Baked ziti is a popular Italian-American dish that is a combination of pasta al Forno and a casserole. It is made from ziti noodles combined with tomato sauce, cheese, and some meat or vegetables.
Baked ziti is a very popular dish because you are able to make it ahead of time. This makes it a great dish for meal prepping and events when you need to serve a large number of people.
This article will go over exactly what baked ziti is, why it’s so popular, and some of the best ways to prepare make-ahead ziti.
What is Baked Ziti?
Baked ziti is a combination of a traditional Italian pasta dish, pasta al Forno, and an American-style casserole.
This dish is traditionally made with ziti pasta, tomato-based sauce, and a cheese mixture that typically contains mozzarella, ricotta, and parmesan. Some variations of the dish also include additional fillings like sausage and different vegetables like peppers and onions. However, all of these additional ingredients are optional.
To prepare a baked ziti you will first partially cook the noodles and then mix them with the sauce. The sauce-covered pasta will then be added to a baking dish that is covered with the cheese mixture and placed in the oven. The ziti is baked until the cheese is melted and the pasta has finished its cooking process.
How is Baked Ziti Different from Lasagna
The main differences between baked ziti and lasagna are the noodles used and how the dish is layered. Overall, baked ziti is a far simpler dish than lasagna and takes less than half the time to throw together.
With lasagna, you will use long, flat lasagna noodles to fill the baking dish. You will precook the noodles and then begin the layering process placing the fillings of sauce, meat, cheese, and vegetables between every layer of noodles. Most lasagnas contain at least 4 layers of pasta. This means that you will need to spend quite a bit of time making all of the different layers.
Lasagna noodles are also fragile which makes them prone to ripping. This means that you will spend some time evening out layers and will probably have to make an extra batch of noodles in case you rip some.
In contrast, baked ziti does not involve any layering. To make a baked ziti dish all you have to do is mix the pasta with the sauce then place it in the pan and cover it with cheese. If you have other fillings you want to add you can put them as an inner layer by adding half the past, the filling, then the other half.
Since you do not have to manipulate the pasta into individual layers as you do with lasagna, baked ziti is significantly faster to make. The only prep time you have is cooking the pasta and preparing the other ingredients by shredding the cheese and taking out the sauce. If you choose to prepare your own tomato sauce it may take longer.
Types of Baked Ziti Recipes
One of the best things about baked ziti is that there are almost endless variations of this popular dish. There are many different types of baked ziti recipes out there which makes it a great option if you want one staple dish that you can customize in a thousand different ways.
Some of the most popular baked ziti variations are:
- Baked ziti with roasted vegetables
- Vegan baked ziti
- Baked ziti with sausage
- Baked ziti with chicken
- Vegetarian baked ziti
You can take any of these baked ziti dishes and add ingredients or take ingredients away to make your perfect baked ziti dish. There are no limits to what you can do with baked ziti.
Why is Baked Ziti So Popular?
Crowd pleaser
Since baked ziti is a well-known recipe made with simple ingredients, it is a favorite in many families. Since it is such a crowd pleaser, it is a great meal to bring to potlucks or to serve to large gatherings of people. It is also popular amongst children which makes it a great meal for families.
With baked ziti, you are also able to customize the recipe. This means that if you have specific flavor preferences or allergies that need to be considered, you can customize the recipe to fit your needs. You can even switch out regular noodles for gluten-free noodles if you have a gluten allergy or intolerance.
Makes a Ton
Another reason that baked ziti is a favorite amongst many families is that every dish makes a ton of food. This is a reason why casseroles in general, outside of baked ziti, are so popular. You can make a lot of food with very little prep time needed. If you need to prepare a lot of food for a large gathering of people, baked ziti is a great option to prepare lots of food with little effort.
Less Expensive
Baked ziti is a relatively inexpensive dish to prepare. The only three ingredients that you need to prepare baked ziti are dried ziti pasta, tomato sauce, and some type of cheese, all three of which can be purchased at a low price.
Since baked ziti is made in baking dishes, this also makes it very inexpensive to prepare. If you’d like to save extra money you can even buy cheap aluminum foil baking dishes that you can use once and then dispose of. These are great options for parties where you don’t want to have to do dishes after everyone has finished eating.
Make Ahead
Another reason that baked ziti is super popular is that you are able to make it ahead of time. You can either meal prep trays of baked ziti or you can fully prepare the dish and it will keep well in the fridge for several days.
