One 9×13-inch dish, eight generous servings, and every bit of the work finished up to 2 days before anyone sits down to eat: baked ziti is one of the best dishes to make ahead for a crowd. The question is not whether it can wait, but how to build it so it tastes just as good after the wait as it would straight out of the pot.
Two adjustments make the difference. The pasta is boiled for 3 minutes less than the package says, because it keeps absorbing liquid in the refrigerator and again in the oven. And the sauce is made a little looser than seems right, so there is enough moisture left for the pasta to drink without the whole casserole turning dry and stiff. With those in place, baked ziti with ricotta holds beautifully in the refrigerator or freezer.
The Make-Ahead Schedule
The dish breaks naturally into stages, and each can be done at a different time. Use the planner below for a dinner party or a busy week; the times assume baking from the refrigerator.
If cooking for the same day, the whole thing takes about 1 hour 45 minutes from start to table, of which about 50 minutes is in the oven and resting.
Building Baked Ziti That Holds
Undercook the pasta
Dried pasta absorbs water until it is fully softened. Boiled to al dente and then baked in sauce, it keeps absorbing and turns mushy. Boiled 3 minutes short of the package time, it comes out of the pot firm and chalky at the center, then finishes softening in the sauce as it sits and bakes. Drain it and toss it straight away with a little of the sauce so the pieces do not stick together as they cool.
Make the sauce loose
This recipe uses two 28-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes for one pound of pasta, more than a stovetop pasta dish would need. The extra liquid is what the undercooked pasta soaks up during storage. When the casserole goes into the refrigerator, it should look almost soupy; by baking time, most of that liquid will have disappeared into the ziti.
Season the ricotta
Ricotta straight from the tub tastes of very little. Mixing it with an egg, grated Parmesan, parsley, salt and pepper gives it flavor and helps it set into soft, creamy pockets instead of melting into the sauce. Whole-milk ricotta has a creamier texture than part-skim and is less likely to turn grainy in the oven.
Keep the mozzarella on top
Low-moisture mozzarella goes in two places: a layer through the middle and a generous layer on top. Shred it from a block if possible. Pre-shredded bags work but brown less evenly because of the starch coating on the shreds.
Storing and Reheating: The Main Event
Because this dish is designed to wait, storage is where it succeeds or fails. Follow the times and temperatures below to keep it safe and good.
Refrigerating before baking
Assemble the ziti in a metal, glass or ceramic 9×13-inch dish, let it cool for no more than 1 hour, then cover it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate. It keeps for up to 2 days. Remove the plastic and cover with foil before it goes into the oven. A dish straight from the refrigerator needs about 15 to 20 minutes more in the oven than one assembled fresh, because the center starts cold.
Freezing
For freezer baked ziti, assemble in a foil pan or a freezer-safe dish, wrap it in plastic and then in foil, and label it with the date. It keeps its best quality for about 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and bake as for a refrigerated dish, or bake it from frozen, covered, at 375°F (190°C) for about 1 1/2 hours, then uncover for 15 minutes. Glass and ceramic dishes can crack if moved straight from the freezer into a hot oven; put them into a cold oven and let them heat up together, adding about 15 minutes to the time.
Knowing when it is hot through
The surface bubbles long before the middle is hot. Push an instant-read thermometer into the center of the dish: it should read 165°F (74°C), the safe temperature for reheated leftovers and casseroles. If the top is browning before the center is ready, cover it loosely with foil again.
Leftovers after baking
Refrigerate cooked leftovers within 2 hours and eat them within 3 to 4 days. Reheat individual portions in the microwave, covered, with a tablespoon of water, or a larger amount in a 350°F (175°C) oven, covered, for 20 to 25 minutes, until 165°F (74°C).
Scaling Baked Ziti Up or Down
The recipe scales cleanly because each part is measured against one pound of pasta. For sixteen people, double everything and make two 9×13-inch dishes rather than one large roasting pan. Two standard dishes fit side by side on most oven racks, or on two racks with the positions swapped halfway through baking. A single deep pan holding a double batch can take more than twice as long to heat through in the center, and by then the top and edges have dried out.
For a household of two or three, make the full recipe in two 8×8-inch dishes. Bake one and freeze the other, so the second dinner takes only oven time. Halving the recipe is possible but awkward with canned tomatoes and a 15-ounce tub of ricotta; splitting into two smaller dishes uses everything up.
If the sauce is made a day earlier than the rest, store it separately in the refrigerator and warm it before tossing with the freshly boiled pasta. Cold sauce on hot pasta is fine for assembly, but the pasta absorbs warm sauce more evenly.
Swapping the pasta shape
Ziti are smooth tubes; penne rigate has ridges and angled ends and holds sauce a little better. Rigatoni, a wider tube, works well too and gives bigger pockets for ricotta. Whichever shape you use, follow the same rule: 3 minutes less than the package time. Avoid thin shapes such as spaghetti, which turn soft long before baking ends.
How to Make Baked Ziti With Ricotta
The recipe below makes one 9×13-inch dish, enough for eight. The sausage is optional; for a meatless version, leave it out and add 8 ounces of sliced mushrooms browned in a tablespoon of olive oil, or simply use the sauce as it is.
The recipe
Baked Ziti
Undercooked ziti tossed with a loose sausage and tomato sauce, layered with seasoned ricotta and mozzarella, designed to be assembled ahead or frozen and baked to 165°F.
- Prep
- 45 min
- Cook
- 45 min
- Total
- 1 hr 45 min
- Serves
- 8
Ingredients
Sauce
Pasta
Ricotta layer
Topping
Method
- Make the sauce. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Brown the sausage, breaking it up, for 6 to 8 minutes, until no pink remains. Add the onion and cook 5 minutes, then the garlic for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes, oregano and salt and simmer 15 minutes. The sauce should be loose.
- Boil the pasta. Boil the ziti in well-salted water for 3 minutes less than the package time. Drain and toss with 2 cups of the sauce.
- Mix the ricotta. Stir together the ricotta, egg, half the Parmesan, parsley and pepper.
- Assemble. Spread 1 cup sauce in a 9×13-inch dish. Add half the pasta, dollop with all the ricotta mixture, then sprinkle with half the mozzarella. Top with the remaining pasta, the rest of the sauce, the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
- Store (optional). Cool up to 1 hour, cover tightly and refrigerate up to 2 days, or wrap well and freeze up to 3 months.
- Bake. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Bake covered with foil for 20 minutes (35 to 40 minutes if refrigerated), then uncover and bake 15 to 20 minutes more, until bubbling, browned and 165°F (74°C) in the center.
- Rest. Rest 15 minutes before cutting and serving.
Notes
- From frozen: bake covered at 375°F (190°C) about 1 1/2 hours, then uncovered 15 minutes, to 165°F (74°C). Start glass or ceramic dishes in a cold oven.
- Cooked leftovers keep 3 to 4 days refrigerated.
Oven temperatures are for conventional ovens; for convection, reduce by about 25°F (15°C).
Serving a Crowd
Rest the baked ziti for 15 minutes before cutting. Straight from the oven, the cheese and sauce are molten and run into the space left by the first serving. After resting, the casserole holds its shape and each portion comes out with defined layers of ricotta.
A big green salad with a sharp vinaigrette and a loaf of crusty bread are all that is needed alongside. For a larger gathering, make two dishes rather than one deep one; a deeper casserole takes much longer to heat through in the center, and the edges dry out while waiting.
Baked ziti also travels well. Bake it fully, wrap the hot dish in foil and then in a thick towel, and it will stay hot for about an hour in an insulated bag. If it will be more than 2 hours before serving, refrigerate it and reheat it at the destination.