Stuffed Ziti Fritta

My favorite Olive Garden starter is the Stuffed Ziti Fritta! Breaded, fried, then dipped in marinara and alfredo, cheese-filled noodles are delicious! What else could you say but YUM?Stuffed Ziti Fritta

What You Will ❤️ About Stuffed Ziti Fritta

5 Cheeses!!! These tiny morsels are packed with five different kinds of cheese, making them resemble miniature manicotti!Stuffed Ziti Fritta

Fry Options –They can be prepared in your air fryer or on the stove.Stuffed Ziti Fritta

Copycat Favorite –My friends and family love this Olive Garden imitation, which makes a delicious appetizer! Additionally, it tastes just like the original! (However, you can earn a lot more money!)Stuffed Ziti Fritta

Ingredients in Olive Garden Cheesy Stuffed Ziti Fritta

I also like Olive Garden’s Stuffed Ziti Fritta, which includes five cheeses! I filled these spaghetti tubes with a delectable blend of Parmesan, Romano, cream, mozzarella, and ricotta cheeses. You’ll need the following ingredients to make these fried stuffed rigatoni:Stuffed Ziti Fritta

Filling

• My favorite cheese is ricotta; it’s incredibly creamy and absolutely essential! When people substitute cottage cheese for lasagna, I wince! NOOOOO!
• Mozzarella, Romano, and Parmesan If you’re unsure of the distinction, Romano cheese is created from sheep’s milk, whilst Parmesan is derived from cow’s milk. Despite this, they are rather similar. If you don’t have Romano, you can double up on Parm. The mozzarella is
• An excellent complement to any cheesy recipe is cream cheese!
• Buy some fresh basil, or like me, grow your own in an Aerogarden!Stuffed Ziti Fritta

Breading

• Eggs: coat the packed spaghetti with them.
• Use normal or Panko breadcrumbs and Italian seasoning.
• Extra Parmesan Cheese!

The Rest!

• Make sure to purchase Ziti Rigati Pasta, which is somewhat shorter and thicker than ordinary ziti. Rigatoni pasta is another option; it’s easy to get and essentially the same!
• Oil made from vegetables
• Alfredo sauce: Olive Garden’s Alfredo Sauce is really simple to create! Or you might purchase some
• Pizza sauce or marinara

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How to make Copycat Stuffed Ziti Fritta recipe?

1. The pasta comes first; you may use either rigatoni or ziti for this. The key is to pick a short pasta tube with a wide hole because macaroni cannot be filled. Next, cook the pasta in a big pot as directed on the package. To ensure they are al dente, remove them during the lower portion of the cooking process. To keep them from falling apart, you will be cooking them again for a few minutes.
2. While the noodles are cooking, combine the cheeses and a small amount of basil in a large bowl, whisk with a fork, and mash until smooth. Transfer the cheese mixture with a spoon into a ziplock bag or piping bag (cut off a little corner to make it a piping bag).
3. Rinse the cooked rigatoni with cold water to stop the cooking process and make it easier to handle. After that, pipe each noodle with the cheese mixture and place them on a cutting board.
4. After that, prepare your two breading trays: one with two beaten eggs and the other with Italian spice (or basil and oregano), bread crumbs, and Parmesan cheese. Next, roll and dip the spaghetti tubes in the egg, being sure to get the noodle sides as well! and then return to a rimmed baking sheet after covering with the breading mixture.
5. The breaded rigatoni must be “fried” in the last step; I tried this in both vegetable oil and my air fryer. They had a similar flavor. In addition to using half a cup of oil instead of just a spritz of olive oil, the hot oil version browned a little more. Therefore, I would utilize your air fryer if you have one! Before serving, drain the classic fried version on a paper towel to remove any remaining oil.
6. Next, serve your marinara and alfredo sauces beside your fried, cheesy, stuffed rigatoni pasta! Everyone will adore it!

Ingredients

Filling

1. 1 tbsp basil chopped
2. 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
3. 1/4 cup cream cheese softened
4. 1/4 cup ricotta
5. 1/4 cup Parmesan & Romano shredded
   
   

Breading

• 2 eggs beaten
• 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
• 1/4 cup Parmesan grated
• 2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
  
  
  
  

Other

• 1/4 cup marinara or pizza sauce
• 1/4 cup alfredo sauce
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 box Rigatoni or Ziti pasta
  
  
  
  

Instructions

Making the Pasta

1. Heat some salted water in a pot until it boils. After adding the noodles, cook for approximately 12 minutes, which is one to two minutes shorter than the box suggests.
   Half a box of ziti or rigatoni pasta
2. To cool the noodles and set them aside, drain and rinse them.

Make the cheese filling

1. While pasta is cooking, mix together ricotta cheese, parmesan, romano, cream cheese, shredded mozzarella and chopped basil until mixed together 1/4 cup ricotta,1/4 cup Parmesan & Romano,1/4 cup cream cheese,1/4 cup mozzarella cheese,1 tbsp basil
2. Put in a ziplock bag and keep it in the fridge.

Stuffing & Breading the Noodles

1. In one bowl, combine the beaten eggs with the Italian seasoning. In another bowl, combine the Italian breadcrumbs with parmesan cheese. 2 eggs,1 tbsp Italian seasoning,2 cups Italian breadcrumbs,1/4 cup Parmesan
2. Take the cheese mixture out of the fridge. Squeeze the cheese mixture into the noodles by snipping the very end of the ziploc bag or using a pipe tool. Place every filled noodle onto a chopping board.
3. Coat each packed noodle completely by rolling it in the egg wash before moving on to the breadcrumb mixture. Return the noodles to the cutting board.

Frying the Pasta in Oil

1. Heat the oil to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Bubbles will begin to form, and a drop of water will pop if you add 1/2 cup vegetable oil.
2. Breaded and stuffed noodles should be fried for approximately three minutes, or until they are dark golden brown, turning them halfway through. Don’t crowd them; instead, maintain them a few inches apart.

Frying the Pasta in the Air Fryer

1. In the air fryer, arrange the breaded spaghetti tubes so they are not in contact with one another.
2. Apply liberal amounts of olive oil spray.
3. For five minutes, air fried at 375 degrees, turning halfway through. When you flip, spritz with olive oil once more.

Serving the Ziti Fritta

1. Serve with marina and alfredo on the side for dipping.
2. 1/4 cup pizza sauce, marinara sauce, or alfredo sauce