How to Make a Killer Baked Ziti

The key to creating a killer Baked Ziti is to keep it from drying out. This classic Italian baked pasta dish is made by layering penne noodles, sauce and cheese. Once it is prepared correctly, however, it will become the only way you make it.

Do you love the taste of perfectly cooked pasta, marinara sauce and the ooey cheesy comfort of lasagna but not all the work? Then baked ziti is your answer!

It is possible to get this classic comfort food out of the oven and onto your plate in under 1 hour, but more importantly, I am going to also share with you how I keep my ziti moist and from drying out in the meantime.

But first let’s talk cheese ….

THE SECRET CHEESE

Ah….. the ever popular question … what kind of cheese(s) should you use in your ziti? I have made ziti more times that I can count, with probably every combination of cheeses out there.

While most ziti’s can be made using just one type of cheese, usually mozzarella, it lacks any depth or imagination. I have landed on the following cheese ratio and the more I make it, the better it seems to get. This ziti uses FOUR cheeses:

Mozzarella – 8 oz.
Parmesan – 1 cup
Ricotta – 1 cup
Provolone – 8-12 slices from the deli

Yes friends, the secret cheese is provolone, however, each cheese is just as important as the next.

Mozzarella obviously for its meltability.
Parmesan for it’s saltiness.
Ricotta – go out of your way to find an Italian ricotta cheese. It has a sweeter flavor where the American version tends to be saltier and moister.
The Provolone cheese, however, is the unexpected surprise in this dish. Provolone has a mild and creamy texture. Purchase it in SLICES as pictured below.

HOW TO KEEP BAKED ZITI FROM DRYING OUT

Four key culprits to a dried out ziti are:

there is not enough sauce,
the noodles aren’t cooked until JUST AL DENTE and overcook while baking,
the noodles aren’t thoroughly and evenly coated with sauce, or
the edges of the noodles are exposed and subject to drying out.

When I say the pasta should be cooked until al dente what I mean by that is the pasta should be cooked for about 6 minutes. The pasta has gotten softER, but it still has a bite. If the pasta is cooked fully it can easily overcook while baking becoming mushy. If it is UNDERCOOKED, it will continue to cook while baking, soaking up the sauce, resulting in a dried out ziti.

Cook the pasta in salted water over a SLOW BOIL. Violently boiling pasta noodles will break them down. A lot of bubbles on top of the water doesn’t allow for proper ventilation of the steam underneath, which results in a frothy foam on top.

HOW TO LAYER BAKED ZITI

Next up, is what I call the layering effect.

Stir half the noodles with of the sauce in the baking dish until the sauce completely coats the noodles.

Add a few dollops of ricotta cheese on top,
Next, add the slices of provolone cheese and top with the mozzarella.
Repeat this one more time, beginning with the sauce and layering with the cheeses.

Cover the pasta in sauce, ensuring the ends are not poking out and they are completely covered.
Top the ziti off with some freshly grated parmesan cheese and bake it UNCOVERED at 375° for 30 minutes or until the cheese is melty and gooey.

Since the penne noodles were already par boiled, the actual cooking time is mainly spent melting the cheeses. This should only take about 30 minutes, if the oven is adequately pre heated. The ziti can also be popped under the broiler to get that bubbly browned cheese on top, if desired.