Make-Ahead Baked Ziti
The pan I always keep in the freezer for hard weeks: ziti in a rich tomato and sausage sauce, layered with ricotta and baked until the top blisters.
- Course
- Easy Dinners
- Time
- 1 hr 15 min
- Servings
- 8
Cooking Notes
- Boil the pasta a little shy of al dente because it continues cooking while the casserole bakes. Fully tender pasta going into the pan is much more likely to turn soft later.
- Use a sauce that is slightly looser than you would serve with plain pasta. The noodles absorb moisture during baking and again while a make-ahead pan waits in the refrigerator.
- Let the baked ziti rest before scooping so the cheese and sauce settle around the pasta. For freezing, cool the assembled pan completely before wrapping to limit condensation and ice crystals.
Recipe Card
Make-Ahead Baked Ziti
By Gabriella
- Category
- Easy Dinners
- Total Time
- 1 hr 15 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
Ingredients
- 1 lb ziti or penne
- 1 lb Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cans (28 oz each) crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- 15 oz whole-milk ricotta
- 1 egg
- 1 lb mozzarella, shredded
- 1 cup grated parmesan
- Fresh basil
Instructions
- 1
Brown the sausage with the onion until well caramelized, then add the garlic, tomatoes, and oregano and simmer for twenty-five minutes.
- 2
Boil the pasta two minutes short of al dente, since it will keep cooking in the oven, and drain it well.
- 3
Beat the ricotta with the egg, half the parmesan, and a good pinch of salt until smooth and spreadable.
- 4
Layer half the pasta and sauce in a deep dish, dollop over the ricotta, then add the rest of the pasta, sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan.
- 5
Bake covered at 375F for twenty-five minutes, uncover for fifteen more, and rest ten minutes before cutting; to freeze, assemble and wrap unbaked.
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