Easy Vegetarian Baked Ziti
A cozy weeknight dinner and a family favorite pasta dish!
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 16 oz penne pasta or other favorite pasta shape
- 25 oz jar of your favorite pasta sauce
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 15 oz ricotta cheese you can use part skim or full fat
- 12-16 oz shredded mozzarella, provolone, or a combination of both, divided
- 3/4 tsp dried oregano
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
- Cook pasta according to package directions until al dente. Drain, do not rinse.
- Meanwhile, in a medium pot, add the pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, and ricotta. Stir to combine.
- Simmer over low heat until just heated through.
- To an 8x8 glass baking dish, add 1/3 sauce/ricotta mixture. Spread evenly across the bottom.
- Next, add 1/2 of the cooked pasta to the baking dish and another 1/3 of the sauce, evenly over the pasta.
- Top the sauce with the first portion of the shredded cheese.
- Next, add the rest of the pasta, then sauce, then top with remaining cheese.
- Sprinkle oregano across the top of the ziti
- For easy clean up, line a baking sheet with foil. Place ziti on baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.
- For a crispier top, broil on high for an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
I sometimes add spinach to the sauce/ricotta mixture for an extra serving of veggies. Both sautéed, chopped spinach or frozen spinach work well. I use about 1 1/2 cups.
You can make this ziti ahead of time and refrigerate it for a day or 2 until ready to bake. If baking right out of the fridge you will need to add about 30 minutes to the baking time.