# Cheesy Baked Ziti

Cheesy Baked Ziti — a medium recipe with 6 main ingredients, ready in about 50 min and serving 6. Check which of its ingredients are on sale at grocery stores near you.

- **Time:** 50 min
- **Serves:** 6
- **Difficulty:** medium
- **Tags:** dinner, pasta, italian, vegetarian
- **Source:** https://savingrecipes.com/recipes/baked-ziti

## Ingredients

- 1 lb ziti or penne
- 24 oz marinara sauce
- 15 oz ricotta
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
- Parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil
- Salt & pepper _(pantry staple)_

## Instructions

1. Boil pasta 2 min shy of al dente; toss with marinara and dollops of ricotta.
2. Layer in a baking dish with mozzarella; top with parmesan.
3. Bake at 400°F for 20–25 min until bubbling. Finish with basil.

## Tips

- Undercook the pasta by 2 minutes. It keeps cooking in the oven, and pasta boiled to al dente first comes out soft and bloated.
- Season the ricotta before it goes in — salt, pepper, and an egg if you want it to set rather than stay loose. Unseasoned ricotta is why baked ziti is so often bland in the middle.
- Rest it 10 minutes out of the oven. Straight from the dish it slumps; rested it holds a slice.

## Substitutions

- **Ziti or penne:** Any short tubular pasta — rigatoni, mostaccioli, paccheri. Ridged shapes hold sauce better.
- **Ricotta:** Cottage cheese blended smooth is a common, cheaper substitute. Béchamel makes it richer and more lasagne-like.
- **Mozzarella:** Low-moisture block grated yourself. Pre-shredded is coated in starch and melts less smoothly.
- **Marinara:** Any tomato sauce. Browned sausage or ground beef turns this into a heartier dish without changing the method.

## Storage & reheating

Keeps 4 days refrigerated and freezes 3 months, cooked or assembled-but-unbaked. Bake from frozen at 375°F for about an hour, covered for the first 40 minutes. Reheat portions covered so the top doesn't dry out.

## Common questions

### Can I assemble it the night before?

Yes — it's the best make-ahead pasta dish there is. Refrigerate covered and add 10–15 minutes to the bake time from cold.

### Why is mine dry?

Not enough sauce. Pasta absorbs a surprising amount in the oven, so use more than looks right, especially when baking from cold.

### Ziti, baked ziti, or lasagne?

Ziti is the pasta shape. Baked ziti layers it with sauce and cheese; lasagne uses flat sheets and usually béchamel. Baked ziti is far less work.


_Photo: Lili from NY, United States — CC BY 2.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Baked_Ziti_(cropped).jpg)_