Stuffed Ziti Fritta
Olive Garden Stuffed Ziti Fritta, a great copycat recipe of one of your favorite dishes. Make this tasty appetizer or side dish and dip it in marinara sauce or Alfredo sauce!
Equipment
- Slotted Spoon
Ingredients
For the ziti:
- 8 ounce ziti or rigatoni (see note)
- ¼ cup ricotta cheese
- 2 ounce cream cheese
- ¼ cup mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese (or parmesan romano blend)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon basil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
For frying:
- 2 eggs whisked
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup Italian bread crumbs or plain bread crumbs plus 2 Tablespoons Italian Seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup parmesan optional
- oil for frying
Instructions
- Cook ziti according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cool water to prevent them from sticking to each other.
- While ziti is cooking, combine ricotta cheese, cream cheese, mozzarella cheese, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, basil and salt together in a small bowl.
- Place cheese mixture in a ziploc bag and snip off a tiny corner if using ziti (if using rigatoni, snip off a little more for a bigger hole). Fill ziti noodles with the mixture. Squeeze into one side, flip the noodle around and fill the other side. See photos above for reference.
- Place eggs in a bowl and beat until smooth. Place flour in a bowl. Place Italian bread crumbs and garlic powder in another bowl and mix.
- Place ziti in the flour bowl, shake the flour off, then move to the egg bowl. Make sure the ziti is completely covered in egg then place in the bread crumb bowl and roll around until thoroughly covered. See pictures above for a great visual. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet with some space between each ziti. Freeze for 20 minutes (30 minutes for rigatoni).
- 15 minutes before removing from the freezer, heat oil in a small saucepan to 350- 375°. For best results, make sure the oil has 15 minutes to preheat and get to the right temperature. The oil will have a few small bubbles coming up and when you sprinkle a few drops of water in, it will pop and sizzle. If the oil is smoking, it is too hot.
- Place the ziti in the oil and cook for about 1 minute, turning it over and keeping the ziti from touching each other. If your oil cools off, they may need to cook a little longer. Allow the oil to reheat if this happens.
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the ziti and place on a plate with a few layers of paper towels. Serve warm with marinara.
Video
Notes
- I highly recommend making these with rigatoni instead of ziti. The ziti takes a very long time to fill, as you have to use a tiny hole and it can be difficult. During taste testing we also decided the rigatoni tasted better. It was cheesier and more flavorful and had a better noodle to cheese ratio.
- Make sure to tap off the excess flour from the ziti before moving the noodles into the egg, otherwise little flour bubbles will form and parts of the noodle won't be covered in egg when rolled in the bread crumbs.
- I found it easiest to fill my slotted spoon with a pile of noodles, then lower them into the oil. This made it so the oil didn't splash and I didn't have to drop them in.
- While the noodles are frying, make sure you turn them over and keep them from attaching to each other.
- These are best enjoyed fresh and hot. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat in the air fryer for 2 minutes or bake at 375° F for 5 minutes.
Nutrition
Serving: 1scoopCalories: 314kcalCarbohydrates: 45gProtein: 12gFat: 9gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 3gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 458mgPotassium: 158mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 143IUVitamin C: 0.4mgCalcium: 159mgIron: 2mg
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