How To Make Baked Ziti with Ricotta

I was introduced to baked ziti casserole rather late in life. I’m not sure how that was possible. After all, I have been catering events and parties most of my hospitality career, yet all that time, an easy baked ziti recipe had somehow eluded me. Winter or summer, baked ziti with ricotta is always a favorite dish in our family!

It was several years ago that I met Jimmy the Caterer. When I discovered his ultimate baked ziti casserole my life in catering would never be the same.

Jimmy’s specialty in catering was fire hall dances and tented family picnics. He would tow a big pit behind his catering truck and set up shop in the back of  the catering hall. While the pit was heating up, he worked on his infamous side dish, baked ziti. He explained that everyone loved his pit beef and burgers, but they always wanted seconds of his great baked ziti. I have the unauthorized recipe, best as I can make it. 

Easy Baked Ziti Recipe

For this, easy baked ziti recipe you will need ziti pasta, jarred marinara, diced tomatoes, ricotta,  Parmesan, mozzarella, eggs and  heavy cream. We’ll add a pinch of sugar and a splash of balsamic vinegar to help make our sauce zing at the end.

What Is Baked Ziti 

Baked Ziti with Ricotta is a layered casserole consisting of ziti pasta, ricotta cheese and tomato sauce with garlic and basil. Variations of baked ziti casserole can include ground beef and Italian sausage. For vegetarians this easy to make dish can also be served meatless. 

In our recipe for quick recipe we use only tomato sauce and cheese, preferring to serve meat sauce  or Italian sausages on the side for the guest to choose for themselves.

Italian Style Tomato Sauce

First the sauce. The tomato sauce in baked ziti can be easily made at home. You can also find jarred pasta sauce that can easily be substituted in this recipe. Starting with plain canned tomatoes sauce, it is simply a matter of adding olive oil,  garlic, basil and pepper to create an Italian style baked ziti tomato sauce.

The common factor should be a robust flavorful sauce that has garlic and basil. That’s why we like to use marinara sauce for our version of Jimmy’s The Caterer’s famous fire hall ziti.

Diced Tomatoes

The second ingredient for our baked ziti is canned tomatoes. We like using canned diced tomatoes in the pasta sauce because they bring a layer of texture and taste to the sauce. You certainly could  use fresh tomatoes that have been peeled, cooked and diced in this recipe. I’ll add a pinch of sugar and a splash of balsamic vinegar to really make the flavor pop.

Cheese

For this, easy baked ziti recipe, we’ll use classic fresh ricotta cheese as a base for our cheese sauce. The ricotta is sweet, soft and brings the creaminess to the dish.

In addition, grated Parmesan and mozzarella both are important ingredients.

The Parmesan brings a deeper more complex flavor to the cheese sauce. With tones of fruit and nuttiness, Parmesan takes this side dish from average to amazing. 

Good old-fashioned mozzarella keeps our Italian casserole cheesy. The bland mozzarella is a wonderful fresh melting cheese. It’s going to give our baked ziti some visual cheese pulls that everyone seems to enjoy. Just like an extra cheese pizza pie!

Types Of Pasta For Baked Ziti

Is a ziti pasta the same as penne pasta?  The recipe isn’t called baked penne. However, ziti and penne pasta are very similar and interchangeable in this recipe. So if you prefer penne, or even rigatoni, then certainly go for it!

• Penne: Penne pasta is tubular shaped pasta that have the ends of the pasta cut on a diagonal. It is the favorite of chefs for the appearance and the ability to hold up in dishes. It can be cooked ahead of time, firm and slightly chewy, and then reheated in a dish easily at the last minute.
• Rigatoni: Rigatoni is another tubular shaped pasta. Rigatoni is larger and comes in a few varieties of size. The pasta has tiny ridges that run along the outside of the tube that help sauces cling to the exterior of the pasta. Rigatoni is a good pasta selection in casseroles that have thick heavy meat-based sauces. If I were making a meat sauce for the baked ziti, I would consider rigatoni. 
• Ziti: Ziti is the obvious choice for this dish. It’s smaller shape and the hollow tubes hold our cheese and tomato sauce. One of the keys to this dish is the resting period where the sauce and the cheese find their way inside the hollows of the ziti. This can happen because of the shape and cut of the ziti, not so much with penne.

How Do You Make Baked Ziti

Start by combining the jarred marinara (28 oz.), diced tomatoes (15 0z), black pepper (1 tsp) sugar (1 tsp) and balsamic vinegar (1 tsp). Heat to a simmer, cover and keep warm. 

