Vegetarian Baked Ziti

Looking for an easy and delicious weeknight dinner? This Vegetarian Baked Ziti is it! This recipe adds lentils for extra protein, ricotta, and spinach to sneak in some extra veggies.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword Vegetarian BakedZiti

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 40

Total Time 1

Servings

Calories 540kcal

Author Katie Trant

Equipment

9x12 inch casserole dish

Ingredients

12 oz Ziti or similar pasta shape such as penne
6 oz chopped frozen spinach thawed, and squeezed out
8 oz ricotta cheese
4 cups marinara sauce approx 3x 14oz jars
14 oz canned lentils drained and rinsed - approx 1.5 cups lentils
2 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350°F / 180°C. Set a large pot of water over high heat to come to a boil.
Start by squeezing as much moisture as possible from your frozen spinach. I like using a clean kitchen towel for this job (pictured above).
Mix the spinach into the ricotta, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Boil your pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente. This typically takes about 8-10 minutes, but varies from brand to brand and shape to shape. Drain the pasta, then return to the same pot.
Reserve about ¾ cup of pasta sauce for the baking dish. Add remaining 3 ¼ cups marinara sauce, lentils, and ½ cup of mozzarella cheese to the pasta. Stir to combine.
Pour ¾ cup of reserved marinara sauce into the bottom of your casserole dish, and spread out in a thin layer.
Add about half of the pasta to the dish, and spread out in an even layer.
Dollop heaping tablespoons of the ricotta mixture over the top of the pasta.
Add the remaining pasta, and then the remaining ricotta mixture. Use a spoon to gently tuck the ricotta into the pasta as best as possible.
Scatter the remaining 2 cups cheese over the top of the pasta dish.
Cover the casserole dish with foil (or use an oven-proof lid if it comes with one) and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the foil, and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the cheese is brown and bubbly on top.

Notes

Nutrition values are an estimate only
Note that I measured pasta sauce and lentils in cups as jars and cans come in different sizes.
If you prefer to cook your own lentils rather than using cans, start with ½ cup green or brown lentils, and cook until tender.
To make this dish gluten-free, simply substitute gluten-free pasta
This dish can be made in advance, up to the point of baking, and then refrigerated for up to 2 days or freeze, tightly covered, for up to 3 months.

Nutrition