Baked ziti
Saucy ziti layered with creamy pockets of ricotta under a blanket of melted mozzarella, a big meatless pan that makes great leftovers and freezes beautifully.
- 65 min total
- 25 min hands-on
- Follow-a-recipe easy
- Serves 6
- About $2.39 a serving
- 720 calories
- Good the next day
- Vegetarian
Dolly says: Make the full amount. It’s just as good for lunch the next day.
Ingredients
For 6 servings.
- 1 lb ziti
- 1 jar marinara sauce, 24 oz
- 1 can crushed tomatoes, 28 oz
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
- ½ cup grated parmesan, divided
- 2 tbsp fresh basil, torn (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Each serving has about 720 calories, 38 g protein, 82 g carbs and 26 g fat, and costs about $2.39 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No crushed tomatoes? Diced tomatoes work.
- No ricotta cheese? Cottage cheese works.
- No shredded mozzarella? Provolone slices work.
- No grated parmesan? Parmesan wedge works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the oven to 375°F. Fill a large pot with water, add the salt, cover and over high heat.
Preheat. Preheating means turning the oven on before you start, so it’s fully hot when the food goes in. Food that starts in a cold oven cooks unevenly and doesn’t brown the same.
How you’ll know: The oven beeps or its light clicks off, usually 10 to 15 minutes after you turn it on.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Cook the ziti 3 minutes less than the package says. It finishes cooking in the oven.
High heatTimer: 8 min
While it cooks, stir the marinara, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning and garlic powder together in a bowl.
In another bowl, stir the ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, ¼ cup parmesan and the pepper.
the ziti, return it to the pot, and stir in about two-thirds of the sauce.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Spread half the ziti in a 9x13-inch baking dish, drop spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture over it, then cover with the rest of the ziti and the remaining sauce.
Dolly’s tip: Dollops are fine. They melt into creamy pockets as it bakes.Scatter the rest of the mozzarella and parmesan on top, cover with foil, and 20 minutes.
Bake. Baking means cooking in the oven with dry heat all around the food. It cooks evenly from every side, so you can mostly leave it alone.
How you’ll know: It’s golden on top and passes the recipe’s check, like a clean toothpick or the right temperature.
Timer: 20 min
Dolly’s tip: To freeze, stop before baking: wrap it well and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge, then bake as written.Uncover and bake 15 minutes more, until bubbling at the edges and in spots.
Golden brown. Golden brown is the color of good toast, somewhere between yellow and light brown. It means the outside is cooked and crisp but not burnt.
How you’ll know: It looks like toast and smells toasty; dark brown with a bitter smell means it went too far.
Timer: 15 min
Let it 10 minutes so it holds together when you scoop it, then scatter basil on top.
Rest. Resting means letting cooked meat sit for a few minutes before you cut it. It keeps cooking gently, and more of the juice stays in the meat instead of running onto the board.
How you’ll know: Loosely covered with foil, it stays hot, and very little juice runs out when you slice it.
Timer: 10 min
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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