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Short Summary
Main recommendation: Make creamy baked ziti by using extra sauce, mixing in ricotta, and undercooking the pasta slightly so it holds up during a long bake. The video presents these as three "secrets" that keep the dish from drying out or turning mushy.
Key Points
- Use a generous amount of sauce, about two jars (two pounds) of prepared marinara, so the ziti stays creamy and doesn't dry out in the oven.
- Mix ricotta cheese into the sauce as a secret ingredient, blending until there are no clumps.
- Use a tubular, ribbed pasta such as ziti or penne, which the speaker says holds sauce and texture better.
- Cook the pasta one minute under al dente, since it will continue cooking during the roughly hour-long bake.
- Ensure no dry spots by thoroughly combining the sauce and noodles before baking.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions: Combine two pounds (two jars) of marinara sauce, one pound of ziti, one cup of ricotta cheese, and one cup of shredded mozzarella in a large bowl. Cook the pasta to one minute under the package's al dente time and mix thoroughly with the sauce mixture until no dry spots remain. Spoon into a 13 by 9 baking dish, top with shredded mozzarella, and cover. Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes, then uncover, add extra mozzarella if needed, and bake about 15 more minutes until brown and bubbly.
- Choose a marinara brand you like, tasting it first, since the sauce is the main flavor base.
- Save some mozzarella to sprinkle on after uncovering so the top browns evenly.
- The speaker says the baked dish can be baked, frozen, and rebaked later.
- Buying pre-shredded mozzarella from the refrigerated section is suggested as a time-saver.
Bottom Line Extra sauce, a bit of ricotta, and slightly undercooked ziti are the key to a creamy, non-dry baked ziti that reheats well.
