Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Skillet Baked Ziti




Baked Ziti is one of my favorite pasta dishes, but it's hardly a quick and easy weeknight meal:  boil the pasta, make the sauce, cook the sausage, shred the cheese, assemble it all... then bake it for a cruelly long time.  Enter my genius friends at America's Test Kitchen.  Just as they did with lasagna, they've created a way to have a bowl full of pasta goodness on your table in just over thirty minutes.  For real.

This couldn't be any easier.  First, you cook the sausage in a big skillet; throw in plenty of garlic, just enough red pepper flakes to give it a little kick, and crushed tomatoes.  Then comes the best part:  stir in uncooked noodles and some water, and the pasta cooks directly in the pan, simultaneously absorbing that delicious tomato sauce.  Finish it off with some cream, basil, and cheese, and after a brief stint in the oven, it emerges as a perfectly cheesy, creamy, and oh-so comforting pasta dish.

I have made baked ziti countless times, and this is just as good as the best version we've had in the past.  And the fact that it's made completely in ONE dish, and in under an hour?  Definite win.



Skillet-Baked Ziti
adapted from America's Test Kitchen's Pasta Revolution
serves 4 to 6

  • 1 lb sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
  • 6 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (or more or less to your taste)
  • kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes
  • 3 cups water
  • 12 oz ziti
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 4 oz (about 1 cup) freshly grated mozzarella cheese
Heat the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit.  

In a 12-inch oven-safe skillet set over medium-high heat, brown the sausage until no longer pink, about 4 minutes, breaking up any large pieces with a wooden spoon.  Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Stir in the crushed tomatoes and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes.

Add the water and ziti and stir to combine.  Cover, increase the heat to medium, and cook at a vigorous simmer, stirring often, 15 to 18 minutes, until the pasta is just tender.

Remove from heat and stir in the cream, 1/2 cup of the Parmesan, and 3 tablespoons of the basil.  Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed.  Sprinkle the mozzarella and remaining 1/4 cup of parmesan over the top, and transfer to the oven.  Bake until the cheese has melted and browned, and the sauce is bubbling, 10 to 15 minutes.  Sprinkle with the remaining tablespoon of basil and serve.


28 comments:

Rachel @thedessertchronicles.c said...

Oh man, this looks unreal! Baked ziti is also one of my favorites and I can't believe how easy this is!

beckiswholelife said...

Love this! I am always looking for easy recipes to make and I love when you can cook the pasta right in the sauce. This sounds delish:-)

Warm Vanilla Sugar said...

Mmm loving this! Baked ziti is so fabulous!

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Joanne (eats well with others) said...

Gahh!!! This has revolutionized my life. Or my weeknight dinner. Same thing.

Haniela said...

I want this for dinner tonight. I love to cook but I've been so lazy lately, eating pasta with Parmesan and butter. This would be fantastic. I really need to get cooking again. Thanks for the inspiration.

Melanie said...

Loved this!! We had it for dinner last night. I didn't have any fresh basil so I threw in a thawed pesto cube, made from basil in my summer garden. Yummm! Thanks for the recipe!!!

Josie said...

I hope you enjoy it! It's hard to get out of a rut sometimes, but easy and delicious recipes definitely help ;)

Josie said...

So glad to hear it, Melanie! Great idea with the pesto. I'll have to remember that in the future :)

Chung-Ah | Damn Delicious said...

This looks so cozy and comforting! Definitely making this soon!

Two Red Bowls said...

Oh my goodness, this looks SO good. I'm starving now. Love how easy it is -- thanks so much for posting!!

Gouda Monster said...

This looks delicious - I'm a huge fan of one skillet meals. I want to make a vegetarian version :]

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pbinkley said...

This looks amazing. Could I replace sausage w/ ground chuck? My husband and I don't eat sausage.

Allycat said...

Just made this 2 nite but just partially....my boys came in from practice and the smell was so good they charged the stovetop...so, I dished it out before making the baked ziti complete. It was so delicious...easy weeknight dinner and I always have pasta, sauce and a pork roll in fridge.

jackie said...

this was great! And made loads for leftovers.

Josie said...

Glad to hear it! Yes, this gave me lunches for several days too!

Josie said...

Yes, it's a great meal that uses pantry staples - and good to know I can skip the oven if we're dying of hunger! ;)

Josie said...

That's a great idea - I think either using vegetarian sausage or a mix of veggies would work well - maybe eggplant, mushrooms, and zucchini? Let me know how it goes!

Mallori said...

Made this last night for friends and everyone raved about it. Thank you for sharing. Your recipes never let me down

Josie said...

can I substitute penne for the ziti?

Josie said...

Sure.

Josie said...

So glad it was a hit!

Josie said...

Sure, you might want to add some extra spices though.

Josie said...

Wow! This sounds so interesting...I've never cooked ziti in the sauce before...must try very soon. LOVE your blog - you're always cooking something yummy.

Josie said...

We're making this to celebrate our kitchen being mostly done. It's the first meal we made using our new countertops. :)

Josie said...

Made this tonight, and it was absolutely delicious. Had a roll of bulk hot sausage handy, so I just went with that. Will be making this one again and again. Thanks, Josie!

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