Easy Meatless Baked Ziti Recipe

This delicious cheesy ricotta-filled baked ziti is the perfect cozy family recipe to make again and again. Packed full of Italian flavors, melted mozzarella, and creamy ricotta, this vegetarian recipe makes the best quick and tasty family dinner.

 

This easy pasta recipe is also the perfect casserole to share. It is one of my favorite ways to make baked pasta and the taste is a lot like lasagna! Make this recipe for a holiday, a sick family member, as a side dish for a potluck or just to meal prep an easy dinner.

Why We Love Baked Ziti

• Cozy meal – This is the best baked ziti recipe, and a family favorite. Kids and adults both love this recipe.
• Easy recipe makes easy meal prep– Prep ahead in the fridge up to 24 hours in advance to bake the next day. Or you can freeze and bake when it’s convenient.
• Simple ingredients – Easy ingredients make this easy baked ziti recipe quick to prepare and baked to bubbly perfection.
• Great for a weeknight dinner
• Delicious for potlucks, parties, holidays or to bring a dish to a family member or friend who needs helps with meals. This dish is great comfort food for a group or for someone who is not feeling great. It’s also great for practicing Meatless Monday or for lent.
• Vegetarian– No meat in this dish meatless baked ziti recipe, but a protein can easily be added such as browned ground beef, turkey, cooked Italian sausage or cooked chicken. More vegetables like mushrooms, or bell peppers can also be added to this vegetarian baked ziti.

Ingredients For This Meatless Baked Ziti Recipe

• ziti noodles- Most short shaped pasta can be swaped into this recipe.
• eggs
• ricotta cheese– I like 2% milk ricotta but I also use whole milk ricotta for a creamier dish.
• mozzarella cheese- diced or shredded, divided
• parmesan cheese – shredded and divided
• Italian seasoning
• parsley
• salt
• pepper
• garlic – minced, could also use garlic powder.
• marinara sauce – You can also use your favorite jarred tomato sauce.

This version of this recipe does omit the egg from the recipe which is common in a layered pasta dish like this. I sometimes will add a single egg to the ricotta mixture if I am using a lower fat ricotta cheese instead of while milk ricotta cheese.

How To Make Easy Baked Ziti

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Start a large pot of salted water to boil.
2. Cook pasta in salted water according to package directions until al dente, usually 9-11 minutes. Drain the cooked pasta and set aside. The pasta cooks a little more in the pasta bake, so we don’t want to cook it real long in the salted wate.
3. Crack eggs into a large bowl then break yolks with a fork. Add ricotta cheese and mix well.
4. To the ricotta cheese add 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, parsley, salt, pepper and garlic. Mix the cheese mixture until combined.

5. Mix and toss the pasta in the mozzarella and ricotta mixture.

6. Spray a 9×13 large baking dish lightly with oil, then add half of the sauce (about 2 cups) to the bottom of the dish.
7. Add the pasta mixture to the baking dish spreading it evenly in the dish.
8. Top the pasta with the remaining marinara sauce (2 cups), mozzarella (1 cup) and parmesan cheese (1/2 cup). This cheese mixture on top of the pasta will get extra gooey.

9. Cover with aluminum foil and place in the oven for 20-25 minutes. The sauce will be bubbling and the cheese on top will be melted and lightly browned. If the cheese is not quite melted and brown enough remove the foil and cook for an additional 3-5 minutes in the oven uncovered. Let stand for five minutes, then serve. Sprinkle with fresh parsley, fresh basil or red pepper flakes if desired.

How To Meal Prep And Freeze Baked Ziti

Meal prep this recipe up to 24 hours in advance before cooking.

This pasta recipe can be frozen. I recommend layering the pasta, cheese and sauce and freezing before you bake. Expect the recipe to take an extra 10-15 minutes to this ziti from frozen. If you prebake the recipe and then freeze the dish, the pasta is more likely to dry out as it reheats.

You can thaw in the refrigerator before baking once frozen, or you can bake from frozen. Expect if you are baking from frozen it will take 35-50 minutes to make this easy comfort food warm and bubbly.

How Long Does This Leftover Baked Pasta Last?

Store this recipe once cooked for about 3 days in the refrigerator tightly covered in an airtight container.

A frozen ziti dish can easily last 5 months in the freezer if covered tightly.

Variation Ideas To Make Baked Ziti

These variations will give you an added boost of protein, vegetables or both! When you add extras ingredients the entire dish may need to cook for some additional time. Usually, ten to fifteen minutes extra does the trick to make the entire dish hot and bubbly.

Change The Pasta Shape– Other short pasta shapes can easily be substituted into this recipe. Examples of pasta shapes that would work well include including rigatoni, fusilli, bowties, or penne.

Change the Pasta Sauce– You can easily use your favorite tomato based spaghetti sauce or homemade marinara sauce (double the recipe) cup for cup.

Add Other Veggies– Diced bell peppers, onions, shredded zucchini (pat dry with paper towel), shredded carrots, sliced mushrooms or even broccoli cut into bite size pieces is an easy way to add a little extra color to your dish. Layer diced vegetables under layers of sauce or mozzarella cheese. You can also mix chopped vegetables into the cheese before mixing it with the pasta. Usually a cup of extra vegetables is a great place to start if adding to this dish.

Add Chopped Spinach– Spinach can be mixed into this dish but does need to be cooked to remove the water, especially if it’s frozen. A few handfuls of fresh spinach are ok but more than that it’s better to cook the water out of it first. Add spinach to the ricotta cheese mixture before adding it to the dish.

Add Ground Meat– A pound of ground beef, turkey or even sausage can easily be added to this dish to make a delicious meat sauce. Brown the meat first in a pan with a little salt and pepper. Drain off any excess liquid then add about half of the tomato sauce to the meat. I like to layer this meaty layer on top of the pasta before I add the cheese and add extra sauce with ground meat.

Add Cooked Chicken– Cooked chicken is another delicious addition that adds a little extra protein to this dish. I typically add between half and a full pound of cooked chicken when I add it to this dish. Rotisserie chicken can be used, or simply leftover diced or shredded chicken. Or try the baked rigatoni with chicken recipe, which is also tasty!

Swap the Cheese– Many people prefer to use cottage cheese in place of ricotta in baked Italian dishes. Cottage cheese can easily be substituted for ricotta in this recipe.