Vegetarian Baked Ziti
This vegetarian baked ziti recipe is made with layers of perfectly cooked ziti, fresh sautéed veggies, and three kinds of cheese. A family favorite dinner!
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 1 lb ziti pasta
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 1 whole bulb of garlic 10-15 cloves, finely diced or minced
- 1 small zucchini diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- ½ cup fresh chopped basil around 1 oz worth when packaged
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 cups fresh grated parmesan cheese divided
- 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
- 32 oz high quality pasta sauce I used Rao’s tomato basil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat.
- Start boiling the water for the ziti in another pan. Cook the ziti to al dente according to the package instructions.
- Add the onion, garlic, zucchini, red bell pepper to the skillet with the oil. Cook the vegetables for around 10 minutes, until softened. Add the pasta sauce and salt and let it simmer for 5 more minutes while the ziti finishes cooking.
- In a small bowl, mix together 1 cup of ricotta cheese with the ½ cup of fresh chopped basil and one cup of fresh grated parmesan cheese.
- Once the ziti is cooked, drain it and mix it together with the sauce and vegetables. Remove the pan from the heat.
- Spray a 9 by 13 baking casserole dish with cooking spray.
- Add half of the sauce/noodles to the casserole dish and spread it out in an even layer.
- Spread out all of the ricotta/parmesan/basil mixture over the top of the ziti.
- Top the ricotta mixture with the remaining 1 cup of fresh grated parmesan cheese.
- Add the remaining half of the pasta/sauce in an even layer.
- Top the baked ziti with 8 oz of shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Cover the dish with foil and bake the ziti for 10 minutes at 350 degrees.
- Remove the foil and bake it for another 20 minutes, until bubbly.
- For a little browned cheese on top, broil the dish for 1-2 minutes at the end. Watch closely to avoid burning.
Nutrition
Calories: 493kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 1221mg | Potassium: 661mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1767IU | Vitamin C: 39mg | Calcium: 547mg | Iron: 3mg