Fire Roasted Ziti With Sausage — The Make-Ahead Casserole That Filled the Freezer Before the Last Days Got Loud

Early June. Brayden is one hundred and forty weeks old. The pregnancy is at forty weeks. The due date is technically next week but the OB is comfortable with anywhere in the next two weeks. The freezer is at fifty-two single-meal portions. The fire roasted ziti with sausage is one of the small workhorse casseroles in the freezer-bank.

The fire roasted ziti with sausage is a small make-ahead casserole — ziti pasta, Italian sausage browned and crumbled, fire-roasted tomatoes (canned), garlic, basil, mozzarella, parmesan. The casserole is the small Italian-American workhorse that I have made probably twenty times across the catering business. The fire-roasted-tomatoes are the small differentiating element — the fire-roasting adds a smoky-charred depth that regular crushed-tomatoes do not have.

The technique question on a make-ahead pasta-casserole is the pasta-cook-time. Standard pasta-package directions yield al-dente pasta. Casseroles bake the pasta for an additional fifteen minutes after assembly. To prevent over-cooked pasta in the finished casserole, the pasta should be cooked about two minutes shy of al-dente before assembly. The two-minute reduction lets the pasta finish cooking in the sauce during the bake without going mushy.

Sunday I made two pans of the ziti — one for dinner, one for the freezer. The freezer-pan uses the foil-lined-removable-insert trick that frees up the actual baking dish. The dish is washed and put away; the foil-wrapped-frozen-meal sits in the freezer ready to be re-inserted into a baking dish for the eventual cook.

Fire Roasted Ziti With Sausage

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 35 min | Total Time: 50 min | Servings: 6

Ingredients

• 12 oz ziti pasta
• 1 lb Italian sausage (mild or hot), casings removed
• 1 can (14.5 oz) fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 1 can (15 oz) crushed tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 small yellow onion, diced
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tbsp fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley, chopped (for garnish)

Instructions

1. Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish and set aside.
2. Cook the pasta. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook ziti 2 minutes less than package directions (it will finish cooking in the oven). Drain and set aside.
3. Brown the sausage. Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add sausage and cook, breaking it apart with a spoon, until browned and cooked through, about 6–8 minutes. Drain excess fat if needed.
4. Build the sauce. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to the sausage and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add fire roasted tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Combine. Remove sauce from heat. Stir in the drained ziti until fully coated. Fold in ricotta and 3/4 cup of the mozzarella.
6. Assemble and top. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish. Spread evenly. Scatter remaining 3/4 cup mozzarella and Parmesan evenly over the top.
7. Bake. Bake uncovered for 20–25 minutes, until cheese is melted, bubbly, and lightly golden at the edges.
8. Rest and serve. Let the ziti rest 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh basil or parsley.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 520 | Protein: 28g | Fat: 22g | Carbs: 52g | Fiber: 4g | Sodium: 780mg