Baked Ziti with Vodka Sauce

This baked ziti with vodka sauce is my favorite type of baked ziti to make. I tested this recipe out a bunch of times before I perfected it and everyone really seemed to love it, even children, which as you know can be the pickiest eaters! I combine my traditional baked ziti recipe with my homemade creamy vodka sauce and three types of cheese. It then gets baked in the oven for 30 minutes and topped with some fresh basil.

Best Vodka Sauce Recipe

I have a couple of vodka sauce recipes on this website: one for “vodka sauce without vodka” and one for “gnocchi with vodka sauce”. This recipe for Baked Ziti with Vodka Sauce is similar to the vodka sauce I make for my gnocchi with vodka sauce recipe. It has onion, garlic, tomato paste, vodka, crushed tomatoes, a lot of basil, parmesan, and heavy cream. I added a little more of some ingredients to make more sauce, as I like my baked ziti very saucy.

Baked Ziti with Ricotta and Vodka Sauce

Have you ever ordered penne alla vodka at a restaurant? It is incredible, sweet, creamy, and a little tangy. It has tomatoes (or tomato sauce), tomato paste, cream, onions, garlic (or shallot), basil, a little spice, parmesan cheese, and vodka!

Traditional vodka sauce is a little heavier than a traditional tomato sauce, but lighter than an alfredo sauce, it is similar to a Blush Sauce with a couple of differences. I remember my first time trying it and just falling in love. I was always into creamy sauces as a kid, so this one really felt like the best of both worlds, plus I loved that it was pink. Pink pasta sauce for the win!

In this recipe I use this delicious pink sauce as the base for my baked ziti. Traditional baked ziti is delicious, but when you swap out the tomato sauce and use vodka sauce instead you bring your baked ziti to a whole other level. In addition to the vodka sauce, I added ricotta, mozzarella, and fontina cheese which creates an absolutely delicious flavor you will want to make again and again.

No Meat Baked Ziti Recipe

This baked ziti with vodka sauce recipe does not have any meat in it. When I make traditional baked ziti with red sauce, I normally add in ground sausage, however, this vodka sauce baked ziti is super filling on it’s own so I kept it vegetarian. Making this without meat makes it a great idea to bring to a pot luck as some people do not eat meat and this would be great for a large group of people.

I can see this vodka sauce baked ziti going really well with some grilled chicken so I think I would prefer to make some chicken separately and then serve this baked ziti on the side. Cooking the chicken into the baked ziti could be tricky because it would be hard to not over cook the chicken. If you wanted to use a protein that you can add to the baked ziti while it cooks, opt for a ground meat with a good amount of fat in it so that it does not get dry.

How to make Baked Ziti with Vodka Sauce

Ingredients  

• 16 oz ziti
• 3 tbsp salted butter
• 1/2 yellow onion diced
• 4 cloves garlic diced
• 3 tbsp tomato paste
• 4-5 tbsp vodka
• 10 basil leaves
• 42 ounces crushed tomatoes canned
• 12 oz heavy cream
• 16 oz mozzarella part skim
• 12 oz fontina cheese
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 cup parmesan cheese shredded
• 15 oz part skim ricotta
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions 

Vodka Sauce

• Start making your vodka sauce by adding butter to a large pot on medium heat
• Once the butter is melted, add in your onions and garlic and cook for 7 minutes or until soft
• Add in your tomato paste and mix well. Then, add in your vodka, mix well, and let it simmer for 3 minutes
• Add in your crushed tomatoes and sea salt and then cook it for 20 minutes on low heat. Once your sauce is ready, add it a high speed blender with your fresh basil. Blend it until super creamy
• Add the sauce back to your pot and cook it for an additional 5 minutes. Then, turn off your heat and add in your heavy cream and only a 1/2 cup of parmesan.

Baked Ziti

• Boil your pasta until al dente(about 8 minutes). It will continue to cook while it is baking. Once it is done boiling, add it to a bowl with 1 cup of the vodka sauce.
• Preheat your oven to 350F
• Make the ricotta cheese mixture by combining the ricotta cheese, egg, 6 ounces of fontina cheese, remaining parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and oregano.
• Assemble the baked ziti in a 9×13 baking dish. Add 1.5 cups of vodka sauce to the bottom of the dish, followed by half of your ricotta mixture. Then, add the ziti, another 1.5-2 cups of sauce, remaining ricotta cheese, and then top it with the rest of the fontina cheese and mozzarella cheese.
• Place the baked ziti in the oven for 30-35 minutes uncovered. Once the top layer of cheese is bubbling and lightly brown it is ready. Let the dish cool for 10 minutes before serving.