Baked Ziti with Ricotta

Baked Ziti is a loved ones favourite meal that can be thrown collectively speedily but tastes like you spent hours producing it. This Bake Ziti with Ricotta recipe is creamy, warm, certainly scrumptious and is created all in one particular pot and so cleanup is a breeze! If you enjoy lasagna, you have got to give this Bake Ziti recipe a attempt!

Baked Ziti Recipe with Ricotta

The flavors in this Baked Ziti are pretty equivalent to lasagna – a tangy tomato primarily based sauce, Italian seasonings, fresh herbs, and of course fresh, creamy ricotta cheese all baked collectively with pasta for a flavorful, satisfying dinner.

My version of Baked Ziti adds in fresh veggies adding fascinating flavors, texture and of course a increase of nutrition! This recipe is genuinely a full meal with each and every meals group (ok, ok, there is not fruit in it – but additional veggies of course) and is all created in just one particular pot so you are not performing dishes all evening. If you have ever created homemade lasagna, you know that there is normally a heaping mound of dishes!

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You have GOT to give this Baked Ziti recipe a attempt – and trust me – you will be producing it once more and once more, and once more!

Ingredients for Baked Ziti Recipe with Ricotta

• Ziti Pasta – Ziti pasta is pretty equivalent to penne, but it has a square-angle reduce and a rectangular shape when penne has an angled reduce that offers it more of a pointed shape. You can use either for this recipe
• Onion + Garlic – yellow onions have a greater quantity of all-natural sugar and when cooked with garlic give your finish dish a sweet aromatic flavor.
• Zucchini – appear for tiny vibrant green zucchinis when shopping for. The tiny zucchinis have a more tender texture.
• Spinach – fresh infant spinach is very best for this recipe.
• Crushed tomatoes – crushed tomatoes are mixture of more finely diced tomatoes in a tomato puree. They have a smooth texture and add thickness that is perfect in baked ziti.
• Tomato sauce – tomato sauce is. a tomato item that is not as thick as tomato puree but thicker than tomato juice.
• Seasoning – Italian seasoning, fresh basil
• Ricotta cheese – ricotta is a fresh, soft and mild cheese. It is fantastic in baked ziti due to the fact it offers a scrumptious creamy base and scrumptious mild flavor.
• Mozzarella cheese – mozarella has a higher moisture content and is frequently much less salty than other cheeses. Shredded mozzarella pairs truly properly with shredded mozzarella has a gooey melted topping for baked ziti due to the fact it offers it a good texture without having getting also salty.
• Parmesan cheese – parmesan cheese is a semi-really hard cheese that has a salty, buttery and exclusive flavor.

How to Make Baked Ziti with Ricotta

1. Start by boiling your noodles in the pot you intend to use for the completed recipe. Boil according to package directions till al dente (you want them on the much less-cooked side due to the fact they’ll soften more in the sauce). Drain, rinse, and leave in your colander till you are prepared for them in ten minutes.
2. Next, saute onions in olive oil more than medium-higher heat till softened and going translucent. Add garlic and veggies, mixing more than the heat till spinach wilts. It will entirely fill your pot at 1st and appear like waaaaay also a great deal, but it will shrink like magic. Think of all that spinach you are finding in! Score.
3. Pour in your sauce components next – diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasonings, Greek yogurt and sour cream. You can use all Greek yogurt if you want, but you will get a sourer flavor that is a tiny harsher than when you add in sour cream. But the Greek yogurt is wonderful due to the fact it adds some protein, so if you are game to use it, go for it!
4. Finally, add your pasta back in, as properly as 1 1/2 cups of cheese. I favor utilizing Italian blend due to the fact it has an array of scrumptious cheeses, but I’ve utilized mozzarella with some Parmesan as properly and it operates splendidly. Again, most any shredded cheese you have on hand must work. Experiment and obtain out what mixture your loved ones likes very best!
5. Mix the pot properly and make certain the cheese is melted, then take away from the heat. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and bake the pasta at 375 degrees F for 10 minutes till the cheese is melted and bubbly. (this is a wonderful way to hold it warm if you are not serving it ideal away)

Your loved ones is certain to enjoy this deliciously creamy pasta – and you are certain to enjoy how straightforward it is to make and clean up!

Frequently Asked Questions About Baked Ziti

• Can I substitute cottage cheese for ricotta in baked ziti? You absolutely can substitute cottage cheese for. ricotta, but your finish outcome will be a tiny distinctive. Ricotta cheese is more smooth and creamy when cottage cheese has more moisture and a more lumpy texture. Also, cottage cheese is most salty.
• What can I use apart from zucchini? You can absolutely use other kinds of squash alternatively of zucchini. Yellow or crookneck squash is an straightforward substitute and cooks the exact same as zucchini. You can also use winter squash like butternut, but due to the fact it requires longer to cook you will almost certainly want to precook it a bit.
• Can I add meat to this recipe and what would be very best? I would suggest adding italian sausage to this recipe. After you saute the onions and garlic, I would add the sausage and cook till browned. Then continue to stick to the recipe.
• Is it doable to half this recipe? Absolutely! This recipe tends to make a lot! (fantastic for feeding a crowd) If you are just producing dinner for your loved ones and you do not have large eaters, half it for certain. Although this baked ziti. tends to make scrumptious leftovers. Just like lasagna, the flavors get far better more than time.

More Favorite Easy Family Dinners

• Easy Weeknight Veggie Gnocchi – Soft pillowy gnocchi cooked in a sweet tangy tomato sauce loaded with veggies.
• Healthy Turkey Stroganoff – Turkey Stroganoff requires a classic loved ones favourite recipe and utilizes wholesome, true meals components that comes collectively in much less than 30 minutes.
• Easy Tostadas – Freshen up your dinner rotation with quickly and straightforward tostadas created from entire grain flour tortillas and cheesy refried beans with a crunchy cabbage topping.

• 16 ounce ziti pasta
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic minced
• 2 medium zucchini
• 16 ounce spinach
• 28 ounce crushed tomatoes
• 15 ounce tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
• 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, ground

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
• In a huge cast iron or oven secure pot, boil pasta according to package directions till al dente. Drain and rinse and hold aside in colander.
• Dice onion and mince garlic.  Chop zucchini. In the exact same cast iron pot, add olive oil and heat to medium-higher heat. Saute diced onion for 5 minutes, till slightly translucent.
• Add garlic, zucchini, and spinach and stir till spinach has wilted, about 5-7 minutes. Salt and pepper vegetables to your liking.
• Add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasonings, and ricotta cheese to the pot and bring to a simmer. Add noodles and half of the cheese (mix the mozzarella and parmesan cheese collectively) and mix properly. Remove from heat.
• Top with remaining cheese and location in the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes till the cheese on major is melted, and slightly golden brown. Serve hot.

Calories: 366kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 18g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 28mg | Sodium: 846mg | Potassium: 895mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 4946IU | Vitamin C: 31mg | Calcium: 333mg | Iron: 4mg