Meatless Baked Ziti
An easy weeknight pasta dinner for your family to enjoy. A delicious creamy and cheesy pasta bake.
Servings: 12 Servings
Calories: 310kcal
Ingredients
- 1 pound uncooked ziti pasta
- 2 ½ cups mozzarella cheese shredded and divided
- 1 pound ricotta cheese full fat
- ½ cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
For the tomato sauce:
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 2 cans 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 2 teaspoon dry oregano
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoons salt or to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Cook pasta in a pot of boiling salty water one minute less than package direction. Drain and reserve one cup of pasta water.
- Meanwhile make the sauce:
- In a sauce pan over medium heat, add oil and saute garlic for 30 seconds.
- Pour tomato sauce over with the rest of the spices. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes. Turn heat off
- When pasta finishes make the ricotta mixture:
- In a large bowl add ricotta, parmesan cheese, one cup of mozzarella cheese, garlic, salt and pepper. Pour in two tablespoons of the pasta water and mix until creamy.
- Mix cooked pasta with tomato sauce.
- Spread the mixture in a 13x9 baking dish then top with tomatoes sauce.
- Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese over, cover with parchment paper then foil and bake for 20 minutes.
- Uncover and bake for additional 10 minutes until cheese melts and gets bubbly.
Nutrition
Calories: 310kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 396mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 368IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 264mg | Iron: 1mg