Baked Ziti

About This Recipe

Baked ziti is a staple of Italian-American home cooking and church potlucks, built on tubular ziti pasta tossed with a rich tomato sauce, dollops of ricotta cheese, and mozzarella, then baked until the top turns golden and bubbling. It occupies a similar comfort-food space to lasagna but comes together faster, since there's no need to layer individual pasta sheets -- the ziti tubes and sauce are simply mixed together before baking. The technique that matters is undercooking the pasta slightly before baking, since it continues to cook in the oven as it absorbs the sauce -- pasta cooked to full al dente beforehand often turns mushy by the time the casserole finishes baking. Dolloping the ricotta mixture throughout rather than fully stirring it in creates pockets of creamy richness distributed evenly through the dish, and a generous layer of mozzarella on top is essential for the golden, bubbling finish that defines a great baked ziti. Served hot from the oven, baked ziti is crowd-feeding, make-ahead-friendly comfort food -- a fixture of American family dinners, particularly in Italian-American communities in the Northeast.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 450 gziti pasta
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 1onion(diced)
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 500 gground beef or Italian sausage
• 800 gcrushed tomatoes
• 1 tspdried oregano
• 1 tspdried basil
• 1 tspsalt
• 0.5 tspblack pepper
• 450 gricotta cheese
• 1egg
• 0.25 cupgrated parmesan
• 2.5 cupsshredded mozzarella
• 0.25 cupfresh basil(chopped, for garnish)

Instructions

1. 1

   Cook the pasta

   Boil ziti in salted water 2 minutes less than the package directions, so it stays slightly undercooked. Drain.

2. 2

   Make the sauce

   Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Cook onion 5 minutes until soft, add garlic and cook 1 minute more.

3. 3

   Brown the meat

   Add ground beef or sausage, cooking until browned, about 6-8 minutes.

4. 4

   Simmer

   Add crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Simmer 15 minutes.

5. 5

   Make the ricotta mixture

   Combine ricotta, egg, and parmesan in a bowl.

6. 6

   Assemble

   Preheat oven to 190C/375F. Toss cooked ziti with the meat sauce. Transfer half to a baking dish, dollop half the ricotta mixture over, then repeat with remaining pasta and ricotta.

7. 7

   Top and bake

   Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over the top. Bake 25-30 minutes until bubbling and golden.

8. 8

   Serve

   Let rest 5-10 minutes, garnish with fresh basil, and serve.

Variations

• •

  Make it vegetarian by omitting the meat and adding sauteed mushrooms and spinach.

• •

  Use a mix of ground beef and Italian sausage for extra flavor complexity.

• •

  Add a layer of sliced pepperoni under the mozzarella for a pizza-inspired variation.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days in an airtight container. Reheat covered in a 180C/350F oven for 20-25 minutes, or microwave individual portions. Freezes well up to 3 months, baked or unbaked.

Frequently Asked Questions