Baked Ziti With Ricotta

Make the cheese sauce by blending the ricotta (16 ounces), heavy cream (1 cup) and eggs (2 large). Whisk this blended creamy cheese mixture with grated Parmesan (4 ounces) and mozzarella (4 ounces). Add 1 cup of tomato sauce to the cheese mixture.

How To Perfectly Cook Ziti Noodles

Bring a pot of water to a boil and add salt (2 teaspoons). Cook the ziti in the salted boiling water for 6 minutes, a little less than firm and slightly chewy. You can follow the package directions for al dente pasta. Drain the pasta.

Putting It All Together

Easy As 1-2-3

Add the cooked pasta to the bowl of ricotta mixture, stirring until well combined. Transfer the pasta mixture to a lightly oiled 13 x 9 inch baking dish and pour the remaining tomato sauce evenly over the top. Sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella (1 cup) and Parmesan (1/2 cup) over the top, then cover tightly with foil. Rest the pasta for 20 -30 minutes before baking.

One: Pour the ziti mix into the 13 x 9 inch baking dish

Two (2): Pour the marinara over the noodles

Three (3): Top with mozzarella and Parmesan

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F while pasta is resting. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to cook until the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown, about 30 minutes longer. Let the casserole rest in a warm place for 15 minutes before serving.

Finally, garnish the baked ziti with thin slices of fresh basil or parsley.

Quick Tips & Tricks

Rao’s Tomato Sauce In A Jar

It’s easy to make homemade marinara. However, Rao’s marinara is a great substitute for freshly homemade sauce. It’s a little on the pricey side, but you could use your favorite marinara in this recipe as well. I prefer marinara in this recipe instead of tomato sauce because of its simplicity. Marinara is a fast sauce made with crushed tomatoes, garlic and basil. For our baked ziti recipe, we just want those simple flavors to shine through in our finished casserole.

Baked Ziti Variations

The casserole that we made is meatless, however, there are some great variation on this recipe that quickly elevate the dish. I usually prefer to make a cheesy vegetarian style side dish, serving grilled spicy Italian sausages on the side for those whole prefer meat.

Baked Ziti With Ground Beef

Brown ground beef or a combination of beef and pork. Add this to the tomato sauce while it simmers to let all the flavors develop. I do suggest that after browning the meat that you drain the fat before adding it into the sauce. We like to make this with ground turkey as well for a healthier version of baked ziti with meat.

Vegetarian Baked Ziti

In the summer vegetable season, I often head over to the farmers market searching for freshly picked zucchini squash. Wash and quarter the squash. Then toss the zucchini with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Then, roast the zucchini (roasting) for 15-20 minutes in a 400-degree oven, just until it begins to brown. Add the roasted vegetables to the pasta and mixing well before adding the cheese sauce. Yellow squash and even eggplant can work very well in this dish.

Watch How To Make Baked Ziti {YouTube}

What Goes With Baked Ziti?

Sauteed Baby Spinach

Baked Ziti can be served as a main course or a side dish. As a main course, serve the casserole with a side Caesar salad and baby spinach. Sauté the bay spinach (10 ounce) with tablespoons of olive oil and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Start by heating the olive oil and adding the garlic. Add the baby spinach leaves and toss to coat. Remove from the hot pan when the spinach has wilted and released its moisture. Add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.

Garlic Bread

We seem to always enjoy garlic bread with any pasta dish. I’ve cut back on the garlic lately, especially raw garlic, opting for more Parmesan to build the flavor. Star making the garlic cheesy bread by splitting a long french roll in half. Toast the roll under the broiler for a few minutes until it just starts to brown.

Combine 1 stick of soft butter with 2 teaspoons of garlic powder, 2 teaspoons of chopped flat leaf parsley and 2 teaspoons of grated Parmesan. Spread the garlic butter over the surface of our toasted bread and baked for 12 minutes in a 350-degree oven. Finish the bread with more cheese and garnish with parsley.

Caesar Salad

Caesar salad goes very well with pasta of all kinds. Especially well when you are serving a crowd. Easy to make and quick to plate. Start with chopped romaine leaves, adding in Caesar dressing, herb baked croutons and Parmesan cheese. Toss the salad with tongs or spoons and serve immediately. When I am tasked with bring a Caesar salad to a gathering, I bring the salad component in separate gallon size baggies. Putting it all together at the last minute when we are ready to eat. Dont forget black pepper!

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