Skillet Baked Ziti

By Addie

Why this recipe works:
Baked ziti, a hearty combination of pasta, tomato sauce, and gooey cheese, can be time-consuming and fussy, between making the sauce, boiling the pasta, and then assembling and baking the dish....(more)

To complete this recipe in 30 minutes, preheat your oven before assembling your ingredients. If your skillet is not ovensafe, transfer the pasta mixture into a shallow 2-quart casserole dish before sprinkling with the cheese and baking. Packaged pre-shredded mozzarella is a real time-saver here. Penne can also be used here.

From America's Test Kitchen Season 8

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 3 cups water
• 12 ounces ziti pasta (3 3/4 cups)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaf, minced
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Preparation

Step 1

Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 475.

Combine oil, garlic, pepper flakes, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in 12-inch ovensafe nonstick skillet and saute over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. (If your skillet is not ovensafe, transfer the pasta mixture into a shallow 2-quart casserole dish before sprinkling with the cheese and baking).

Add crushed tomatoes, water, ziti and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

Cover and cook, stirring often and adjusting heat as needed to maintain vigorous simmer, until ziti is almost tender, 15-18 minutes.

Stir in cream, Parmesan, and basil. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Sprinkle mozzarella evenly over ziti. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until cheese has melted and browned, about 10 minutes. Serve immediately. Serves 4

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REVIEWS:

This has become a family favorite. I use rigatoni instead of ziti, and two 14 1/2 oz cans of petite diced tomatoes w garlic & olive oil instead 28 oz of crushed. It is fantastic!

One of the easiest, if not the easiest pasta recipe I've ever made. I pan fried some Italian style chicken sausage before hand and added it back in to enhance the flavor. WOW! Ok? WOW! Can be made very easily and efficiently at a fire station.

I love this recipe! I've also been known to add in some zucchini (sauteed in butter and garlic) as well as mushrooms.

This recipe is basically the only reason I have gotten through law school. I can't afford takeout, and don't have time to cook, but this recipe feeds my family for two or three days at a time with a salad, and we never get sick of it! Only one pot to wash, means I can make it on a weeknight, even if I don't get home until 8!

If you are working person with limited time for cooking during the week, you MUST give this a try! The results of this dish for time invested are superb! It is truly a 30-minute meal. Be sure to use the Fresh Parmesan, it makes big difference. Served with Garlic French Bread.

This is so delicious and so easy! A definite keeper!

Super easy and adaptable. We also use ground beef or ground Italian sausage. I usually use half and half instead of cream. The tomatoes are usually at least half sauce and half petite diced. The recipe is a bit misleading though. The serving size says 4 but this would easily feed 8 when served with a salad and bread. My whole family of 7 love this (and have leftovers)!

THANK YOU for postings this!!!!! I had printed this during my free trial of America's Test Kitchen's website after seeing it on TV and my copy of this recipe disappeared! We love this recipe and also make adjustments as needed, it is so easy and perfect! Thank you again!

This pasta dish is truly one of my favorites and my family loves it too! Quick and easy to make yet fancy enough to impress your guests. It turns out perfect EVERY time.

Loved it. Great weeknight recipe.

SOOOO Delicious!

This is an excellent recipe! I have made this so many times since I found it! I have made it as the recipe states, but it is also a wonderful way to use leftover spaghetti sauce. Thanks for a yummy easy recipe!

This was very easy. I followed the recipe except I did not have fresh basil. The equivalent is 1/3 of fresh but I think a little less would have been better but it was still very good. I agree that it seemed to still be too watery after the cooking time, not too much but perhaps start with less would be better, but as it sits a bit which i recommend to cool it down, it absorbs and thickens. I served it with take and bake breadsticks from Woodman's brushed with butter out of the oven-Yum.

Fast and fabulous. Definitely a keeper!

Super delicious and easy! My husband prefers meat with his pasta so I added some cooked sausage just before putting it in the oven.

Great easy meal! Served with cheesy garlic bread. This came together much more quickly than I expected. I used random 1/2 boxes of leftover pasta instead of the ziti. Forgot the basil (oops!), and used a 28-oz can of tomato sauce since I don't like the big chunks of tomatoes. This may be put into our regular rotation since its easy, makes leftovers, and is cheap, too! I do agree with other reviews that some ground beef or sausage would be good mixed in some of the time.

Great for ease of prep. I was surprised by the amount of heat that the 1/4 tsp of red pepper flakes provided, I agree with Fearless Baker" that it was pleasant for me but a bit to much for my young ones. I will definitely make this again as the flavor and the texture were wonderful. I think that next time I will add some Italian Sausage.

Too starchy. It may have been good if the pasta was not cooked in the sauce. I used a couple of links of Italian sausage too, so I did my best with the taste. The method is flawed.

I loved the simplicity and one-pan factor with this dish. I followed the recipe as written other than substituting penne for ziti and was very pleased with the results. I was pleasantly surprised with the level of heat provided from the red pepper flakes, although it proved "too hot" for my 2-year old. Prior to simmering and baking, the amount of liquid in the pan appeared to be more than needed, although the end result was perfect and the pasta was cooked nicely without being mushy. I served the pasta with salad and crusty bread which made for a great weeknight meal. I will make again!

Very good! I doubled the recipe to put in a 13x9-inch pan. Used whole tomatoes, and just whirled them in the processor first. Added some Italian Seasoning and just a little sugar to the sauce. I especially liked it after it had set awhile and firmed up!

Our plans changed for this evening so I needed something quick for dinner. I made this as written other then I used black pepper instead of the red pepper as I didn't have any. I also didn't have fresh basil so used 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil. My family thought it would have been better with some hamburger or sausage mixed in.

Excellent! Easy, fast and delicious... Have also added in spinach and/or sausage.

Absolutely delicious! I added 1 lb of ground sweet sausage and was soooo good. Will definitely be making this regularly.

This recipe was excellent even though I couldn't find fresh basil. I used the dried basil and it was still great. Thanks

OMG! It turned out perfectly! Thank you for capturing this recipe for us! My family wants me to make it often. I didn't make any changes the first time. Next time I may throw on some grilled chicken breast strips before I sprinkle with the cheese! Thank you again!

This pasta dish is truly one of my favorites!!! (my family loves it too) Quick and easy to make. Fancy enough to impress your guests. I replace the crushed tomatoes with petite diced tomatoes and it turns out perfect EVERY time. Do yourself a favor and at least try this one!!!

Wonderful, really the best pasta dish I have ever had! I'm in a little town so there was no cream except whipping or sour. Whipping being out of the question because of sugar it was off to the races with sour cream. Turned out really well. Also, had to use dried Basil, about a teaspoon, and then put thin slices of red bell pepper under the mozzarella before baking. This added a really great, meaty texture that left everyone wanting more. You won't be disappointed with this one.

Yummy! It turned out awesome!