Baked Ziti (No-Boil, with Ricotta and Mozzarella)
Ziti soaked in hot salted water instead of boiled, stirred into red sauce with ricotta, Parmigiano, eggs, cream, herbs and cubes of mozzarella, then baked covered and uncovered at 400°F until bubbling and browned.
Ziti are long, smooth pasta tubes from Sicily, and their name means brides or grooms. Wikipedia says ziti were once a mainstay of Sicilian weddings of every class, served with stewed pork, and that another name, maccheroni di zita, means "bridal macaroni". In Molise, Wikipedia adds, people eat ziti on the Feast of the Epiphany in the belief that the devil will not appear at their deathbed. Naples has its own baked version, ziti alla sorrentina, which Wikipedia says is less dense than the American dish.
Baked ziti, Wikipedia says, is a pasta al forno "characteristic of Italian-American cuisine": ziti, sauce and plenty of cheese. In New York it became big enough that "a box of ziti" turned into slang for $1,000 after The Sopranos used it. J. Kenji López-Alt's Serious Eats version skips the boiling step: soaking the pasta in hot water hydrates it so it finishes cooking in the oven, and a mix of ricotta, eggs and cream keeps the inside creamy around pockets of melted mozzarella.
Why it works the kitchen science
Soak, don't boil
The hot-water soak lets the pasta absorb enough water to soften without releasing starch, and it finishes cooking in the oven in the sauce, so it never turns mushy.
Eggs and cream in the ricotta
The custardy mix binds the filling so it slices and stays creamy instead of turning grainy, while the mozzarella cubes melt into stretchy pockets.
Step by step
- Step 1
Heat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the middle. Put the ziti in a large bowl, cover with hot salted water by 3 to 4 inches and let it sit 30 minutes, stirring after the first 5 minutes so it does not stick. Drain.
- Step 2
In a large pot (off the heat), stir together 3 cups of the sauce, the ricotta, half the Parmigiano, the eggs, cream and half the parsley and basil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Step 3
Stir in the soaked ziti and half the mozzarella until everything is evenly mixed. Spread it in an ungreased 9- by 13-inch baking dish and top with the remaining 1 cup sauce and the rest of the mozzarella.
- Step 4
Spray a sheet of foil with cooking spray and cover the dish tightly, sprayed side down. Bake 45 minutes.
- Step 5
Uncover and bake about 15 minutes more, until the cheese is browning in spots and the sauce bubbles at the edges.
- Step 6
Sprinkle with the rest of the Parmigiano and let it rest 10 minutes. Scatter the remaining parsley and basil over the top and serve, with warm extra sauce if you like.
Baked Ziti (No-Boil, with Ricotta and Mozzarella)
Serves 8 · One 9- by 13-inch baking dish · 1 hr 50 min total
Pasta
- 1 lb ziti, penne or another thick tube pasta
- Hot salted water, for soaking
Filling
- 4 cups homemade or good store-bought red sauce, divided (plus 2 cups for the table, optional)
- 12 oz whole-milk ricotta
- 3 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated (about 1 1/2 cups), divided
- 2 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 3 tbsp minced fresh parsley, divided
- 3 tbsp minced fresh basil, divided
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 lb whole-milk mozzarella, cut into rough 1/4-inch cubes, divided
- Cooking spray, for the foil
Method
- Heat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the middle. Put the ziti in a large bowl, cover with hot salted water by 3 to 4 inches and let it sit 30 minutes, stirring after the first 5 minutes so it does not stick. Drain.
- In a large pot (off the heat), stir together 3 cups of the sauce, the ricotta, half the Parmigiano, the eggs, cream and half the parsley and basil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Stir in the soaked ziti and half the mozzarella until everything is evenly mixed. Spread it in an ungreased 9- by 13-inch baking dish and top with the remaining 1 cup sauce and the rest of the mozzarella.
- Spray a sheet of foil with cooking spray and cover the dish tightly, sprayed side down. Bake 45 minutes.
- Uncover and bake about 15 minutes more, until the cheese is browning in spots and the sauce bubbles at the edges.
- Sprinkle with the rest of the Parmigiano and let it rest 10 minutes. Scatter the remaining parsley and basil over the top and serve, with warm extra sauce if you like.
Adapted from J. Kenji López-Alt, "The Food Lab's No-Boil Baked Ziti," Serious Eats (published October 14, 2015, updated December 10, 2025), serves 6 to 8. We follow it as written: 1 lb ziti soaked 30 minutes in hot salted water; red sauce (homemade or a good jarred brand); 12 oz whole-milk ricotta; 3 oz Parmigiano; 2 eggs; 1 cup heavy cream; 3 tbsp each parsley and basil; 1 lb whole-milk mozzarella in 1/4-inch cubes; a 9- by 13-inch dish baked at 400°F covered 45 minutes and uncovered about 15; a 10-minute rest. The ingredient list says 6 cups red sauce, but the steps use 3 cups in the mix and 1 cup on top; we follow the steps (4 cups) and suggest warming the rest to pass at the table. Serious Eats. Ingredient list follows the source; the method is in our own words.
All sources (3)
Tips
- Spray the foil, not the dish, so the cheese does not stick to the lid.
- Use whole-milk ricotta and mozzarella; López-Alt calls for high-quality ricotta.
- López-Alt's Easy Skillet Baked Ziti With Sausage and Ricotta is a 40-minute stovetop alternative.
- The 10-minute rest lets the filling set so it does not run on the plate.
The rules people argue about
What the sources agree on, what they don't, and what is just a good story.
- Baked ziti is Italian-American. Documented by Wikipedia ("characteristic of Italian-American cuisine"); Naples has ziti alla sorrentina.
- Ricotta or no ricotta. Disputed: López-Alt's version uses ricotta; Serious Eats' Daniel Gritzer replaces it with a Parmesan cream to avoid graininess; Wikipedia lists bechamel in its description.
- Ziti means "brides." Documented as Wikipedia's translation ("brides" or "grooms").
- You have to boil the pasta first. Folklore: López-Alt's soak method works without it.
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