What can I substitute for ricotta cheese in baked ziti?

You can substitute ricotta cheese for cottage cheese, or mascarpone cheese or for a dairy-free option a vegan creamy cheese. (I recommend the Kite Hill brand.)

What is the difference between lasagna and baked ziti?

Lasagna is a baked pasta dish that is made with flat sheets of pasta that are layered with sauce, cheese and sometimes meat. Baked ziti is also a baked pasta dish, but is made with ziti noodles. The flavour of Lasagna and baked ziti can be similar, but the texture is completely different.

Should baked ziti be covered or uncovered?

When baking pasta for a long time, you usually cover it with foil to prevent it from drying out. Since this baked ziti only goes in the oven for 10 minutes, there is no need to cover it up.

How do you keep baked pasta from drying out?

Covering your baked pasta with foil will help prevent it from drying out in the oven when cooking it for a long time. You also want to make sure to be using enough sauce to keep the noodles moist.

What pasta can I substitute ziti with?

You can substitute ziti with penne or rigatoni for a similar shape and texture.

Should I undercook pasta for baked ziti?

For this baked ziti recipe you should cook the pasta al dente (with a slight bite to it.) This recipe is baked in the oven for just 10 minutes, so there’s no need to drastically undercook the pasta like with some other recipes where the ziti is baked much longer

What type of dish should I bake my ziti in?

Any casserole dish or baking dish will work. For this recipe, I recommend one sized about 9x13, however, using slightly different sizes will work too.

Should I rinse baked ziti pasta?

No! You don't want to rinse the ziti pasta after cooking as this will rinse all the starches off the noodles. These starches are important to help the sauce cling onto each ziti noodle.

Vegetarian Baked Ziti Pasta Recipe

Name: Vegetarian Baked Ziti
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 8-10 ounces of ziti(can sub penne or rigatoni); 1 tbsp olive oil; 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 1 12-14 oz jar tomato sauce (or marinara sauce); 1 cup ricotta cheese; 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese; 1/2 cup basil leaves, chopped; salt and pepper to taste; 1/2 cup shredded mozerella cheese; fresh basil or parsley to top

Description

This Vegetarian Baked Ziti is made with layers of pasta, tomato sauce and ricotta for a delicious comforting meal!

Ingredients

Units Scale

8–10 ounces of ziti(can sub penne or rigatoni)
1 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 12-14 oz jar tomato sauce (or marinara sauce)
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup basil leaves, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup shredded mozerella cheese
fresh basil or parsley to top

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Instructions

Cook the pasta: add the pasta to a large pot according to package directions. While the pasta cooks prepare the rest of the ingredients.
Prepare the tomato sauce: Heat the olive oil in a large pot on medium-high heat. Add the garlic and let cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce and mix together. Then lower the heat to low and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Add pasta to the sauce: add the cooked ziti noodles to the pot of tomato sauce and mix together.
Make the ricotta filling: Mix the ricotta, parmesan, basil, salt and pepper together in a mixing bowl to combine.
Assemble the baked ziti: To assemble the baked ziti, start by layering the pasta in a 9×13 baking tray, followed by dollops of the ricotta filling. Add more pasta on top then top it all off with shredded mozerella cheese.
Bake: Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes until golden brown.
Serve: optionally top with more fresh basil and serve immediately.

Notes

Cook the pasta to al dente. The pasta will continue to cook in the oven, so you don’t want to overcook it in the pot.

Salt the pasta water. Salting pasta water helps to add flavour to the noodles and will result in a super flavourful baked ziti.

Use good quality cheese. Parmesano Reggiano and a creamy ricotta work best. If you don’t want to make homemade sauce, you can use a jar of your favourite pre-made pasta sauce.

Nutrition

Serving Size: 1/6th recipe
Calories: 340
Sugar: 3g
Sodium: 300mg
Fat: 12g
Saturated Fat: 5g
Carbohydrates: 34g
Fiber: 2g
Protein: 18g