Baked Ziti – Ziti pasta is combined with tomatoes and cheese, topped with bread crumbs, and baked until bubbly.
Wow. Do I ever have Spring Fever! The days are longer and warmer and all I want to do is enjoy the sunshine. Nearly to the exclusion of everything else. Including cooking.
That’s bad. Especially when you have a food blog!
In case no one noticed, I only did one post last week. One measly little post of Roasted Asparagus.
That’s because it’s just about all I’ve cooked in the last week or so that was worthy of posting on a blog. I mean, you wouldn’t want me to write posts about macaroni and cheese or hamburgers or spaghetti now would you?
So, after nearly a week of being lazy I decided I had to get in the kitchen and do something. Do something even if it was wrong. But I had no idea what I wanted to do.
Standing in front of the refrigerator gazing at its contents was no inspiration at all. The freezer held no revelations either.
Then I moved to the pantry and just started pulling out things I thought might go together. A box of ziti, cans of tomatoes, onion, garlic…I thought I was on to something. So I went back to the fridge and got some cheese. It was starting to sound pretty good.
What I finally wound up with was this very easy Baked Ziti recipe. It was surprisingly good and vegetarian, too. Even BeeBop (Mr. Meat & Potatoes) liked it. A lot. He had seconds.
Baked Ziti - Ziti pasta is combined with tomatoes and cheese, topped with bread crumbs, and baked until bubbly. Click To Tweet
How to Make Baked Ziti
Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Place a large pot of well salted water on to boil. Cook ziti according to package directions. Set aside.
Grate the cheese and set it aside. I used Gruyere and Cheddar in this because that was what I had on hand. It will be equally good and more traditional with a combination of mozzarella and parmesan.
Chop a medium onion and a large clove of garlic. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the olive oil, onion and garlic and cook until the onion begins to caramelize.
Stir in the tomatoes along with their juice. Add salt and pepper to taste, parsley and basil.
Cook for 8-10 minutes or until liquid has reduced and the tomato sauce is thickened.
Drain the ziti and return to the pan. Add the reduced tomato sauce and 2/3 of the cheese. Mix well.
Turn into an oiled or sprayed casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese and bread crumbs. You can dot the top with butter if you want, but I don’t think it adds much to the finished dish.
Cook for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
More Pasta Recipes on Never Enough Thyme:
- Pastitsio
- Baked Spaghetti
- Asian Inspired Turkey Noodle Bowl
- Artichoke, Spinach, and Shrimp Lasagna with Bacon
- Pasta d’Arrabiata
Baked Ziti Recipes from Other Bloggers:
- Baked Ziti from Simply Recipes
- Chicken Alfredo Baked Ziti from Gimme Some Oven
- Spinach and Artichoke Baked Ziti from Inspired Taste
- Meatball Baked Ziti from A Farm Girl’s Dabbles
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Baked Ziti
Ziti, tomatoes and cheese topped with bread crumbs and baked until bubbly.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ziti
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 large clove garlic, chopped
- 2 tblsp. olive oil
- 3 cans diced tomatoes with juice
- salt
- pepper
- 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
- 5 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated
- 5 oz. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Place a large pot of well salted water on to boil. Cook ziti according to package directions. Set aside.
- Chop a medium onion and a large clove of garlic. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the olive oil, onion and garlic and cook until the onion begins to caramelize.
- Add tomatoes along with their juice. Add salt and pepper to taste, parsley and basil.
- Cook for 8-10 minutes or until liquid has reduced and the tomato sauce is thickened.
- Drain the ziti and return to the pan.
- Add the reduced tomato sauce and 2/3 of the cheese. Mix well. Turn into an oiled or sprayed casserole dish.
- Top with remaining cheese and bread crumbs.
- Cook for 25-30 minutes or until bubbly.
- Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 326Total Fat: 16gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 37mgSodium: 467mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 3gSugar: 7gProtein: 14g
Nutrition information is calculated by Nutritonix and may not always be perfectly accurate. Use your own judgment.
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Lana Stuart is the author, photographer, cook, and occasional traveler at Never Enough Thyme. A former IT professional, she enjoys time in the kitchen and the art studio.
Kathyrp says
Do you use the 16 oz cans or the large cans of tomatoes?
Lana Stuart says
The regular size cans. They’re usually 14.5 oz these days.
Kathryn P says
Thanks for the quick response! Planning to cook soon. I enjoy your blog.
Lana Stuart says
You’re welcome, Kathryn. Glad I could help.
Caveman Cooking says
Nothing like a good Ziti! Looks fantastic, Lana!
Peggy says
Sounds like a great improvisation to me!
megan says
Perfect comfort food!
jenn (Bread + Butter) says
A god pasta bake is what I need right about now. Yum!!!! I’m actually having mac and cheese for dinner tonight. :)
Scott K says
Love the Gruyere cheese in this! I use a smoked Gruyere in a frittata that is one of my favorite dishes. http://fightthefatfoodie.blogspot.com/2010/01/potato-asparagus-gruyere-frittata.html
Lana says
Ohhh….that frittata looks wonderful! And I bet a smoked cheese in this ziti would be great, too.
Heavenly Housewife says
Simply scrumptious looking, gorgeous picture. I am going to bookmark this. I have been looking for some great pasta recipes to add to my collection.
Lovely blog.
*kisses* HH
Lana says
Thank you! I’m still working on improving my photography. Have a lot to learn but I’ll get there eventually.
deeba says
I’m glad to decidede to hit the pots and pans. This is a delicious looking bake. It’s nice for a make ahead meal too. Very YUM!!
Lana says
Thank you Deeba. This was easy to make and the gruyere gives it a different taste from the typical mozzarella/parm combination.
Barbara @ moderncomfortfood says
I’m so with you on the distractions these longer, warmer days offer. I walked the beaches two days ago, went salt water wade fishing yesterday in front of my house (yes, caught two), and spent all day digging my vegetable garden today. And now I’m eating an OK, but not great, grilled cream cheese and garden chives sandwich for dinner. Not nearly as good as your delicious-looking ziti, which I hope to try. Many thanks for sharing.
Lana says
Distractions, yes. But so welcome, aren’t they?
HoneyB says
pasta, tomatoes, cheese….in my book those are magic words! Looks delicious!
Lana says
Definitely a great classic combo…pasta, tomatoes and cheese. You’d probably prefer a low-fat option, and I think this would adapt easily to low-fat cheeses.
5 Star Foodie says
Sounds great with Gruyere and Cheddar!
Lana says
The Gruyere gives a very distinctive taste, so be sure you really like it if you use it in this recipe. Otherwise, you could do all cheddar.