Make-Ahead Baked Ziti: One Pan for Tonight, One for the Freezer

Baked ziti is the family dinner that is easiest to split in two: one pan goes in the oven tonight and the other goes in the freezer for a night when nobody wants to cook. It is short pasta in a mild tomato sauce with a creamy ricotta layer and melted mozzarella on top, and the one step that decides whether it comes out tender or mushy is taking the pasta off the boil early.

Serves: 8 (one 9×13-inch / 23×33 cm pan, or two 8-inch / 20 cm square pans of 4 servings each) · Prep: 25 minutes · Cook: 45 minutes · Kid-friendly: very. It is mild, soft and cheesy, and the pasta is easy to cut small for little ones.

What you need

For the sauce

• 1 tbsp (15 ml) olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced (about 3/4 cup / 110 g)
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 lb (450 g) ground beef, 85–90% lean (optional; see swaps below)
• 1 can (28 oz / 794 g) crushed tomatoes
• 1 can (15 oz / 425 g) tomato sauce
• 1 tsp (1 g) dried oregano
• 1 tsp (1 g) dried basil
• 1 tsp (6 g) salt, plus more for the pasta water

For the pasta and cheese

• 1 lb (450 g) ziti or penne
• 15 oz (425 g) whole-milk ricotta
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup (50 g) finely grated parmesan, divided
• 3 cups (12 oz / 340 g) shredded low-moisture mozzarella, divided

How to make it

1. Heat the oven to 375°F (190°C). If you are making one pan for now and one for the freezer, use a metal or foil pan for the freezer one: glass and ceramic dishes can crack when they go straight from the freezer into a hot oven.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Cook the onion for 5–6 minutes until soft, then add the garlic for 1 minute.
3. If you are using beef, add it now, break it up with a wooden spoon and cook for 7–8 minutes until no pink is left. USDA guidance for ground beef is 160°F (71°C). Spoon off most of the fat.
4. Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, oregano, basil and salt. Simmer gently for 10 minutes while the pasta cooks.
5. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta for 2 minutes less than the shortest time on the package, then drain it. It should still be firm in the middle.
6. In a bowl, mix the ricotta, egg and half the parmesan.
7. Spread about 1 cup (240 ml) of the sauce over the bottom of the pan (or a little in each small pan). Toss the drained pasta with the rest of the sauce.
8. Spoon in half the pasta, dot the ricotta mixture over it in spoonfuls and spread it roughly, then scatter 1 cup (115 g) of mozzarella over it. Add the rest of the pasta and top with the remaining 2 cups (225 g) of mozzarella and parmesan.
9. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake for 15–20 minutes more, until the edges bubble and the cheese has brown spots. The middle should reach 165°F (74°C), the USDA temperature for casseroles that contain egg.
10. Let it rest for 10 minutes before cutting. It slices into neater squares, and the sauce stops being scalding.

Why the pasta comes off the boil early

The pasta spends another 35–40 minutes in hot tomato sauce in the oven, and it keeps soaking up liquid the whole time. If it was fully cooked when it went in, it ends up soft and swollen, and the sauce disappears into it. Drained a little firm, it finishes cooking in the oven and still has some bite at the table. If you freeze a pan, this matters even more, because the pasta goes through a second round of heat when you bake it later.

Making it work for younger kids

• Under 4s: cut the ziti into small pieces and pull apart any long strings of melted cheese, which can be hard for small children to manage. The AAP advises cutting food small and serving it soft for children under 4. Let their portion cool well; baked pasta holds heat for a long time.
• Toddlers who like things separate: spoon some plain pasta and sauce into a bowl before you layer, and add a little mozzarella on top.
• Kids who avoid "bits": blend the sauce smooth with a stick blender before you toss the pasta in, so there are no onion pieces to find.

Jobs for kids

• Ages 4–7: mix the ricotta, egg and parmesan with a spoon (then wash hands, because of the raw egg), and sprinkle the mozzarella on top.
• Ages 8–12: open the cans with an adult nearby, measure the herbs, and spoon the layers into the pan once the pasta has cooled for a few minutes.
• Teens: make the sauce at the stove and assemble the whole thing, with an adult around the first time.

An adult drains the pasta, because a big pot of boiling water is heavy and the steam burns, and handles the hot pan going in and out of the oven. For more kitchen jobs by age, see homemade pizza with kids, which uses the same tomato sauce and cheese skills.

Allergen swaps

• Dairy: ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan are all dairy. Use dairy-free shreds and a dairy-free ricotta-style spread, or leave out the ricotta layer and add more sauce.
• Eggs: the egg only helps the ricotta layer hold together. Leave it out and the layer is a little softer but just as good.
• Gluten: use a gluten-free short pasta. Many cook faster and soften more in the oven, so take it off the boil 3 minutes early instead of 2.
• Soy: none in the recipe, but check the label on the tomato sauce.
• Nuts, sesame and shellfish: none in the recipe, so leftovers suit nut-free school lunches.
• No beef: leave it out for a cheese-only ziti, or use ground turkey cooked to 165°F (74°C). You can also skip the beef and nestle in some of the make-ahead turkey meatballs from your freezer.

One pan tonight, one for the freezer

Split the layers between two 8-inch (20 cm) square pans in step 7. Bake one as above. For the other:

• To freeze unbaked: let it cool (no longer than 2 hours out of the fridge), then cover tightly with plastic wrap and a layer of foil. Write the date and "375°F, 60–75 min" on the foil. USDA says food kept frozen at 0°F (−18°C) stays safe indefinitely, but the texture is best if you use it within 2–3 months.
• To bake from frozen: take off the plastic wrap, put the foil back on and bake at 375°F (190°C) for 60–75 minutes, then uncover for 15 minutes until bubbling. Check that the very middle reaches 165°F (74°C); the centre is the last part to heat through.
• To bake after thawing: thaw it in the fridge overnight, then bake as in the recipe, adding about 10 minutes covered.
• Make it the day before: assemble, cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours, then add 10–15 minutes to the covered baking time.

Storing and reheating leftovers

Get leftovers into the fridge within 2 hours. They keep for 3–4 days. Reheat a square in the microwave, covered, with a splash of water, until steaming hot and 165°F (74°C) in the middle.

Leftover ziti makes a good hot school lunch: heat it until steaming, then pack it in a preheated food jar the way we describe in how to pack a hot lunch in an insulated food jar.

If you want another dinner that mostly looks after itself in the oven, try the one-pot chicken and rice, which is just as mild.