weeknight baked ziti

this easy, budget-friendly vegetarian baked ziti comes together quickly and is sure to please a crowd. serve up with a big salad, steamed veggies or some crusty bread to round it all out!

Is there anything better than warm, cheesy pasta on a cold night? For us in our household, there’s definitely not.

This easy baked ziti comes together so quickly and is full of comfort & flavor. It’s a perfect weeknight meal not only because of that, but because it’s a total crowd pleaser.

I also love this meal because you can truly make it whatever you want it to be to meet the needs of those you’re serving.

Go for whole grain pasta, red lentil pasta, veggie pasta in any shape or size you like best. Add some veggies right into the dish if you want (I’ve done that before and it works beautifully!) or serve it up with a big side salad or a side of steamed veggies. If you’re serving a crowd of meat eaters, you can throw some cooked ground beef or turkey into the marinara sauce! Truly anything goes.

It’s also friendly on the old wallet and with the holidays coming up, I KNOW we can all stand to save a little more wherever we can (because more saving = more ability to give!).

And perhaps best of all, it comes together in all of 10 minutes then the oven does the rest of the work. There’s really not much to dislike about this. It’s quick, easy, filling, budget-friendly and totally customizable. If that’s not a dish you can get behind, I don’t know what is!

weeknight baked ziti

• Author: Cait
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 25 minutes
• Total Time: 35 minutes
• Yield: 4–6 servings 1x
• Category: dinner

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Description

this easy, budget-friendly vegetarian baked ziti comes together quickly and is sure to please a crowd. serve up with a big salad, steamed veggies or some crusty bread to round it all out!

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 lb ziti (or other pasta of choice)
• 1–2 jars of your favorite marinara sauce
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella (more or less as desired) – note, don’t buy pre-shredded cheese, it has anti-cake ingredients in it that will cause it not to melt as well.  buy a block and shred it yourself for maximum gooey melt!
• 2 cups shredded parmesan (more or less as desired) – note, don’t buy pre-shredded cheese, it has anti-cake ingredients in it that will cause it not to melt as well.  buy a block and shred it yourself for maximum gooey melt!
• 8 oz. ricotta cheese
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Chopped fresh basil, for garnish
• Optional: pinch of red pepper flakes, 1 tablespoon dried oregano

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and grease a 9×13″ baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Cook pasta 1 minute less than directions state (you want it to be al dente).  Drain and set pasta aside.
3. Add 1 jar marinara sauce (and oregano and red pepper flakes, if using) to a dutch oven and heat over medium low heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat and add in pasta, stirring to break up any clumps of pasta.  If desired, add more marinara then set aside.
5. Mix together ricotta with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt & pepper.
6. Pour half the pasta into the prepared baking sheet.  Top with ricotta mixture and 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella and parmesan.
7. Pour remaining pasta over ricotta and cheese then top with remaining cheese.
8. Bake for ~25 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned & bubbling.
9. Sprinkle with freshly chopped basil before serving.

Notes

• Baked ziti will keep for 4-5 days in an airtight container in the fridge

Keywords: baked ziti, pasta, vegetarian, dinner

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