noodles sandwiched between layers of cheesy deliciousness.
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Slow Cooker Three Cheese Ziti
Ingredients
- 2 24 ounce jars marinara pasta sauce
- 16 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 cup water
- 16 ounces UNCOOKED ziti pastas (or penne)
- 4 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup ricotta cheese (or cottage cheese)
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves , chopped
- 1 1/2 cups freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Add cream cheese, sour cream and ricotta to a mixing bowl. Beat with electric mixers until smooth. Stir in garlic and basil.
- In a large bowl, combine both jars of pasta sauce, tomato sauce and water.
- Add 2 cups of sauce to the bottom of the slow cooker
- Top with about ⅓ of the uncooked penne.
- Dot on half of the ricotta mixture and use a spoon to gently spread it out evenly. Top with 3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese.
- Add another 2 cups of sauce. Top with ⅓ of the uncooked penne. Add remaining ricotta mixture and spread. Sprinkle on the remaining 3/4 cup parmesan cheese.
- Add the remaining uncooked penne. Top with the remaining sauce.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 2 - 2 1/2 hours, or LOW for 3 1/3 -4 hours or until pasta is tender.
- During the last few minutes, sprinkle the mozzarella cheese to the top, and return the lid of the machine to allow it to melt. After mine melted I stuck it under the broiler of my oven for 2 minutes to make the cheese golden and bubbly, but you don’t have to!
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
Tiffany says
I made this and now my boyfriend, his dad, my son, and my aunt won’t stop hounding me to make it again. Lol. I added a pound of hamburger last time, but I’m going to add some Italian sausage as well when I make it again tonight. It’s the bomb!
danielle says
hello my names Danielle Im going to try to make this meal was just wondering if with the hamburger meat do I cook it first also the sausage would I cook first
Lauren Allen says
If you want to add ground beef or sausage you will need to cook them first. Sounds delicious!
Debbie says
Hi was wondering after what step should I add the ground beef? Thanks in advance 🙂
Leah says
I want to make this with some chicken so it’s like a super easy chicken parm. Can I use raw chicken bits or precooked? I’m trying to not fry and to make it easy!
Lauren Allen says
Hi Leah, I haven’t tried it but I think raw chicken would work fine, as long as it was cut into very small pieces so that it has enough time to cook all the way through.
Elizabeth says
Hi! I love this recipe. I am wondering where you get the straight cut macaroni from. Velveeta used to have one called pre-cut spaghetti and it was the same as a straight macaroni noodle. Fideo is too small but it is the type of pasta in Kraft macaroni and cheese it’s not made into a c shape. I’m looking for what you show in your original picture. Thanks!
Lauren Allen says
The noodles im using in the photo are ziti noodles. 🙂
Erin says
I made this for my grandfather’s wake. My family loved it, said it was the best dish up there (in competition with several lasagnas). I took away 1 star because the timing for cooking. After 2 hours of cooking in high the noodles were pretty mushy. Definitely check after 1 1/2 hours.
Lisa says
If you substituted with gluten free noodles, would you still put the noodles in uncooked or do you recommend cooking them prior?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Lisa, I’ve never tried gluten-free noodles so I can’t say, but I would probably add them like the recipe calls for, and you may not need to cook it as long.
Shei says
Hi!
Can I substitute the sour cream with something else.
Also, i would like to try it with italian sausage ground beef should i pre cook the meat or should i add it j. The pot un cooked?
Thanks
Lauren Allen says
Yes, precook the meat. You can leave the sour cream out and just add a little more cream cheese and/or ricotta with a splash of milk.
Lisa says
Make this all the time! Taking it to a friend today that just had a baby! Love this recipe!
Rebecca Hamling says
Can this recipe be doubled in a standard crock pot?
Lauren Allen says
I haven’t tried this but I think you might need larger.
L says
Made tonight and liked it. Felt there was not enough ricotta mixture. There is no way I can spread it out and have anything but a see-through layer, so put most in the middle of the crock. Would double to ricotta mixture next time. For my family (3 at the meal tonight) this gave us tons of leftovers.
Jeanell says
I made this for a group of 8 today. Everyone loved it. It was enough that some had seconds. Next time I make it I’m going to add veggie beef crumbles for even more protein (I’m a vegetarian). I made just a couple of changes by adding rosemary and thyme to the sauce so that it infused into pasta.