This Meatless Baked Ziti is a simple and easy dinner that you will never get tired of making. It has three kinds of cheeses: ricotta, mozzarella, and pecorino romano.
Why you'll fall in love with this baked ziti
- It's pretty easy to make and it serves a crowd
- It's loaded with cheese: ricotta, mozzarella, and my favorite, pecorino romano
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🥘 Ingredients
Ziti: The star of the dish.
Pasta Sauce: Use your favorite jar of pasta sauce, double check there are 3 cups of sauce in it.
Whole Milk Ricotta Cheese: Use whole milk ricotta. It's less likely to curdle while cooking.
Mozzarella Cheese: Mixed into the pasta and sprinkled on top.
Egg: Adding an egg to the ricotta helps to bind the cheese to the pasta.
Garlic: A necessity for baked ziti.
Italian Seasoning and Black Pepper: This adds more seasoning to the pasta.
Pecorino Romano: Pecorino romano has a strong flavor and is my favorite cheese.
🔪 How to Make Meatless Baked Ziti
1. Mix: Mix together pasta sauce, ricotta cheese, mozzarella, egg, Italian seasoning, and pepper.
2. Fill: Spread ½ cup of pasta sauce onto the bottom of a baking dish. Add cooked pasta, then ricotta cheese mixture. Mix the pasta and cheese together.
3. Sprinkle: Top with the remaining pasta sauce, and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella and the pecorino romano. Cover the dish with foil.
4. Bake: Bake, covered, for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake until the pasta is bubbly and cheese has melted, about 10 more minutes, Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
🥗 Sides
- garlic bread
- premade salad kit
- Caprese salad
- bruschetta
- roasted asparagus
- broccoli
- green beans
Yes, you can assemble the dish, cover it, and refrigerate it for up to 3 days.
Easy Meatless Baked Ziti with Ricotta + Mozzarella
Ingredients
- 16 oz ziti
- 1 24 oz jar of pasta sauce 3 cups
- 15 oz whole milk ricotta cheese
- 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese 2 cups
- 1 egg
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup grated pecorino romano cheese
Instructions
- Heat oven to 375F.
- Cook pasta as directed on the packaging until it’s al dente. Do not overcook the pasta.
- In large bowl, mix together 1-½ cups pasta sauce, ricotta cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, an egg, Italian seasoning, and pepper.
- Spread ½ cup of pasta sauce onto the bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Add pasta, then ricotta cheese mixture. Mix the two together. Then top with the remaining cup of pasta sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining cup of mozzarella and the pecorino romano. Cover the dish with foil.
- Bake, covered, for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake until bubbly and cheese have melted, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let sit for 10 minutes before serving.
Adam says
Recipe was so easy and so delicious! Instead of jarred sauce I made some from scratch, but this was so cheesy and gooey. So good!