Baked Ziti (Vegetarian)
This cheesy baked ziti can be made ahead of time and freezes beautifully. Serve it with your favourite crusty bread and a big green salad or roasted broccolini on the side. Make extra and freeze for later!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 3 garlic cloves finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary, sage or basil
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 800 ml (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, divided
- 1 lb ziti penne or rigatoni pasta
- 2 cups whole milk ricotta, divided
- 1 cup grated Parmesan
- 2 cups sliced fresh mozzarella, divided
Instructions
Sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often until softened, about 10 minutes.
- Add the garlic, rosemary, sage, oregano and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the tomato paste and cook for another minute, continuing to stir until the paste is well distributed throughout. Add the canned tomatoes including the juice. Next, add 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1 teaspoon pepper and stir to combine.
- Bring the sauce to a boil then reduce heat, cover and simmer until thickened, about 20 minutes.
Pasta
- While the sauce is simmering, preheat oven to 350˚F (175ºC) and butter a 3 Qt baking dish.
- In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook pasta for 1 minute less than package instructions for al dente. Drain all but about 1/3 cup pasta water just so that the pasta stays loose in the pot and doesn’t stick to the bottom. Cover and set aside.
- In a small bowl, add 1 cup of the ricotta, Parmesan, remaining salt and pepper and stir to combine.
- Add both the cooked pasta and ricotta mixture to the pot of tomato sauce and stir until well combined.
To assemble
- Add half of the pasta to the buttered baking dish. Top with half of the sliced mozzarella and spoon ½ cup of the ricotta across the top. Add the remaining pasta, then repeat with the remaining ricotta and mozzarella. *At this point, you can cool the pasta completely, cover and refrigerate or freeze to bake another time.
- Bake uncovered until the mozzarella is melted and bubbling, about 30 minutes.
Notes
Ziti substitutions: Penne, rigatoni or any other tubular shaped pasta will all work well in this recipe.
Up the veggie content: Add 1 cup shredded carrots, diced zucchini, mushrooms or bell peppers and a little more olive oil when you sauté the onion or stir 1 cup finely chopped kale or spinach into the pasta and sauce just before assembling.
Make ahead and storage: You can assemble this ahead of time and either refrigerate or freeze it until you’re ready to bake. If you freeze it, thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before baking. You can also freeze a baked ziti and reheat it once thawed.