To meal prep a tray of baked ziti you will simply make the pasta, mix it with the sauce, then place it in the baking dish and sprinkle the cheese on top. After that, you will cover the top of the dish with plastic wrap or a tight lid to keep the pasta from drying out. Then you will be able to save your prepped baking dish in the fridge or freezer until you are ready to bake it.
Baked ziti also keeps well in the fridge once it has been cooked and reheats well. This makes it a great dish for leftovers or to cook in bulk at the beginning of the week. All you have to do is store it in an airtight container to avoid drying the pasta out and reheat it in the microwave or oven when you are ready to eat.
Freezer friendly
The last reason that baked ziti is a super popular dish is that it is freezer friendly. This makes it a great meal if you have a lot of ingredients that you want to use up or if you want to meal prep for busy times ahead.
To freeze your baked ziti all you’ll want to do is prepare the dish, mix all of the ingredients together, then place it in an airtight container to prevent freezer burn and moisture loss. Once you are ready to eat your baked ziti you’ll place it in the fridge until it’s thawed, then bake it in the oven until the cheese is melted and the noodles are fully cooked.
You can also freeze ziti once it has already been cooked. Then once you are ready to eat it all you’ll have to do is thaw the dish and then heat up your serving of pasta in the microwave.
How to Make-Ahead Ziti
One of the best things about baked ziti is that it is meal prep friendly. This means that you are able to prep the meal ahead of time and then simply pop it in the oven when you’re ready to eat.
There are three ways to make make-ahead ziti. You can pre-cook the noodles, pre-assemble the casserole then refrigerate, or pre-assemble the ziti then freeze.
Pre-Cooked Noodles
One of the easiest ways to do make-ahead ziti is by precooking the noodles and then saving them in your refrigerator until you are ready to assemble. This helps to cut down on your prep time during the day of cooking.
The preparation process:
- Cook the dried ziti noodles until they are almost done
- Drain, rinse them under cold water to stop the cooking process
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge
When you are ready to cook the ziti you will:
- Remove noodles from the fridge
- Mix noodles with sauce and add to baking dish
- Top noodles with cheese
- Bake until noodles are fully cooked and cheese is melted
Refrigerator Ziti
The next way to make make-ahead ziti is by fully assembling the casserole and then placing it in the fridge.
The preparation process:
- Cook noodles until they are almost done
- Mix noodles with a tomato-based sauce
- Place noodle mixture in baking dish
- Top noodles with cheese
- Cover the baking dish in plastic wrap, foil, or an airtight lid
- Refrigerate
When you are ready to bake the ziti you will:
- Remove the casserole from the refrigerator
- Cover with tin foil
- Bake for about 30 minutes with the foil
- Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes
- Serve and enjoy!
When refrigerated, baked ziti is usually good for around 3-4 days. After 3-4 days you should throw your ziti out even if it still looks good as it may have begun to spoil.
Freezer Ziti
The last way to prepare make-ahead ziti is by fully assembling the casserole and then freezing it until you are ready to bake it. This is great in situations where you know you won’t be ready to eat the ziti for several weeks or when you want to prep several casseroles at the same time.
The preparation process:
- Cook noodles until they are almost done
- Mix noodles with a tomato-based sauce
- Place noodle mixture in baking dish
- Top noodles with cheese
- Cover the baking dish in plastic wrap or an airtight lid to create a seal
- Freeze
When you are ready to bake the ziti you will:
- Move the casserole from the freezer to the fridge
- Allow the casserole to fully thaw
- Once thawed you will cover the ziti with tin foil
- Bake for about 30 minutes with foil
- Remove foil for the last 10 minutes
- Serve and enjoy!
Adding tin foil helps to prevent the baked ziti from drying out during the baking process.
Conclusion
Baked ziti is a great food to serve if you know that you need to prepare a large amount of food because you can make this dish ahead of time. There are several ways for you to do this.
One of the easiest ways to prep baked ziti ahead of time is by preparing all the individual ingredients and then storing them in the fridge. Once you are ready to bake you will simply assemble all of the ingredients and bake the ziti normally.
Another way to make baked ziti ahead of time is by fully assembling the casserole and then placing it in the fridge or freezer. The key to this is making sure that you place the baked ziti in the appropriate, airtight container that will keep the pasta from drying out while you store it.
Once you are ready to bake the ziti you will take it out of the fridge or freezer, wait for it to thaw, then bake the dish normally.
