Description
This creamy, cheesy, saucy Baked Ziti Recipe With Ricotta (No Meat) is the ultimate in comfort food. It’s perfect because it can be made ahead of time for the busiest nights and it reheats beautifully.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 1 16 oz box of ziti noodles
- 1 jar marinara of choice – I like Rao’s and Mezzetta
- 1 15 oz container part skim ricotta cheese
- Shredded mozzarella (8 oz) – I recommend buying a block and shredding it yourself for the best texture. Can add more if preferred.
- Water for boiling (4 quart)
- Salt and other seasonings to taste
Instructions
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- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
- Bring salted water to a boil and add pasta.
- Cook according to package directions according to package instructions, less approximately 2 minutes allowing the pasta to further cook in the oven.
- Meanwhile shred mozzarella cheese if using block.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine marinara and ricotta cheese. Mix well.
- Drain pasta well.
- Mix pasta with ricotta and marinara.
- Pour into a 9×13 baking dish
- Top with mozzarella cheese
- Bake covered at 375 for 20 minutes, then uncovered for approximately 10 minutes.
- If desired, turn oven to broil and cook until golden brown (approximately 3 minutes but check closely)
- Let rest for approximately 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
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- Substitute cottage cheese for ricotta.
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- Substitute store bought marinara for homemade.
- Add red pepper flakes to the jarred sauce for a spicy marinara.
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- Substitute a portion of the mozzarella cheese for parmesan.
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- This recipe relies on the seasonings found in the jarred marinara along with added salt. Feel free to substitute salt for any saltless seasoning you prefer.
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- Feel free to add additional herbs and spices to taste. We like this with added basil and red pepper flakes but do omit those when feeding kids.
