This healthy baked ziti recipe is the ultimate classic Italian comfort food! Pasta baked with a delicious red sauce, ricotta cheese, and mozzarella melted on top. But don’t worry, this lightened-up version does not skimp on the bold Italian flavors that you look forward to with a cheesy baked ziti. It can be assembled ahead of time for an easy dinner or to feed a crowd at your next party.
This baked ziti recipe is my go-to crowd-pleasing casserole. I’ve made it more times than I can count for family dinners and parties. Today, I’m going to show you how to make a healthy baked ziti without losing that classic Italian American flavor.
I’ve lightened up other Italian comfort food classics, including this baked chicken parmesan, baked eggplant parmesan, healthy fettuccine alfredo, Italian stuffed peppers, Italian meatloaf, and the best turkey meatballs.
Reasons you’ll love this recipe
- Easy to prepare – Baked ziti is one of those recipes that taste like you’ve been working all day in the kitchen, but it’s seriously one of the easiest recipes to throw together.
- Lightened-up comfort food at its finest – When you need pasta without the guilt, this is your recipe!
- Versatile – Switch up the sauce, add meat, keep it vegetarian, or stir in some veggies. You can easily put your twist on this classic baked ziti recipe.
- Make-ahead and freezer-friendly – Prep it on Sunday for dinner during the week or make and freeze a couple of pans to have ready for dinner later.
Ingredients
- Ziti pasta: For this classic Italian recipe, you will want to use a ziti-shaped noodle. If you are not able to find it, penne pasta is an excellent substitute. To keep the recipe healthy, I recommend using whole grain or organic pasta.
- Ricotta cheese – this is a creamy mild Italian cheese. Using a low-fat or part-skim ricotta cheese is an excellent way to lower the recipe’s fat without losing that creamy texture. I don’t recommend using fat-free because it does contain extra water and has a different texture that can ruin the recipe.
- Shredded mozzarella cheese – I recommend using Part-skim or low-fat mozzarella cheese to reduce the fat of this classic baked ziti recipe. If possible, shred the mozzarella cheese fresh for that extra ooey-gooey creaminess. You can also use fresh mozzarella. Cut into slices and place on top before baking.
- Seasonings: Ricotta cheese has a very mild, bland flavor and needs seasonings to perk up the recipe. Over the years, I’ve created the perfect blend of garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and grated parmesan cheese to give the ricotta cheese amazing flavor.
- Egg – this adds structure to the cheese mixture as it bakes.
- Sauce – Picking the perfect sauce makes all of the difference in a baked ziti recipe. You can use a homemade marinara, turkey bolognese, or a high-quality jarred sauce. Truthfully, I use jarred sauce more often than not when making this easy-baked ziti. My favorite is Rao’s marinara or Thrive Market Sicilian Gravy; both are delicious!
How to Make Healthy Baked Ziti
- The first thing you’re going to do is cook the pasta. The trick with any baked pasta dish is to cook the pasta very al dente – it should still have quite a bite to it. To cook al dente, boil the pasta in a pot of salted water for 5 minutes, drain under cold water, and add to the baking dish. This will help keep the pasta from getting mushy as it bakes in the oven!
- Next, put together the ricotta mixture. Stir together the Part-skim ricotta cheese, egg, parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. If you want an extra spicy kick, then add a pinch of red pepper flakes. If needed, add a little more salt.
- Mix the ricotta mixture in with the pasta and sauce. Start with 3-cups of sauce and add more sauce if needed. The pasta should be coated with sauce and ricotta cheese. If you’re using jarred sauce for this recipe, buy two 25-ounce jars of sauce so there’s extra. Store the leftover sauce in the refrigerator or freezer.
- Using a spoon, push the pasta mixture into the pan, so it’s evenly spread.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese on top (remember to measure out the cheese). Then, cover with foil and bake for 1 hour in a 375-degree oven.
- Take the foil off with about 5 minutes left. This gives the cheese a chance to melt and get all ooey-gooey. It’s done when it’s hot in the middle, cheese is ooey-gooey, and the sides are hot and bubbly!
Serving suggestions
Baked ziti is delicious with a leafy green salad, Caesar salad, or roasted vegetables.
