Crock Pot Baked Ziti Recipe - Build Your Bite (2024)

FAQs

Should baked ziti be covered when baking? ›

Should I cover Baked Ziti while it's baking? Yes. Cover loosely with foil so it doesn't stick to the cheese, then bake for 20 minutes. Then remove the foil so the cheese can go bubbly and golden!

Layer half the mozzarella into the pasta and reserve half for the top. It bakes up golden-brown — the hallmark of a good pasta casserole. Make sure there is enough sauce to use as a layer at the top, under the mozzarella. This will insulate the pasta and keep it from drying out.

Cover and cook on low for 3 to 4 hours or on high for 1 to 2 hours. Check at the 3 (on low) or 1 (on high) hour mark to ensure the pasta does not over cook. To check for doneness, use a fork to pull a “test” noodle from the center of the slow cooker. Once it is tender, the pasta is done.

You can fit a 1-quart round baking dish with a lid, as well as a 2-quart round baking dish with a lid, into your 5- or 6-quart round slow cooker. You can also fit a 6½” or 7” springform pan into either of those round slow cookers. For individual desserts and breads, I'd recommend a 6-quart oval slow cooker.

Bake: Bake uncovered in the oven at 350°F until the top is lightly browned and the cheese melted, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

If you prefer a tender and moist result, covered baking will be the better option. If you're desiring a crispy exterior and bolder flavors, uncovered baking is best.

Place the hot pasta in the Crock-Pot and turn it on to the "warm" setting. Put the lid on until serving time.

Spread 1/2 of the ziti in the bottom of the prepared dish; top with Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 of the meat sauce, remaining ziti, mozzarella cheese, and remaining meat sauce. Top with grated Parmesan cheese. Bake in the preheated oven until heated through and cheeses have melted, about 30 minutes.

Broth-based slow cooker dinners need their dry pasta added at just the right moment — add the pasta too early and your noodles will be mushy before they get to the table. Adding dry pasta 30 to 4o minutes before serving means you'll have perfectly cooked pasta in your soup.

If you are using quick-cook pasta that takes just 7 minutes to boil, then I would add it in 18 to 20 minutes left in the cooking cycle. If you are using a heartier, whole grain pasta, than plan to add that 35 to 40 minutes before the cooking cycle is complete.

How do you keep pasta good in a Crock-Pot? ›

Simply cook the pasta to your taste (or undercook it slightly if you're planning on leaving it in the slow cooker for hours in sauce), drain it, grease the inside of your Crock-Pot with olive oil or cooking spray and dump the pasta in.

However, Crockpots generally have ceramic or porcelain pots, while most slow cookers have a metal pot. As with a lot of cooking appliances, the biggest difference comes from the distribution of heat.

But you can also use your slow cooker like an auxiliary oven and stick your baking dish, cake pan or pie plate into the standard insert that came with it. It helps to use a short wire rack to raise your pan off the bottom so the heat can circulate all around it as it does in a conventional oven.

I boil my pasta to just under a minute of “al dente” and then after my layering it typically bake it uncovered because I want the crusty cheese on top.

If uncovered, the prolonged exposure to heat will quickly dry out your lasagna, no matter how much sauce you've added. Make sure to always add a layer of tin foil over your baking dish, which will trap the moisture inside while still allowing the dish to cook properly.

Oftentimes, baked ziti can end up watery if the tomato sauce isn't thick enough.

When making a pasta bake I personally like to cover for the first part of the cooking and then uncovered for long enough to brown the cheese. I cover with a layer of baking paper and then foil as the baking paper prevents the cheese from sticking.