Baked Ziti

By Alison Roman

Updated February 17, 2025

  • Con Poulos for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.
Media 1 of 2
Total Time
1½ hours
Rating
4(7,813)
Comments
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This baked ziti is layered almost like a lasagna to ensure every bite has enough creamy ricotta, stringy mozzarella and tangy tomato sauce. But the key to its success comes from undercooking the pasta during the initial boil so it stays perfectly al dente, even after a trip to the oven. Heavy cream is added to prevent the ricotta from becoming grainy or dry during baking, letting it be its most luscious self. While this baked ziti is meatless (there’s plenty of richness from the cheese — three types, to be exact), you could always incorporate a bit of sausage, ground meat or pancetta, if you like. Simply add ½ pound to the onions while sautéeing and proceed with the recipe.

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Ingredients

Yield:6 to 8 servings

  • ¼ cup olive oil

  • 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped

  • 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, packed in juice

  • 1 (28-ounce) can tomato purée or sauce

  • ¾ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

  • 16 ounces/1 pound ricotta

  • ½ cup heavy cream

  • ½ cup finely grated Parmesan or Pecorino, plus more for grating on top

  • 1 pound ziti, rigatoni, penne, manicotti or other short, tubelike pasta

  • 1 pound fresh mozzarella, cut into ½-inch pieces

Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 to 8 servings)

63 grams carbs; 96 milligrams cholesterol; 676 calories; 12 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 18 grams saturated fat; 34 grams fat; 6 grams fiber; 988 milligrams sodium; 31 grams protein; 10 grams sugar

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Make the tomato sauce: Heat oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is totally softened and translucent (without letting it brown), 8 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and continue to cook, stirring until it has turned a deeper brick-red color, tinting the oil and onions a fiery orange color, about 2 minutes. Crush the whole tomatoes by hand and add them (including the juice) and the tomato purée to the pot, stirring to scrape up any bits from the bottom of the pot. Season with salt and pepper and add red pepper flakes, if using. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the tomato sauce has thickened and flavors have come together, 20 to 30 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Prepare the filling: In a medium bowl, combine ricotta, heavy cream and ½ cup Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

  3. Step 3

    Prepare the pasta: As the sauce cooks, heat oven to 425 degrees, and place a large pot of salted water to boil on the stove.

  4. Step 4

    Cook pasta until it’s nearly al dente. (You want to undercook the pasta slightly, as it will continue to cook in the oven. A good way to do this is cook it 2 minutes less than you normally would if preparing it al dente.) Reserving 1 cup of the pasta cooking liquid, drain pasta and rinse with cool water; set aside while the tomato sauce finishes cooking.

  5. Step 5

    Once tomato sauce is done, stir in reserved pasta water.

  6. Step 6

    Place pasta in a large bowl and add 2 cups sauce. Stir to coat pasta evenly encouraging the sauce to go inside each tube.

  7. Step 7

    Spoon a bit of remaining sauce on the bottom of a 3-quart baking dish and top with ⅓ of the pasta. Spoon ⅓ of the remaining sauce on top, dollop with half the ricotta mixture and scatter ⅓ of the mozzarella on top of that. Repeat, beginning with the pasta, one more time. For the final layer, add the last ⅓ of pasta and the last of the sauce. Dot remaining mozzarella on top and shave a bit more Parmesan on top of that. Place baking dish on top of a sheet pan lined with parchment paper to catch any drips. Place in the oven and bake until the edges are golden brown and bubbling and the top has browned nicely, 30 to 40 minutes.

  8. Step 8

    Let cool slightly before eating with a big green leafy salad.

Tip

  • Baked ziti can be assembled 2 hours before baking. It can be baked 1 day ahead and rewarmed before serving.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
7,813 user ratings
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Comments

Elaine

I would not put the garlic in with the onions. Garlic will burn if you cook it 8-10 minutes. Sauté the onion and add the garlic once the onion is done and cook for about two minutes. You will know if you overcook the garlic because it will have a bitter smell and will ruin the sauce.

Alice Kaiser

This is what I would order for my last meal! The perfect pasta dish, far better than any lasagna I have ever had. Really good tomatoes are key--I used my own home grown and home canned. It's lovely what adding cream to ricotta does. Serve this to people you really love.

David

Add a tiny grating of nutmeg to the ricotta.

Diane McLaughlin

This was the best baked ziti I’ve ever made (and eaten)! My husband wants it at least once a week, so I’ll have to show him how to make it. 🙃 I always use my own sauce for these recipes. I typically don’t add the pasta water, unless my sauce gets too thick. I add plenty of fresh basil, torn up when my sauce is done. It adds a nice fresh taste. I followed Alisons recipe for the rest. I think it’s perfect!

Jon & David

Absolutely loved this recipe! I made a few adjustments based on other commenters and the result was perfect. I cooked the onion on its own for 8–10 minutes, then added the garlic for only about 60–90 seconds so it didn’t overcook. After cooking the tomato paste, I deglazed with ¼ cup dry red wine and let it reduce before adding the tomatoes. I added 1 tsp dried oregano and ¾ tsp red pepper flakes to the sauce, plus about ¼ cup fresh basil toward the end. For the ricotta mixture, I kept the heavy cream as written but added about ⅛ tsp nutmeg and made sure to season it well with salt and pepper. I used 12 oz fresh mozzarella rather than the full pound and drained it well beforehand. I cooked the pasta about 2 minutes shy of al dente as directed. Most importantly, I reserved the pasta water but ended up adding none of it—the sauce consistency was already perfect, and I’m very glad I didn’t add the full cup. These changes gave us an incredibly flavorful, creamy baked ziti that wasn’t watery or overly cheesy. Will absolutely make it this way again!

Sarah

I’ve made this a few times now, for myself and others. I usually love anything Alison Roman, but this recipe as-is is just a little too wet and cheese-heavy for me. I tend to like my tomato pasta things more tangy and textured. My fav way I’ve done so far: I added a full pound of mild Italian sausage with the onions, an extra tablespoon of tomato paste, deglazed with about a cup of red wine, skipped the pasta water, and let the sauce simmer for 2-3x longer to get the the sauce more concentrated. I also only used ~1 pound of mozzarella. That kept the creamy vibe without making it feel like it was more cheese than pasta. I also added about 1 lb of thawed frozen chunked zucchini that I had (lightly squeezed dry) to the rigatoni before layering everything. I really liked how the zucchini slices were about the same size as the pasta, so they blended into everything while making it feel lighter and more interesting. I think next time I’ll roast fresh zucchini until it’s caramelized first for even more flavor and texture.

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