Kosher Easy Vegetarian Baked Ziti is one of those delicious comfort food meals that is perfect for a weeknight meal when you don't feel like cooking. Easy cheesy baked ziti is ready in 5 steps and uses only 6 ingredients. This recipe is a cinch to put together and is on the table before anyone can ask "what's for dinner?" The best part, it is made without boiling any water! This recipe is kosher, vegetarian, and meatless. Read on for instructions on how to make the best Easy Vegetarian Baked Ziti recipe from scratch.
No Boil Baked Ziti
This is one of those Italian vegetarian baked pasta recipes that is so quick and easy to make that you will find yourself making it more often than you would first think. There are only 5 steps to making this recipe and none of them involve boiling water. With very low prep time, this recipe is virtually hands off. Most of the time you spend on this is just waiting for the pasta to finish baking in the oven.
Ingredients used to make Easy Vegetarian Baked Ziti With Ricotta
All you need to make a dump and bake ziti recipe that you will love are these 6 ingredients:
- tomato sauce - choose your favorite sauce. If you feel brave, you can use a homemade marinara sauce!
- ziti pasta - the hard kind that comes in a box
- ricotta cheese - provides some of the consistency
- mozzarella cheese - what would a pasta recipe be without tons of mozzarella cheese
- parmesan cheese - for flavor
- garlic powder - adds that extra pop that gives this dish the full flavor experience
A Step by step guide to making this recipe
Time needed: 1 hour and 10 minutes
Quick and Easy Meatless Baked Ziti recipe step by step
- Mix the pasta, sauce, and water
Pour the whole jar of sauce and 2 ½ cups of cold water into a bowl and add the dry pasta right in on top and mix. That's right, no stove top or boiling in this recipe.
- Add ricotta
After the pasta is fully covered in sauce, add in the ricotta cheese and stir until incorporated.
- Add the remaining ingredients
Add the mozzarella cheese, garlic powder, and parmesan cheese. Stir until everything is incorporated and get ready to bake. Remember to save some mozzarella cheese for the top after the ziti has finished baking.
- Pour into pan
Pour the mixture into a greased 9x13 pan or casserole dish. Extra virgin olive oil is perfect for this. Cover and bake. (Skip this step if you are using the 1 pan method). The pasta will cook in the dish.
- Uncover
Uncover and sprinkle the rest of the mozzarella cheese over the top. Place back into the oven for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Authentic Italian Baked Ziti ready for your table.
FAQ
We like to use the separate bowl to make sure that all of the ingredients are fully incorporated and also for illustration purposes. That being said, you can just as easily make this recipe by putting all of the ingredients into the baking pan, stirring, and baking in the oven. We call this the 1 pan method for making baked ziti and it is just as yummy.
In this recipe, you will bake the ziti covered for most of the bake time. This allows the moisture to stay in the pan and ensures the noodles get fully cooked. The only time the baked ziti gets uncovered is right at the end to melt the cheese on top.
No, they are different pastas that have a similar shape. There are three main differences between ziti and penne: ziti is shorter, ziti is thicker, and ziti has a straight edge while penne has a diagonal cut. They can be used interchangeably as to your preference.
Pasta dishes like this one are super simple to store. Just seal the leftovers in an airtight container and it will last in the refrigerator for up to 7 days. Deciding how long to reheat baked ziti is simple. Reheating baked ziti is a snap. Pop it into the oven uncovered for 10 minutes at 300ºF. Easy cheesy ziti!
You can make a pan of this in advance, cover it with plastic wrap and then foil, and freeze it to reheat at a later date. Now you have a make ahead baked ziti for later. When reheating, remove the plastic wrap and cover with the foil. Place it into the oven for 30-40 minutes at 300ºF.
Variations and suggestions
- Easy Baked Ziti without ricotta? - If you do not have ricotta you can substitute cottage cheese. Vegetarian baked ziti with cottage cheese!
- Vegetarian Baked Ziti with Spinach Recipe - Before baking, stir chopped spinach to add some vegetables to your baked ziti. Garnish with fresh basil.
- Side dish suggestion - Serve with a green salad and some garlic bread for a complete meal.
- Spice it up! Add some red pepper flakes or Italian seasoning blend into the marinara sauce.
- We like to use a classic marinara sauce but any tomato sauce from a jar will do for this recipe. There are so many varieties of kosher tomato sauce in the store that you can try different ones and you may find a new favorite.
- Top with a cheese mixture of shredded mozzarella, muenster, asiago, and parmesan.
More recipes like this one
📖 Recipe
Easy Vegetarian Baked Ziti
Equipment
- large mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 1 jar pasta sauce
- 2 ½ cups cold water
- 16 oz ziti uncooked
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded and divided
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grease 9x13 baking dish and set aside.
- In a large bowl, thoroughly combine pasta sauce, water, noodles, 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella, ricotta, garlic powder, and parmesan.
- Pour into prepared baking dish. Cover.
- Bake, covered, for one hour.
- Uncover and sprinkle on remaining ½ cup shredded mozzarella. Bake additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted.
- Allow to cool slightly and enjoy.
Notes
Variations and suggestions
- Easy Baked Ziti without ricotta? - If you do not have ricotta you can substitute cottage cheese. Vegetarian baked ziti with cottage cheese!
- Vegetarian Baked Ziti with Spinach Recipe - Before baking, stir chopped spinach to add some vegetables to your baked ziti. Garnish with fresh basil.
- Side dish suggestion - Serve with a green salad and some garlic bread for a complete meal.
- Spice it up! Add some red pepper flakes or Italian seasoning blend into the marinara sauce.
- We like to use a classic marinara sauce but any tomato sauce from a jar will do for this recipe. There are so many varieties of kosher tomato sauce in the store that you can try different ones and you may find a new favorite.
- Top with a cheese mixture of shredded mozzarella, muenster, asiago, and parmesan.
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