Cooking Tips
Drain the ricotta: As mentioned earlier, some ricotta cheese brands contain more liquid than others. If there’s a lot of water, pour the ricotta cheese into a mesh strain and drain the liquid. You don’t always have to do this, however, some brands of ricotta have more water than others, so if you notice extra liquid, then drain the ricotta using a mesh strainer before adding to the pasta.
Substitute cottage cheese – To lower the fat and bump up the protein, you can swap out the ricotta cheese for cottage cheese 1:1. The flavor and texture will be slightly different. Make sure to drain the cottage cheese before adding it to the recipe.
Double or triple this baked ziti recipe: If you’re feeding a large crowd, this is an easy recipe to double or triple the ingredients. You’ll likely need to add 1-2 hours extra of cooking time.
Use any short pasta – ziti pasta are the most common pasta used in this recipe, but if you can’t find organic or whole grain ziti pasta, then penne or any other short pasta will work.
Bulk up the pasta using veggies: Adding veggies is a great way to add some bulk and nutrients to baked ziti! My advice would be to roast or saute the vegetables first, drain the liquid, and then mix in with the ziti. You can also purchase bags of frozen vegetables, cook in the microwave, drain, and then add to the ziti.
I highly recommend trying some:
- Zucchini
- Mushrooms
- Eggplant
- Spinach (I like to mix this in with the ricotta cheese)
- Artichokes
- Onions
Increase the protein in this baked pasta with meat – Cook ground poultry Italian sausage, ground turkey, or ground beef and add to the pasta sauce and cheese. Or you can stir in some sliced turkey meatballs.
Make the baked ziti gluten-free – I’ve made this many times with gluten-free penne pasta. The trick is to undercook the pasta, boil for 5 minutes, drain, and assemble the rest of the ingredients. Check out my gluten free baked ziti recipe on my sister site Gluten Free Italian Eats.
Storage tips
Baked ziti is so easy to make, but if you want to make it ahead of time, here are the three different ways to do that.
- Assemble the baked ziti, cover, and refrigerator. I do this whenever I make it for parties. A day or two before, I’ll put the baked ziti together, so all I need to do is stick it in the oven on party day.
- Cook components and assemble on the day I want to cook the baked ziti. For example, if I’m using sausage, I can cook that a day or so ahead of time. Same with the pasta or the ricotta mixture. I can get the components ready, mix everything, and bake the night we will eat it.
- Assemble and freeze. I love freezing casseroles in bulk to eat down the road! Baked ziti is one of those recipes. You can read more about freezing baked ziti, and other casserole recipes, in this blog post about freezing casseroles. Again, if you do freeze baked ziti ahead of time, make sure to plan for thawing time when you want to cook it.
Don’t forget!
- If you made it ahead of time and refrigerated it, you’ll likely need to add an extra 20 -30 minutes of cooking time.
- If you freeze the healthy baked ziti, I strongly recommend letting it thaw completely in the refrigerator (which takes about two days) before cooking it. You can cook it frozen, but it will take close to 2 ½ – 3 hours to cook thoroughly.
FAQs
Baked ziti is ziti pasta mixed with a ricotta cheese mixture, spaghetti sauce, covered in mozzarella, and baked till it’s hot and bubbly. There are many variations, but that’s the classic version.
It’s an easier way to make lasagna- the same ingredients, just a shorter pasta, and everything is mixed instead of layered and baked.
Yes, covering the baked ziti as it cooks keeps the pasta from drying out. Uncover in the last 5 minutes to melt and brown the mozzarella cheese.
If you’re going to cook a baked ziti using 1lb of pasta, the recipe will cook perfectly in a 375-degree oven for 1 hour. You’ll want to cook it covered and remove the cover with about 5 minutes left to cook.
Covering it keeps the cheese from cooking faster than the ziti. Removing the foil gives the cheese time to finish cooking and brown a little.
If you’re making a large batch of baked ziti, like 2-3 pounds, basically doubling or tripling the recipe, then it will cook 1 ½ – 2 hours in a 375-degree oven.
You know the baked ziti is down when it’s hot in the middle, and the sides are bubbling.
Healthy Baked Ziti
Equipment
- Mixing Bowls
- Mixing spoons
- 9 x 13 casserole or baking dish
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry ziti or penne pasta whole grain or organic
- 1 15- ounce container of part-skim ricotta cheese drain excess liquid
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese can also use grated romano cheese
- 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- pinch of crushed red pepper
- 3 – 4 cups spaghetti sauce homemade or high-quality jarred sauce
- 2 cups shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Bring a 5-6 quart pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes. The pasta should still have a bite to it after it cooks. This helps keep the pasta from getting mushy.
