Stuffed Ziti Fritta Recipe
Cooked pasta stuffed with a cheesy mixture of 5 different kinds of cheese—that’s this utterly delicious Stuffed Ziti Fritta recipe. Super easy to make and super fast to finish. Check this recipe for useful tips for a restaurant-level Italian appetizer!
Prep Time 30 minutes mins
Cook Time 20 minutes mins
Total Time 50 minutes mins
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Italian
Servings 6
Calories 428 kcal
bowl
zip lock bag
Breading tray
For pasta:- ½ lb rigatoni (or ziti)
- water
- salt
- 1 tbsp oil
For the filling:- ¼ cup ricotta
- ¼ cup softened cream cheese
- ¼ cup shredded Romano cheese
- ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese
For frying:- 2 large eggs beaten
- oil for frying
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup Italian breadcrumbs
Cook your pasta al dente, which is usually just 2 minutes less than the recommended time. Drain, add olive oil, and stir to coat. Note: it’s also important to rinse the pasta with cold water to stop the cooking. Pro tip: rigatoni will be much easier to stuff than ziti.
Make the cheesy filling for the pasta tubes. Add mozzarella, ricotta cheese, cream cheese, Parmesan, and Romano cheese into a large bowl and stir to combine. You might need to use a fork to break up the large chunks. Spoon the mixture into a zip-lock bag, seal it, and make a small cut in a corner.
Pipe the cheese mixture into one size of each pasta tube. Then flip and pipe the other side. Place the filled rigatoni pasta on a baking sheet and freeze for about 30 minutes. Pro tip: if you can, prepare the cheese mixture ahead of time. It will make it softer and easier to pipe.
Prepare 2 breading trays—one with two beaten eggs and the other with the breadcrumbs plus some parmesan cheese and optional Italian seasoning. Coat the stuffed pasta with flour and dip in the eggs. Then roll the rigatoni in the breadcrumbs.
Preheat the oil to 350 °F and fry 5-6 pieces of breaded rigatoni using the slotted spoon. Fry for about 3 minutes until the cheese starts to ooze out slowly. Line a plate with paper towels and place the cooked rigatoni there for soaking the oil. Sprinkle the Stuffed Ziti Fritta with some parmesan or chopped parsley, and serve with Alfredo sauce or homemade marinara sauce.
Calories: 428kcalCarbohydrates: 58gProtein: 17gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 88mgSodium: 369mgPotassium: 200mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 344IUCalcium: 201mgIron: 2mg