If you’re a lover of lasagna, then you will probably like baked ziti as well. A ziti is a form of pasta, it is used to make different dishes. Baked ziti on the other hand is very much like lasagna, it is a very delicious meal with different types of ingredients depending on the choice of the chef.
Baked ziti is made from the masterful combination of different ingredients like ziti pasta, beef or pork, chopped garlic and onions, seasonings, marinara sauce, salt, pepper, cheese, and other seasonings of the chef’s choice.
If you make more baked ziti can you eat, there are ways you can preserve it and still eat it later without any difference from when you first cooked it. One great way of preserving your baked ziti is freezing.
Can you freeze baked ziti? Yes, you can freeze baked ziti. Baked ziti will last in the freezer for up to 2 months. We recommend wrapping up smaller portions of baked ziti when storing in the freezer.
Now you no longer have to overstuff yourself in an attempt to finish the leftover baked ziti and you don’t have to throw it out. You can store your baked ziti in the freezer for a long time.
Freezing Baked Ziti
Freezing baked ziti now makes it possible and convenient for you to make a large amount that you can enjoy over time. Freezing baked ziti preserves it for up to two months. There are steps you need to take before you can successfully freeze baked ziti without running the risk of contamination.
How to Freeze Baked Ziti
Here, I’m going to show you the guides to follow to successfully freeze your baked ziti. Freezing baked ziti is not much of a big deal, you just have to be very careful.
Before you even start thinking about putting your baked ziti in the freezer, first ensure that it has cooled down completely. If you put baked ziti in the freezer while it is still warm it will later condense and your baked ziti will become soggy.
The next thing to do is, cut the baked ziti into convenient sizes. This step helps you save space in your freezer, and it also makes it easier for you to get access the portion of the baked ziti without defrosting the entire dish.
After cutting up your baked ziti into smaller portions, you will now need to wrap them in foil paper. This step is very important because if your baked ziti is in direct contact with the freezer it can cause burns and damage your ziti. So ensure you wrap all the portions of the ziti completely with the foil.
When you’re done wrapping, get a big plastic freezer bag that can be sealed and arrange the wrapped ziti’s inside it, then seal the bag as tightly as possible with little or no air. This process prevents moisture and air from getting in your baked ziti. After this go ahead and place it inside your freezer.
The steps listed above are suitable if you have a large amount of baked ziti to store. On the other hand, if what you want to freeze is not too big, you may not need to cut it up. You can go ahead and wrap it in foil paper and then seal it in a plastic bag and freeze.
Defrosting and Reheating Ziti
After successfully freezing your baked ziti, it will be a shame if you end up running it when you want to reheat it. Let’s take you through the steps to follow when you’re trying to defrost and warm your baked ziti so that it will be fresh and delicious like when you first made it.
Defrosting Baked Ziti
Defrosting your baked ziti doesn’t require any special skill, but you have to be careful when doing it. The first way you can defrost it is by leaving it in your fridge, this could take a long time.
However, if you’re trying to defrost in time, there is another method you can employ but you need to ensure the bag holding the ziti is well sealed and has zero chances of leaking. You can submerge the bag of baked ziti under the water for some time and run water over the frozen bag of ziti. Additionally, you can submerge it in a bowl of water for some time. Either methods work.
Reheating Baked Ziti
After you’ve defrosted your baked ziti, it is better to warm it before you finally eat it. There are different ways you can warm your baked ziti including:
- With the Microwave: You can easily warm up your baked ziti in microwave, it is easy to do and it doesn’t take a lot of time. First, warm up the microwave for a few minutes, then take the portion of baked ziti you want to warm and put it on the microwave dish, set the timer to intervals of 5 to 10 minutes. Keeping checking and add time to your microwave until you’re satisfied with the result.
- With the Oven: This is a common method that is used when reheating baked ziti. The process is not very different when using a microwave. First, you need to warm up your oven till it gets to 350° Fahrenheit. Then line the oven pan with parchment paper and place your baked ziti on it. Allow the oven to heat the baked ziti for about 15 minutes. By this time, the ziti should be as fresh and hot as when you first baked it and any moisture should be gone.
Conclusion
Freezing is an amazing way to preserve your food, it allows you to store a wide range of dishes for future use and one of those dishes is your Baked ziti. Baked ziti can be a little stressful to make, so if you want to make it you should do it in a large amount since you can easily store it in your freezer.
Storing ziti in your freezer preserves it for up to 2 months, and the taste and quality don’t reduce at all. We have shown you the way to freeze your baked ziti and also how you can defrost and heat it up.