- Drain the pasta and rinse. Place the pasta into a 9 x13 baking dish.
- Mix ricotta cheese, egg, romano or parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper in a medium bowl. Stir in the crushed red pepper if you're using it.
- Mix the ricotta cheese mixture and spaghetti sauce in with the pasta. Start with 3-cups of sauce and add more if you need to. The pasta should be covered with sauce and cheese mixture.
- Sprinkle mozzarella over the top of the pasta mixture.
- Cover with foil and bake for 55 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 5 minutes or until cheese is melted and the baked ziti is bubbling on the sides.
Video
Notes
How To Meal Prep Baked Ziti Ahead Of Time
Baked ziti is so easy to make, but if you want to make it ahead of time, here are the three different ways to do that.- Assemble the baked ziti, cover, and refrigerator. I do this whenever I make it for parties. A day or two before, I’ll put the baked ziti together, so all I need to do is stick it in the oven on party day.
- Cook components and assemble on the day I want to cook the baked ziti. For example, if I’m using sausage, I can cook that a day or so ahead of time. Same with the pasta or the ricotta mixture. I can get the components ready, mix everything, and bake the night we will eat it.
- Assemble and freeze. I love freezing casseroles in bulk to eat down the road! Baked ziti is one of those recipes. You can read more about freezing baked ziti, and other casserole recipes, in this blog post about freezing casseroles. Again, if you do freeze baked ziti ahead of time, make sure to plan for thawing time when you want to cook it.
Cooking Notes:
- If you made it ahead of time and refrigerated it, you’ll likely need to add an extra 20 -30 minutes of cooking time.
- If you freeze the baked ziti, I strongly recommend letting it thaw completely in the refrigerator (which takes about two days) before cooking it. You can cook it frozen, but it will take close to 2 ½ – 3 hours to cook thoroughly.
Nutrition
More healthy comfort food recipes
Did you make this recipe?
Have you tried this Healthy Baked Ziti recipe yet? If so, I’d love for you to rate this recipe and leave a comment below. We all learn from each other’s experiences. Also, it would be awesome if you could share a picture on Instagram and tag it #organizeyourselfskinny. I can’t wait to see it.
Jessica says
I made double the batch so I could prep for my sister who is a new mommy, as well as for my large family. I only used 4-tablespoons of freshly shredded parmesan cheese because I prefer a very subtle sharpness to the flavor, and Rao’s sensitive marina. This one is a hit with the family and an absolute keeper <3
Tammy Overhoff says
That’s awesome!! So happy your family enjoyed this baked ziti recipes. I make this at least once a month for my family.
Brooke says
How much sausage or ground turkey would you recommend adding?
Tammy Overhoff says
Hey there! I wouldn’t add more than 1lb total.
Krista says
If I’m making ahead go freeze in 8×8 pans, is the cook time less? They are aluminum throw away pans that don’t seem as deep.
Tammy Overhoff says
If you bake from frozen it will definitely need more time. If you thaw completely then I would say 35- 45 minutes.
Keri Mager says
this one was really good, even my picky kid loved it! Going into the rotation!
Staci Schaefer says
If you freeze it, Do you bake the same amount of time after thawed for the baked ziti?
Hannah says
I made this recipe to stock up on freezer meals for after our baby is born in October. Pregnancy brain is really taking its toll and I totally forgot to add the pasta sauce! Is there any way to salvage? Right now I basically have frozen par-boiled pasta in a ricotta cheese mixture. Would it be possible to pour pasta sauce over and mix after thawing? And maybe add just a little more cheese on top to get nice and melty? Please help, I am a mess.
Tammy Overhoff says
Hey there! Don’t worry ziti is very forgiving. Yes, just mix in the sauce after it thaws, sprinkle more cheese on top, cover back with foil, and bake it. Your good mama!
Hannah says
Thank you soooo much! I appreciate it!
Angela says
Trying this right now. However, just heads up, you didn’t put the temp in the actual recipe. 🙂 I took a guess and scrolled up. Looking forward to taking this out of the oven. It smells amazing! Thanks! I’m sure its going to be awesome.