This is a creamy, baked pasta dish with four cheeses - provolone, mozzarella, Swiss, and Parmesan. It is rich, and very filling. Serve with a green salad.
The recipe tasted very good, but it is also a very heavy meal. I suggest using regular, maybe even skim milk, and starch to lighten the fat content. You may also want to use light or fat free cheeses for this one. I used regular cheese and half and half milk and I think that's what made the meal so heavy. It tastes good though.
Read MoreMe and my husband didn't like this. It was missing something...It just tasted like plain old macaroni made with expensive cheeses. Didn't have much flavor...smelled GREAT in the oven though, LOL.
Read MoreThe recipe tasted very good, but it is also a very heavy meal. I suggest using regular, maybe even skim milk, and starch to lighten the fat content. You may also want to use light or fat free cheeses for this one. I used regular cheese and half and half milk and I think that's what made the meal so heavy. It tastes good though.
Very delicious....extremely easy to make if you buy the prepackaged shredded italian cheese mixture :) I used 2% milk instead, but even could go lighter next time...maybe even try a macaroni noodle instead too. Everyone loved it!!!
This ziti is not your typical ziti, but it is amazing. I too recommend getting the italian shredded cheese package, much easier. The crushed red pepper really makes this recipe pop. Love it! Took it to a family reunion and got many compliments.
Excellent!! I couldn't find shredded provolone, so I used a 4 cheese mixture that had provolone in it, but that was the only change. It was yummy the next day as well. A definate keeper!!!
I have made this twice now and it is WONDERFUL! The first time, the red pepper flakes gave me major indegestion for three days, so I left it out the second time. But I actually think I liked it better with the red pepper flakes, because it gives it a slight sweetness. I'll have to work out a compromise somewhere! Either way, it is delicious and so easy!!
Me and my husband didn't like this. It was missing something...It just tasted like plain old macaroni made with expensive cheeses. Didn't have much flavor...smelled GREAT in the oven though, LOL.
I've read through the reviews, and some people say it doesn't have much flavor, except for the quality of the cheeses you buy (and good cheese is expensive). Reading the recipe as it's written, I can see why people have said this - there is no "underscore" for the sauce. An easy way to fix this is to realize that you're basically making a white sauce, and adding cheese to it. Well, the recipe calls for 2 cups of half-and-half. That means, you can add 2 bouillon cubes of your choice to the sauce (look at step 2) while the sauce is simmering - make sure you crumble the bouillon cubes well, so that the spices are incorporated into the sauce. I would suggest a good chicken bouillon, like Maggi or Knorr - and for the vegetarians that DO eat cheese and eggs, you can add 2 vegetable bouillon stock cubes instead of the chicken. Hope this helps! P.S. I would also suggest adding whole milk only, instead of half-and-half. The sauce would be almost as creamy, but your guests wouldn't be bogged down with all those calories from the cheese!
This recipe was really flavorful! My husband ended up making this dish though and for some reason the cheese sauce seemed grainy to me( I am wondering if he had the heat too high). I will try this one on my own and then if it is still that way, I may change one of the cheeses.
Rich, but great taste! My little son loved it! I too, just used milk instead of cream. Thanks!
This has become a real family favorite. It freezes well, is great leftover and can be made for a crowd!
I've made this several times, usually as a side dish and it's always a hit (with me anyway). However, the sauce gets very difficult to clean off after it cools - beware for your whisk! http://single-girl-gourmet.blogspot.com
This recipe is alright, the cheese sauce tends towards the chunky side and is overall bland. To solve the chunkiness, I replaced the base of the cheese sauce with a white sauce recipe from my fav cookbook (basically flour, butter, and milk). I then stirred in a cup each of mozzarella and swiss and 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan, along with the red pepper flakes and basil. Pour over the ziti, and then I top it with about a cup of my fav spaghetti sauce to add more interest to the dish. With these tweaks the ziti is irresistibly creamy and flavorful.
I do not know why more people have not tried this...it's excellent. This is probably in my top 5 favorite recipes that I have made. I didn't have shredded swiss so I substitued shredded Monterry Jack and it was still great. I think I would add some Romano cheese next time. My daughter thought it was too spicy but I don't know why, it was just nice. Great served with garlic bread and a green salad.
Consistency was off. I made this exactly to recipe. It smelled great, tasted great but the cheese got gritty almost immediatly, and I didn't have the stove up too high, the recipe said medium high, and I had it on medium, whisking as I added the cheese. It had the consistency of ricotta cheese when done. I won't make this again, I will try another recipe.
We love pasta and cheese so this recipe really hit the spot! It was very rich and filling just like it says. My daughter is the one who made it actually and she thought it was very simple. We enjoyed it!
Just wanted to say this recipe was great. For having an italian in the house and being an irish meat and potatoes cook it was easy to follow. Thanks!
This was pretty good but it reminded me more of macaroni and cheese only blander. I did as other reviewers suggested and used milk not half and half. This was nice but the cheese was too expensive for the lack of flavor which is why I give it a 3.
I made this among many other dishes for my family at christmas they loved it!!!Defintly a great dish.
2 cups of cream, with all that cheese mixed in, is WAY too much sauce for only 8oz of ziti pasta, even after baking 10 min, as recipe suggests. Tasted great though!
I used mostaccioli because that's what I had, but otherwise made as is. Shredding cheese is a hassle (already had the Swiss and couldn't find shredded provolone), so I ended up cutting it into strips and it still melted OK. Also used low-fat where I could (2 cheeses & the half-and-half). Even so, on the fattening side, which is the one thing that would keep me from making it too often. It wasn't as fabulous as I had hopes for, cause all that cheese sounded SO good, but it was still good.
I made this for 25 people and it was absolutely delicious. I added some fresh garlic and used a little less mozzarella and I had tons of compliments. So easy and done within an hour. Thank you.
My husband and I did not like the texture (it was grainy) and I will not be making this again. I used Italian cheese and maybe that changed it? Maybe it was just me & something I did, but we did not care for this dish.
Perfect with a nice salad and crusty bread. I used the ingredients according to the recipe. I baked until bubbly, probably 20 minutes and let the ziti rest for ten minutes before serving. This takes care of the problems you might have with the sauce being too thin.
Great dish! I'm a down home southern boy and the cream was perfect no need to make it any lighter in my eyes!!
My kids love this recipe, they used to ask me to make this atleast once a week. When you make it you learn to tweak it how you would like it better, but even if you don't it's amazing
I would suggest adding some meatless sauce to the the pasta before baking it. Gives it a bit more of a taste and goes well with the cheeses
