Four Cheese Baked Ziti
This four cheese baked ziti is everything a baked pasta should be – bubbly, cheesy, cozy, and packed with layers of flavor.
This ziti recipe is one of my all-time favorite baked pastas. I’ve made it countless times over the last 10 years and it never gets old.
Why You’ll Love This Baked Ziti Recipe
- It has four different kinds of cheese tucked right inside for the best melty cheesy texture.
- It’s easy to make and great if you’re having guests for dinner.
- You can assemble it ahead to bake later to make life easier.
- It’s classic comfort food and who doesn’t love that?
Ingredients
- Ziti pasta: This tubular pasta is perfect in a baked pasta dish.
- Ricotta cheese: It’s a classic in baked ziti and gives it a rich creaminess.
- Shredded provolone cheese: Adds a nutty, buttery flavor and very melty, too.
- Cubed fresh mozzarella: I like the texture fresh mozzarella adds, but you can sub low-moisture mozzarella cheese if you prefer.
- Grated Parmesan cheese: Adds a cheesy, salty flavor.
- Black pepper
- Chopped fresh parsley and basil
- Jarred marinara sauce: Pick a high-quality jarred sauce.
How to Make It
- Boil the ziti for about five minutes. This gives it a head start, so once it’s baked, it will be a perfect al dente.
- Make the cheese mixture. Mix the ricotta, provolone, mozzarella, Parmesan, pepper, parsley, and basil in a medium bowl.
- Assemble the the components. Layer the sauce and par boiled pasta in a baking dish dropping spoonfuls of the cheese mixture as you go. I like to do one layer of sauce, pasta, and cheese followed by a second layer. Top it off with a sprinkle of provolone and mozzarella cheese.
- Bake the ziti. Cover the pan and bake the pasta at 375°F for 15 minutes. Take of the foil and bake it for 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted on top and the baked ziti is bubbling hot.
More Baked Pasta Recipes
Four Cheese Baked Ziti
This is the best baked ziti! It is rich, cozy, and extra cheesy, with layers of pasta, tomato sauce, and melted cheese in every bite.
Print
Pin
Rate
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 8 ounces ziti
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 2/3 cup shredded provolone cheese plus 1/4 cup shredded (for topping)
- 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cubed, plus 1/4 cup shredded (for topping)
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus extra for serving
- 1 teaspoon ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil chopped
- 24 ounces marinara sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F. Boil the pasta for about half the time it says on the box (about 5 to 6 minutes).
- While the pasta is cooking combine the ricotta, provolone, mozzarella, Parmesan, pepper, parsley, and basil in a medium bowl.
- Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. Pour some sauce into an 8×8″ baking dish, just enough to coat the bottom. Add about a third of the cooked pasta, and top it with some sauce. Using a tablespoon, drop scoops of the cheese mixture over the top of the sauce, about 5-6 scoops.
- Top the cheese with another layer of pasta followed by some sauce. Scoop the remaining cheese over the top of the sauce and add the rest of the pasta. Add the rest of the sauce over the top. It may seem like there is way too much cheese, so be generous with your scoops. Once the ziti is baked those scoops of cheese will turn into the most decadent pockets of ooey-gooey cheese.
- Top the ziti with the rest of the shredded provolone and mozzarella cheese. Cover the baking dish with foil and transfer it to the oven. Bake the ziti for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake it for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese on top is melted and the ziti is bubbling around the edges.
- Rest the baked ziti for a few minutes. Serve it with extra grated parmesan cheese on the side.
Notes
You don’t need to boil the pasta for the full time list on the box. It will finish cooking when it goes in the oven with the sauce and cheese.
You can assemble this baked ziti a day in advance. Cover it and keep it in the refrigerator for up to a day. Take it out of the fridge while you preheat the oven. You may need to add a few minutes extra baking time.
Recipe adapted from The Amateur Gourmet
Nutrition Estimate
Calories: 576kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 1419mg | Potassium: 785mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1619IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 589mg | Iron: 3mg
Sign up here to get recipes delivered to your email!
More Meatless Pasta Recipes
I hope you love this baked ziti as much as I do! It’s such a cozy comfort food dinner.
Happy Cooking,
This baked zit post was updated from the archives. It was first published in September 2014.
This was perfect, detailed beautifully & I love the water trick I honestly never knew that ! Thank you so very much for sharing this. God bless.
Oh my goodness, those cheese pockets are to die for!!! This is the second recipe I have made of yours (the first was the manicotti) and I am beyond impressed with both recipes. I had never cooked with fresh mozzarella before and it was so delicious. I have a question though. Can I use fresh mozzarella in all recipes that call for mozzarella (shredded or otherwise)? I also just wanted to say that I never leave comments on recipes I use online, but yours are so good that I had to show my support! I can’t wait to make another one of your recipes soon. Take care and keep up the delicious work!
Katie H.
I’m so glad you love this recipe! It’s one of my favorites 🙂 Fresh mozzarella has more moisture, so it doesn’t work great in all recipes that call for low-moisture mozzarella because it adds extra moisture to recipes that may alter how they turn out. You can always experiment, but it’s usually a good idea to go with what the recipe suggests. For my recipes, if a recipe calls for fresh mozzarella, I say that in the ingredients. If “mozzarella cheese” is listed in the ingredients, that means the low-moisture kind. If you want more recipes with fresh mozz, search “fresh mozzarella” on my site (click on the magnifying glass icon located on the right side of your screen) and you’ll see some more ideas to try.
Could I replace ricotta with cottage cheese?
I think that will work fine!