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A classic comfort food that is baked with spinach, ziti noodles, pasta sauce, and a variety of cheeses. It’s easy to make and perfect for a crowd.
I really like making pasta recipes, and lasagna is one of my favorite pasta dishes to make and eat. The only downfall with lasagna is that it takes a decent amount of time to put together. Time is the reason why I have fallen in love with making baked ziti. It is very similar to lasagna: there is ricotta, mozzarella, noodles, pasta sauce and other add-ins of your choosing in Baked Ziti, but it comes together in half the amount of time.
I can’t stress enough how easy this recipe is to make. You could even prepare it the evening before and refrigerate until you are ready to bake it. I love that it can easily feed a crowd. I would say that it feeds 6 people if you are not serving a side, like salad or another veggie. If you are serving a side, this ziti can easily feed 10 people. I served this baked ziti with a salad with one of our very
own Italian dressings and a quick piece of stovetop garlic bread.
This recipe for baked ziti is a meatless version. I chose to use spinach instead of Italian sausage, bu Italian sausage can easily be added to the pasta sauce. If you are having a hard time finding ziti noodles, you can substitute with penne, rotini, or any shape that is somewhat similar to a ziti noodle.
Spinach Baked Ziti
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ziti pasta
- 2 tablespoons Oive oil
- 16 ounces Fresh baby spinach
- 1 Small onion chopped
- 6 Garlic cloves chopped
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
- 48 ounces Jarred marinara sauce
- 2 cups Shredded Mozzarella cheese Fresh off the block
- 15 ounces Ricotta cheese
- 1/2 cup Grated parmesan divided
- 1 Large egg
- 2 tablespoons Fresh minced parsley
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Spray a 3-quart baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Boil a large pot of salted water for the noodles and cook noodles according to the package instructions. Drain and set aside. Drizzle with olive oil to keep noodles from sticking together (optional).
- Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the diced onions and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and minced garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for an additional minute.
- Stir in the marinara sauce and spinach. Remove from heat.
- In a small bowl, mix together the ricotta, egg, parsley, ¼ cup of Parmesan cheese and 1 cup of Mozzarella cheese.
- Spread about a cup of sauce evenly over the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Layer half of the noodles and top that with the ricotta mixture and half of the remaining sauce. (For the ricotta, you can just add dollops evenly over the noodles as it likely won't spread easily).
- Continue layering: remaining noodles, remaining sauce, remaining Mozzarella and Parmesan.
- Bake in the preheated 350℉ oven for 20-25 minutes until lightly brown on top. Rest for 5-10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
For more delicious pasta dishes, try these:
Zucchini & Sausage Stuffed Shells
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