Ooey gooey comfort food at its’ ultimate goodness, that’s pretty much how I think about Easy Baked Ziti. Its’ happy go lucky nature is perfect for any weeknight dinner (Meatless Monday anyone?), perfect for prepping in advance, perfect for a crowd (the recipe is easily doubled, tripled or even quadrupled if you’re feeding your favorite team!), perfect for freezing and perfect for sharing with a friend or neighbor in need!
And all that perfection comes from simply combining about a half dozen ingredients. I typically like to use my homemade tomato sauce for this, but if you have none on hand, or if making your own sauce isn’t really part of what you do….no problem! Simply substitute your favorite jarred marinara sauce. Word to the wise, depending on what sauce you like, you may need 2 jars of sauce for this recipe. A 24 ounce jar of sauce will yield 3 cups of sauce.
Prep for this dish is also nearly perfection because it takes only about 20 minutes and very few dishes! While the water for the pasta is heating/pasta is cooking, shred the mozzarella and then combine it with part of the sauce, the ricotta, parsley and slightly beaten egg. Once the pasta is cooked, drain and mix well with cheese mixture. (I always like to add a few healthy grinds of freshly ground pepper.) Now it’s time for a few simple layers, first a skim coat of sauce in your baking dish, second, your pasta mixture, followed by the remaining sauce and then sprinkle the cheese evenly over the top. Pop it in the oven for 30-35 minutes and ooey gooey comfort goodness will soon be yours!
Mom’s helpful hints for prepping in advance or freezing:
- Want to make in advance? Simply complete all the prep work and seal the baking dish well with aluminum foil. Place in refrigerator until ready to bake, unbaked Ziti will last a couple days in the fridge. When ready to bake plan for increased baking time of about 45 minutes, leave the foil on for the first 15 minutes, remove for the last 30 minutes or so of baking.
- Want to freeze? If I am freezing Ziti I usually put it in a disposable pan so there are no worries about anything breaking from changing temperatures (or accidentally falling out of the freezer…it’s happened!). Again, seal well with aluminum foil. Unbaked Ziti will store well in the freezer up to a month. When ready to bake, plan on about 1 hour baking time. Leave the Ziti covered for the first 30 minutes, and remove for the final 30 minutes.
Easy Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ziti pasta (or rigatoni, penne, mostaccioli) GF if desired/necessary
- 3 1/2 cups Marinara/Tomato Sauce(homemade is best, but your fav jarred sauce will work great) You may need 2 jars of sauce!
- 16 oz Ricotta
- 8 oz Mozzarella, shredded (2 cups)
- 1/4 cup Parsley, chopped
- 1 Egg, slightly beaten
- 1/2 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, grated (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
- Bring water to boil in 4-quart sauce pan, salt well. Add pasta and cook until al dente. I usually cook a minute or two LESS than the suggested cooking time.
- While pasta is cooking, in a large mixing bowl stir together 1 ½ cups of sauce, ricotta cheese, 1 ½ cups mozzarella, parsley and egg.
- When pasta is cooked, drain and then fold into the cheese/sauce mixture.
- Prepare 4 quart baking dish (a 9×13” pan usually works great) by spreading ½ cup of the remaining tomato sauce on bottom of the dish. Pour in pasta mixture and then top with remaining sauce. Finally, sprinkle remaining shredded mozzarella over the top. Sometimes I also spread about ½ C of Parmigiano-Reggiano over the top.
- Bake at 375°F for 30-35minutes or until bubbly and slightly browned on top. Let rest about 5 minutes or so before serving.