For Delicious Baked Pasta, You Need 2 Sauces

From lasagna to American barbecue-style mac and cheese, nothing beats a hot, cheesy pan of casserole-style pasta fresh from the oven. But for a twist on classic baked pasta, we recommend combining sauces and techniques from two of the world's most influential culinary cultures. From Italy, we have the timeless marinara sauce, and from their European cousins to the west, we have béchamel — one of the five French mother sauces. 

While there are various methods for selecting the best pasta shape for your sauce, these two sauces pair well with any short, extruded pasta. For example, ziti — a traditional baked pasta dish — often uses ricotta cheese, which can sometimes become claggy or sticky, as ricotta tends to solidify rather than melt. Subbing in béchamel for ricotta provides a creamier, more consistent texture that holds up better in the oven without drying out. It's the perfect hot, creamy comfort food you'll want to try this winter — a blend of international techniques that's sure to become a regular favorite at home.

Let's start with the red sauce — this basic tomato sauce recipe is a quick way to make one from scratch. Alternatively, you can use your favorite jarred sauce, simmering it on the stovetop with your favorite Italian herbs, plus salt and pepper to taste, for added flavor.

Now, onto the béchamel. This simple French sauce requires just butter, flour, and milk (though you can add a pinch of nutmeg to taste). One challenge with béchamel is maintaining an even cooking heat without burning the ingredients, so for the best béchamel sauce, you may want to break out the griddle to heat your pan without a direct flame.

From here, you can follow an easy baked ziti with Italian sausage recipe — just substitute béchamel for the ricotta cheese. Adding a few tablespoons of shredded parmesan cheese into the sauce will make your baked ziti even more savory, smooth, and velvety (though this will technically transform your béchamel into a Mornay sauce). Simply whisk in a good-quality parmesan over low heat until thoroughly mixed. Top your baked ziti with freshly chopped basil, and you're good to go. Two famous sauces together at last.