Olive Garden Five Cheese Ziti al Forno is a copycat recipe made with five cheese marinara sauce, topped with a crispy panko mixture, and baked until golden brown and bubbly. It makes one of those easy dinner ideas that will bring comfort to your family table for a fraction of the price! You'll also love this Creamy Chicken Bacon Pasta Bake!
What’s Ziti al Forno?
The Italian term ‘Ziti al Forno’ means the same as ‘baked ziti’ or ‘oven-baked ziti’.
It is a popular dish in many Italian or Italian-American restaurants. Some are vegetarian while others include some sort of animal protein such as ground beef or ground sausage.
Olive Garden Five Cheese Ziti al Forno
The Olive Garden Five Cheese Ziti al Forno recipe describes the dish in their menu as “A pan of ziti pasta in a five cheese marinara sauce, baked with a layer of melted Italian cheeses..”
In our copycat version, we used common Italian cheeses such as mozzarella, Romano, Parmesan, ricotta, and fontina. In addition, we added Alfredo sauce mixed with the traditional marinara sauce.
This baked ziti is different than the traditional baked ziti recipe which is usually made with marinara sauce, mozzarella, and ricotta cheese.
There are no special cooking skills involved. Just cook the pasta one or two minutes short, drain and mix with the ingredients stated in the recipe for the pasta and topping, and bake until the cheeses are melted and the sauces are bubbly.
Easy peasy!
Moreover, it is a vegetarian recipe and more budget-friendly than the ziti al forno from Olive Garden itself.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Ziti: It is a tubular short pasta that you can easily replace with penne. You may use gluten-free, white, or whole wheat pasta.
- Five kinds of cheese: We used five different types of melting Italian cheeses: ricotta (replace with full-fat cottage or cream cheese), Fontina (or one of these Fontina subs), Parmesan, Romano, and mozzarella. If you don’t find Romano cheese, you may replace it with extra Parmesan cheese. Give preference to full-fat cheeses!
- Sauces: You may use only marinara or a mixture of marinara and Alfredo sauce, either store-bought or homemade. If you don’t want to make a homemade Alfredo sauce or are not a fan of bottled Alfredo sauces, just replace it with heavy whipping cream. It will balance the acidity of the marinara while giving this copycat Olive Garden ziti al forno recipe a creamy touch without hassle.
- Panko: If you don’t find it, use simple breadcrumbs that are gluten-free, whole wheat, or white.
- Garlic: Minced fresh garlic will boost the flavor of the panko topping, but if you don’t have any in your pantry, just use half or a third of that amount of garlic powder (about 1 tsp). Of course, you may add some freshly cracked black pepper to the panko topping too.
How to Make Five Cheese Ziti al Forno
- Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C). Grease a 9x13-inch (23 x 33 cm) baking dish or large oven-safe skillet and reserve.
- Cook the pasta 1-2 minutes less than the time stated on the package. Drain but do not rinse! SEE PIC. 1
- In a large bowl, stir together the cooked pasta with 1-2 tablespoon olive oil (if possible in order to avoid sticking), marinara sauce, Alfredo sauce or heavy cream, ricotta cheese, Fontina, and mozzarella until combined. SEE PIC. 2
- Pour into the greased baking dish.
- In another bowl, mix together the mozzarella, panko, Romano, Parmesan, and garlic. Then top the pasta with the mixture!
- Bake on the middle rack for 30-35 minutes, uncovered, until golden brown and bubbly. Serve sprinkled with parsley! SEE PIC. BELOW
Tips for Making Olive garden Ziti al Forno
- Undercook pasta if making ahead, about 1-2 minutes.
- Preferably, toss your pasta in olive oil to prevent it from sticking.
- Add cooled sauce(s) to the cool pasta to prevent the pasta from soaking up the sauce too much.
- Cover or toss the pasta with a generous amount of sauce(s) to avoid drying out when baking pasta recipes.
- Preferably freeze the pasta alone and add the sauce and cheese when baking the pasta.
Can I Use Different Pasta to Make Ziti al Forno?
Yes! Any tubular pasta such as penne, rigatoni, and cavatelli can easily replace ziti since they’re all similar in shape. However, avoid long noodles (angel hair, spaghetti, or fettuccine) because they will require more sauce and won’t hold the creamy sauce as well as tubular pasta.
Can you Freeze Olive Garden Baked Ziti?
Yes, you can! For best results, cook the pasta two minutes short, drain, rinse (yes, rinse it), toss with 2-3 tablespoon olive oil, and freeze the cool pasta alone in a single layer for up to one month.
Then follow the rest of the recipe when it is time to bake it! If you freeze the entire dish ready to bake, you’ll wind up with dry pasta because it will suck up all the sauce.
Storage
Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days.
Reheat, covered, in the microwave until hot (about 2 minutes per portion).
More Vegetarian Pasta Recipes
- Pasta Chips (TikTok Recipe)
- Gigi Hadid Pasta (Spicy Vodka Pasta)
- Mediterranean Pasta
- Kale Pesto Pasta
- Homemade Bow Tie Pasta
- Penne Pomodoro
- Fettuccini Aglio e Olio
PIN & ENJOY!
Olive Garden Five Cheese Ziti al Forno
Equipment
- 1 pot
- 1 Baking dish
- 1 Mixing bowl
- 1 Rubber Spatula
- oven
- 1 Colander
Ingredients
PASTA
- 16 oz ziti pasta raw (whole wheat, white, or gluten-free)
- 4 cups marinara sauce store-bought or homemade
- 2 cups Alfredo sauce store-bought or homemade (replace it with heavy cream or plain Greek yogurt)
- ½ cup ricotta cheese full-fat
- 1 ½ cups Fontina cheese shredded
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
TOPPING
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- ¼ cup panko breadcrumbs whole wheat, gluten-free, or white
- ¼ cup Romano cheese grated (you may use Parmesan instead)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated
- 2 cloves garlic minced or 1 teaspoon garlic powder although fresh garlic is better. You may add some freshly cracked black pepper to the topping mixture if you want.
GARNISH
- 3 tablespoon chopped parsley or another fresh herb of choice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375° F (190° C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish or large oven-safe skillet and reserve.
- Cook the pasta 1-2 minutes less than the time stated on the package. Drain but do not rinse!
- In a large bowl, stir together the cooked pasta with 1-2 tablespoon olive oil (if possible in order to avoid sticking), marinara sauce, Alfredo sauce, ricotta cheese, Fontina, and mozzarella until combined.
- Pour into to the greased baking dish.
- In another bowl, mix together the mozzarella, panko, Romano, Parmesan, and garlic. Then top the pasta with the mixture!
- Bake on the middle rack for 30-35 minutes, uncovered, until golden brown and bubbly. Serve sprinkled with parsley!
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
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Absolutely amazing! The perfect mix of cheeses and sauce.