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Baked ziti

United States

Baked ziti

Baked ziti

Very firm ziti is tossed with Parmigiano béchamel and mozzarella, folded with pancetta tomato sauce so streaks remain, baked, and broiled.

70 min · Difficulty ●●●○○

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Dishes in this family

Each dish keeps its own guide; compare the ingredient and preparation differences here.

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Meet the dish

Italian-American tube pasta baked with tomato, white cheese sauce, and mozzarella

Short tubes carry acidic tomato sauce, Parmigiano béchamel, and melting mozzarella inside and out. Leaving red and white streaks instead of blending everything flat gives each baked bite a different balance.

Pasta shapes to use

  • Ziti, penne, rigatoni, or another short tube

Key ingredients

  • Whole tomatoes
  • Pancetta
  • Parmigiano béchamel
  • Mozzarella
  • Onion
  • Basil

Follow the cooking scenes

  1. Baked ziti: Make white and red sauces separately.

    Step 1: Make white and red sauces separately

    Cook butter and flour for one minute, whisk in warm milk, simmer for 8–10 minutes, and melt in Parmigiano. Separately brown pancetta, onion, garlic, chili, and tomato paste; add whole tomatoes, simmer 20–25 minutes, pulse mostly smooth, and add basil.

  2. Baked ziti: Boil pasta for only five minutes.

    Step 2: Boil pasta for only five minutes

    Heat the oven to 175°C and boil the tubes for about five minutes, leaving them very firm. Toss béchamel with pasta and mozzarella, reserve one cup of tomato sauce, and fold the rest through only a few times so streaks remain.

  3. Baked ziti: Bake, broil, and rest.

    Step 3: Bake, broil, and rest

    Transfer to a dish, dot with reserved tomato sauce, and scatter Parmigiano. Bake for 15–20 minutes until bubbling, broil for about four minutes until dark in spots, and rest for five minutes.

What to watch for

  • The oven finishes cooking the tubes, so stop the initial boil well before normal al dente. Keep enough moisture in the tomato sauce to survive absorption.
  • Fold the red and white sauces only a few times. An uneven top creates a useful mix of bubbling sauce, melted cheese, and browned corners.

What sets it apart

This version replaces dry ricotta pockets with a Parmigiano béchamel that coats the tubes while visible streaks of tomato remain.