Olive Garden Five Cheese Ziti Al Forno (Copycat)

 This is probably the CLOSEST Copycat to Olive Garden’s Five Cheese Ziti Al Forno! And NO canned alfredo sauce here! It’s one of the easiest dinners to throw together since all you’re really doing is making a quick 5 cheese marinara sauce, and tossing it with cooked ziti before it goes under the broiler to bake up the bread crumbs! The marinara sauce tastes so good you can eat it from the spoon or dip breadsticks into it! No long list of different cheeses when you can buy cheese blends right at the grocery store! It’s a super-quick dinner that is like dining at the Olive Garden Restaurant but much cheaper!

Now, just because Olive Garden’s ziti is baked doesn’t mean you have to bake the pasta until it dries out. Olive Garden Restaurants have commercial ovens that are much more powerful, hence the quicker baking times. The concept is the same here, you’re only broiling or baking the crust, which leaves your pasta richly coated in marinara creating a brown crust only for the top layer. If you’re making it ahead of time then it’ll need to bake longer.

Ingredients

Ziti Al Forno Olive Garden Copycat:

1 lb Ziti

2 cups marinara sauce

1 cup heavy cream

15 oz diced tomatoes (drained or 2 diced tomatoes)

1 tsp sugar

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese blend (grated parmesan, Romano, Asiago)

1/2 cup fontina cheese (can use grated Monterey Jack)

1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese (grated )

1/2 cup bread crumbs

Instructions

How to make Ziti Al Forno Olive Garden Copycat:

cooked ziti pasta in a colander strained from water

Cook pasta according to box instructions; drain, rinse with cold water and coat with 2 tbsp of olive oil. Set aside.

Olive Gardens ziti al Forno sauce cooked in a saucepan

In a medium saucepan combine the marinara sauce, heavy cream, tomatoes, and sugar. Bring to a simmer and add 1/2 cup of the parmesan cheese blend, 1/2 cup of fontina cheese, and 1/2 cup of mozzarella cheese. Stir until bubbly and remove from heat.

Place pasta into an oven-safe serving dish and ladle sauce over the top. Sprinkle with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese blend. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top and broil just until the cheese browns. Garnish with freshly grated parmesan cheese before serving.

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