Easy Baked Ziti

Make comfort food baked ziti better with nutritious veggies, creamy sauce, and plenty of cheese. Hearty and satisfying, baked ziti is easy to make ahead of time and freezes well, too!

Traditionally, baked ziti is not considered a “healthy” dish. White pasta + loads of sauce + lots of cheese = a nutrition nightmare!

But ever since I started preparing real food meals for my family, I’ve made healthier versions of traditional and classic recipes like:

• Classic Slow Cooker Pot Roast Recipe
• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Tomato Basil Soup
• Homemade Pizza Dough
• Sweet Potato Casserole
• And even Homemade Chicken Nuggets!

So, it made perfect sense to turn a traditional baked ziti into a better-for-you, easy baked ziti recipe! It’s chock full of veggies, yet still a soul-satisfying recipe that the whole family will love!

EASY BAKED ZITI RECIPE

Not only is this easy baked ziti recipe healthier than a classic baked ziti recipe, but it’s also:

• Packed with veggies! This baked veggie ziti is made with zucchini, kale, and seven other vegetables that no one will notice. Since this recipe is meatless, it is the perfect baked vegetarian ziti recipe!
• Delicious! Not only does baked ziti look amazing, but it also tastes delicious. It’s a big pan of warm comfort food on a cold day, when there’s nothing else to do but spend all afternoon in the kitchen…
• Except that you won’t spend hours in the kitchen, and this is the perfect dish for a busy weeknight.
• Like lasagna, but less work. Yes, there’s cooked pasta and layering ingredients, but baked ziti is much more forgiving.
• Make it ahead for your monthly meal plan. Make the components or assemble the whole baked ziti. Just freeze, thaw, warm, and serve!

ZITI BAKE INGREDIENTS

Not only is this recipe healthier than a classic baked ziti recipe, but it’s also:

• Pasta. Ziti pasta, penne pasta, or rigatoni noodles all work for ziti bake. Look for a small noodle with crevices to hold onto some of the yummy sauces!
• Creamy Cauliflower Sauce. This simple pureed cauliflower sauce adds creaminess to the baked ziti (and all you need is cauliflower and water!)
• Zucchini. Or use yellow summer squash. Cut into thin slices or strips, it blends right into the dish.
• Greens. Baby kale or spinach are my usual choices.
• Cheese. Monterey Jack cheese and Parmesan cheese add the perfect salty, cheesy goodness to the recipe of baked pasta.
• Salt and Pepper. To taste. Since we’re using spaghetti sauce, we don’t need many extra seasonings. You can also add Italian Seasoning if you’d like.
• Spaghetti Sauce. Use 1 cup of your favorite jarred spaghetti sauce. A basic Marinara Sauce includes onions, garlic, and tomatoes. My Hearty Spaghetti Sauce also has black beans, bell peppers, carrots, and celery to round out your veggies list. Tomato sauce with fresh basil and oregano work in a pinch too!

To add a spicy kick to this pasta recipe, go ahead and throw in some red pepper flakes! Yum!

BAKED ZITI BEEF RECIPE

You can also add meat to the sauce in the baked ziti recipe.

Add beef or turkey. If you’d like to add meat to this recipe, you can always make the spaghetti pasta sauce as a meat sauce by using ground beef or ground turkey.

Baked ziti and sausage. You can even make a baked ziti with sausage by using my Homemade Italian Sausage!

Whatever ground meat you choose, just follow the baked ziti directions as listed, and use my Meaty Spaghetti Sauce Recipe or stir the cooked ground meat into the red sauce.

I get my ground beef from Butcher Box, which has grass-fed and pasture-raised meats. Read here for more on my personal experiences with Butcher Box and how to make it worth the cost here!

Butcher Box often has promotions where you can get free meat in each box – click here to see their current deals!

INSTRUCTIONS HOW TO MAKE BAKED ZITI

Step 1. Preheat the oven to 400F. Boil pasta in a large pot of salted until al dente. Drain and set aside.

Step 2. In an 8×8 or 9×13 glass casserole dish (or baking dish), spread ¼ cup of cauliflower sauce evenly on the bottom.

Step 3. Line up the noodles against each other in rows. Nestle half of the zucchini or squash strips among the noodles.

Step 4. Sprinkle the top with half of the baby kale or spinach. Season with salt and pepper.

Step 5. Sprinkle ⅓ cup of Monterey Jack cheese on top.

Step 6. Scoop remaining cauliflower sauce over the top, spreading gently to create an even layer.

Step 7. Repeat the layers in steps 3-5 (noodles and zucchini, greens, and cheese).

Step 8. Top with Spaghetti Sauce and Monterey Jack cheese. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, until the zitti is warmed through and the cheese is melted and golden.

Step 9. Serve hot with freshly shredded Parmesan cheese.

Baked ziti is delicious and satisfying on its own, so don’t feel like you NEED to add a side. That said, I like to serve Kale Caesar Salad and Cheesy Garlic Bread for a full dinner (and leftovers the next day)!

Store any baked ziti leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days (if there’s any left!).

MAKE AHEAD BAKED VEGETARIAN ZITI

On a day when you have a few minutes to spare, just layer up an extra pan or two so that it’s ready to pop in the oven on a busy night later in the week. And if you’re REALLY on your game, you’ll make a few batches to freeze one for later.

Tips for Making Easy Baked Ziti Ahead:

• It saves time to have individual meal components done when you’re ready to assemble.
• The Creamy Cauliflower Sauce, Homemade Spaghetti Sauce, and noodles can easily be made ahead of time. The zucchini can be prepped in advance, too.
• When the time comes to assemble, it’ll take roughly 10 minutes to put this healthy baked ziti all together, depending on how particular you are about the noodles lining up.
• If you’ve already got everything out for one ziti baked pasta dish, why not make a few and save some to freeze for later?

HOW TO FREEZE BAKED ZITI

1. Before assembling the baked ziti, line your pan with aluminum foil, leaving at least a 2″ overhang and ensuring every inch of the pan is covered.
2. Assemble the baked ziti by following the steps above and freeze.
3. When the dish is frozen through (at least overnight in the freezer), carefully remove the meal from the pan using the tin foil, wrap completely for storage (in either more aluminum foil or a storage bag), label the meal, and place it back in the freezer.
4. When you are ready to bake, place the frozen ziti bake back into the same pan and allow it to thaw to room temperature.
5. Bake according to the directions in the recipe.

PROTEIN IN BAKED VEGGIE ZITI

To add even more protein to baked ziti, try the following:

• Add higher-protein veggies, like peas, mushrooms, or spinach.
• Use protein pasta.
• Add a cooked bean, like cannellini beans.
• Stir in a cup of cottage cheese with the cauliflower sauce for extra protein and flavor.
• And you can always add cooked ground beef or sausage to the baked vegetarian ziti to bump up the protein even more.

ZITI BAKED FAQS

MORE EASY MEATLESS PASTA RECIPES

• Skillet Pizza Veggie Pasta
• Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta Bake
• Weeknight Creamy Mushroom Pasta
• Cheesy Lentil Pasta
• Pasta Primavera