Baked Ziti Freezer Meal
This Baked Ziti Freezer Meal is a great dish that you can make ahead of time and freeze. When you are ready to eat it all you have to do is pull out of the freezer and right into the stove it goes. So I don’t bake it before freezing. I prepare, cover and then freeze it! Then I bake when ready to eat. So for those busy nights your dinner will be a breeze. A great money saving tip is that you can freeze cottage cheese and use it in this recipe too! I like to serve this with a garden salad and Homemade Garlic Bread.
Tip for best success – do not cook your Pasta until al dente. It is best to leave under cooked so that it doesn’t get mushy from freezing and to be sure to cover with mix and sauce for best results. If you leave any of the pasta uncovered it will dry out and won’t taste as good. You can also prep this as a dinner and cook without freezing if you desire. This is a great recipe when preparing for a new mother or when someone has passed. It is also nice to prep this and freeze for someone who is having surgery or is expecting a baby.
To learn more about Freezer Cooking check out our How to freezer cook series – Part 1 – Sample Menu and Getting Started. This is a great recipe to use in the winter when you are not concerned about heating up your house. We love to use this one in the fall and winter. It is simple to prepare and is a true family favorite at our house! This is perfect on game night or when my son is wanting some carbs. I have prepared it with gluten free pasta HOWEVER I baked it immediately versus freezing. I hope you enjoy this one as much as my family does.s You can also add other meats like sausage, ground beef and bacon!
Weight Watchers Points Plus: 5 Points Per Serving (6 servings)
Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- 1 box Ziti pasta or any shape pasta (12 oz)
- 1 jar pasta sauce (24 oz)
- 2 cups mozzarella shredded cheese
- 1 16 oz container cottage cheese
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Boil pasta as directed on box.
- Mix cheeses and eggs in a bowl.
- Combine pasta, cheese mix & sauce.
- Pour into 13X9 pan.
- Wrap with foil and freeze.
- To Reheat - Set oven to 400 degrees.
- Bake for 60 minutes with foil on.
- Remove foil and bake another 10 minutes to brown cheese.
Notes
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Shelley is a boy mom, marine wife, and is blessed with an amazing family. She loves sharing recipes, travel reviews and tips that focus on helping busy families make memories.
I make a non-freezer version pretty similar, just w/out the cottage cheese & eggs. As a shortcut, you can skip cooking pasta ahead and just add a jar full of water with the sauce and the pasta will cook up as it bakes. (Leave the cheese off at first, bake pasta w/sauce and water covered until the last ten minutes, pull it out and add cheese, then bake 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted) Also good with ground beef added in, or chopped veggies like zucchini, tomatoes, and onions.
Thanks for sharing!
How much mozzarella do you use? Do you mix it with the cottage cheese or just put it on top? If you were to just cook this without freeezing, how long do you think it would take? Thanks so much–I’m thinking of bringing this to a holiday potluck!
2 cups mozzarella. Yes and the egg.
I would say still the same amount of time. I would check it at 30, 45 and then 60.
Hi,I was just wondering if you would split this in two 8×8 pans would the amount of ingredients be the same?
Yes! That would be fine.
Would you cook the same amount of time? Thanks!
If you thaw it you cook the same if you cook frozen reduce the temperature but add more time. I preferred thawed and baked.
Have you ever tried this with gluten free pasta?
No, but I bet it would work! I am going to try it!
Let us know how it turns out. I had planned on asking the same question. 🙂
How many people does this feed? I’m usually cooking for 5-6 people a night. 2 of which are high school boys.
I would double these recipes. They feed a family of 4/5 depending on the appetite. If you have enough sides you may be ok.
What size box of pasta?
Can you be specific on the size of the box of pasta and jar of pasta sauce? My 24 oz. jar of sauce was not enough for the 16 oz box of pasta. Guess I’ll try with a 12 oz box?
Updated for you! Yes, we used a 12 oz box of pasta and 24 oz jar of sauce. You can always use more sauce if you prefer.
We thought this was really good! I will definitely keep it in my rotation. The only problem is that it took a lot longer then 70 minutes. Maybe closer to 90. Maybe I should have thawed it first?
Yes for sure thaw it overnight in the fridge first.