Baked Ziti
Updated Feb. 18, 2025
- Total Time
- 1½ hours
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
Ingredients
- ¼cup olive oil
- 1large yellow onion, finely chopped
- 4cloves garlic, finely chopped
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2tablespoons tomato paste
- 1(28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, packed in juice
- 1(28-ounce) can tomato purée or sauce
- ¾teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
- 16ounces/1 pound ricotta
- ½cup heavy cream
- ½cup finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino, plus more for grating on top
- 1pound ziti, rigatoni, penne, manicotti or other short, tubelike pasta
- 1pound fresh mozzarella, cut into ½-inch pieces
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
676 calories; 34 grams fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 63 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 10 grams sugars; 31 grams protein; 988 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Make the tomato sauce: Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is totally softened and translucent (without letting it brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring until it has turned a deeper brick-red color, tinting the oil and onions a fiery orange color, about 2 minutes. Crush the whole tomatoes by hand and add them (including the juice) and the tomato purée to the pot, stirring to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper and add red pepper flakes, if using. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce has thickened and flavors have come together, 20 to 30 minutes.
- Step 2
Prepare the filling: In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, heavy cream and ½ cup Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
- Step 3
Prepare the pasta: As the sauce cooks, heat oven to 425 degrees, and place a large pot of salted water to boil on the stove.
- Step 4
Cook pasta until it’s nearly al dente. (You want to undercook the pasta slightly, as it will continue to cook in the oven. A good way to do this is cook it 2 minutes less than you normally would if preparing it al dente.) Reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid, drain pasta and rinse with cool water; set aside while the tomato sauce finishes cooking.
- Step 5
Once tomato sauce is done, stir in reserved pasta water.
- Step 6
Place pasta in a large bowl and add 2 cups sauce. Stir to coat pasta evenly encouraging the sauce to go inside each tube.
- Step 7
Spoon a bit of remaining sauce on the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish and top with ⅓ of the pasta. Spoon ⅓ of the remaining sauce on top, dollop with half the ricotta mixture and scatter ⅓ of the mozzarella on top of that. Repeat, beginning with the pasta, one more time. For the final layer, add the last ⅓ of pasta and the last of the sauce. Dot remaining mozzarella on top and shave a bit more Parmesan on top of that. Place baking dish on top of a sheet pan lined with parchment paper to catch any drips. Place in the oven and bake until the edges are golden brown and bubbling and the top has browned nicely, 30 to 40 minutes.
- Step 8
Let cool slightly before eating with a big green leafy salad.
- Baked ziti can be assembled 2 hours before baking. It can be baked 1 day ahead and rewarmed before serving.
Private Notes
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Comments
I would not put the garlic in with the onions. Garlic will burn if you cook it 8-10 minutes. Sauté the onion and add the garlic once the onion is done and cook for about two minutes. You will know if you overcook the garlic because it will have a bitter smell and will ruin the sauce.
This is what I would order for my last meal! The perfect pasta dish, far better than any lasagna I have ever had. Really good tomatoes are key--I used my own home grown and home canned. It's lovely what adding cream to ricotta does. Serve this to people you really love.
Add a tiny grating of nutmeg to the ricotta.
While I normally follow new recipes to a “T” the first time I make them, I must admit I did a tweak when making the marinara sauce. I added red wine. I almost always do and after reading some comments about the sauce I figured it wouldn’t hurt. But I must say everything came out delicious. The simplicity of recipe enabled me to cook with my 11 year old sous chef and he loved it!!! Wants to share with his friends what he made.
I use sauce from a jar and it saves loads of time. This is my daughter's favorite.
This was great. Used half the amount of mascarpone instead of ricotta and no cream. Would have put more mozzarella on top.