Holiday Baked Ziti + 3 Holiday Kitchen Hacks You NEED This Season
If there’s one dish I make every single Christmas season — it’s this baked ziti. It’s cozy, cheesy, make-ahead friendly, and tastes like it came straight off an Italian holiday table. But what truly makes this recipe a holiday lifesaver are the three kitchen hacks that keep me sane while feeding a crowd.
These aren’t complicated hacks — they’re simple little things that make Christmas Eve and Christmas Day cooking actually manageable. Combine them with this ridiculously delicious baked ziti, and your holiday menu basically runs itself.
Let’s get into the hacks first, then into the recipe that I’m absolutely obsessed with. More holiday dishes!
🗒 More Delicious Recipes
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Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bar Poke Cake
If you grew up bare foot chasing the Good Humor ice cream truck for those strawberry shortcake ice cream bars, this cake is about to become your new obsession. I named her, Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bar Poke Cake. Every bite has that nostalgic strawberry crunch flavor we all remember, but somehow it’s even better….
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Summer Spaghetti Bolognese
This Summer Spaghetti Bolognese is lighter, fresher, and packed with slow-cooked Italian flavor. The #1 Fan Favorite most viral recipe on my website is my Creamy Bolognese, Creamy Bolognese is incredibly delicious all year long, however, My Summer Spaghetti Bolognese is her lighter, sassier, fresher cousin. Not only is she super fun to have around…
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The BEST Sausage and Peppers
If there’s one thing my mom knows how to do, it’s cook. After over 40 years working in restaurants alongside her boyfriend Chef Avery, she still gets excited when a recipe turns out really good. And when it does? She calls me immediately to tell me every single detail. This sausage and peppers recipe was one of…
Holiday Hack #1: My Ingredient Prep Containers (Game-Changer)
The best holiday cooking hack? Prep the ingredients you use constantly.
I keep little containers in my fridge filled with:
- finely diced onions
- finely diced carrots
- finely diced celery
- minced garlic
- chopped parsley
- freshly shredded mozzarella
Instead of dicing onions and garlic 15 times for 15 different dishes, you just scoop out whatever you need. No chaos, no tears, no knives flying on Christmas morning.
I’ll link my favorite containers in the recipe card because they save my brain every year.
Holiday Hack #2: The “Slow-Simmered” Sauce… That You Didn’t Slow Simmer
This baked ziti tastes like you spent eight hours simmering sauce on the stovetop — but you didn’t.
Antonio Carlo did.
His sauces are legitimately the best jarred sauces I have ever used. They’re rich, perfectly seasoned, deeply flavorful, and taste like homemade marinara that’s been bubbling all day.
For this recipe I use:
But his Tomato Basil and Roasted Garlic are also incredible.
And because the sauce is already slow-simmered and perfectly seasoned, you don’t need to add any extra spices anywhere — not even in the ricotta mixture.
Holiday Hack #3: Save That Last Cup of Sauce — It Becomes an Appetizer
After assembling your baked ziti, you’ll have about 1 cup of sauce leftover.
Do not toss this.
This is your bonus appetizer.
Use it to:
- simmer shrimp
- simmer frozen meatballs
- warm it and use as a dipping sauce with crusty bread
- toss it with gnocchi
- spoon it over burrata
A tiny bit of leftover sauce = instant holiday appetizer.
If you’re looking for the easiest and best containers to prep your ingredients with look no further than here!
It’s not a debate anymore Antonio Carlo’s Arrabbiata and Original sauces are absolutely ethereal.
Again, If you’re looking for the easiest and best containers to prep your ingredients with look no further than here!
👝 How to Store Leftovers
- Make Ahead: Assemble completely, cover, and refrigerate up to 3 days.
- Freeze: Wrap tightly and freeze up to 3 months.
- Bake from frozen: Add 10–15 extra minutes.
- Leftovers: Reheat at 325°F covered with foil.
🤔 Common Questions
This ziti is super flexible! Use ground beef for a classic flavor, Italian sausage for a richer, spicier taste, or ground turkey for a lighter option. You can even mix sausage + beef for an extra flavorful sauce.
Absolutely. Assemble the casserole (but don’t bake it), wrap tightly in plastic wrap + foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to cook, thaw overnight in the fridge or bake straight from frozen—just add 30–40 extra minutes covered so it heats through.
Holiday Baked Ziti
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Sauce
- 3 tbsp finely diced carrots
- 3 tbsp finely diced celery
- 3 tbsp finely diced onion
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 3 tbsp good extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 lb ground meat beef, turkey, or sausage — your choice
- 1 24 oz jar Antonio Carlo Original Recipe Marinara
- 1 24 oz jar Antonio Carlo Arrabbiata Sauce
For the Ricotta Mixture
- 30 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 cup freshly shredded mozzarella
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
- 1 egg beaten
- ½ cup sauce a ladleful from the pot
- ¼ cup freshly chopped parsley
For Assembling
- 1 lb ziti cooked al dente
- Additional shredded mozzarella about 1½ cups total for layering
- Additional grated Parmesan about ½ cup total for layering
Fresh chopped parsley
- Olive oil or nonstick spray for the baking dish
Instructions
Sauté the aromatics
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
Add the carrots, celery, and onion.
- Sauté for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened.
- Add the garlic and cook 1–2 minutes more.
Brown the meat
- Add the ground meat to the pot.
- Sauté until fully cooked, about 10 minutes.
- Add the sauces
Pour in:
- 24 oz Antonio Carlo Original Recipe Marinara
- 24 oz Antonio Carlo Arrabbiata
- Bring to a gentle boil, then lower the heat and simmer 5 minutes so the flavors meld.
- Make the ricotta mixture
In a large bowl, combine:
- ricotta
- 1 cup mozzarella
- ½ cup Parmesan
- beaten egg
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- Add 1 ladleful (about ½ cup) of the hot sauce and mix until creamy and slightly pink.
Toss the pasta
- Add the cooked ziti directly into the ricotta mixture.
- Stir until every noodle is coated in that creamy, pink, cheesy goodness.
Assemble
- Grease a 9×13 baking dish.
- Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom.
- Add half the creamy ziti mixture.
- Spoon a layer of sauce over it.
- Sprinkle with mozzarella, Parmesan, and fresh parsley.
- Add the remaining ziti mixture.
- Add a generous layer of sauce on top (you will have about 1 cup of sauce left over — save it for your appetizer hack!).
- Finish with mozzarella, Parmesan, and parsley.
Bake
- Cover with foil and bake at 350°F for 20–25 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake another 10–15 minutes, or until hot, bubbly, and lightly golden on top.
- Total cook time: about 40 minutes.
- Let it rest 10 minutes before serving.
