An Italian-American classic, when I first made baked ziti for my Aussie husband, he quickly fell in love. This gooey, tomatoey, cheesy baked pasta is one of life’s simple pleasures. It’s also simpler to make (and checks all the same boxes) than lasagna, which is always a win in my book!
Though baked ziti is often made with ground meat of some sort, it’s just as possible to make a vegetarian version that still packs it full of gooey ricotta and mozzarella! This recipe tosses the pasta in a garlicky tomato sauce filled with flavours of oregano, basil and a touch of fennel.
It’s then layered with a creamy ricotta mixture, topped with plenty of mozzarella and baked until it’s golden, gooey and crisp in all the right places.
How to Make Vegetarian Baked Ziti
This recipe has a few steps, but it is relatively simple and straightforward to make. It’s not something I would generally make on a weeknight, but it’s quick enough for a Friday night meal after a whole workday.
It’s also worth noting that the sauce can be made in advance and kept in the fridge for a few days and in the freezer for a few months. If you make a double batch of sauce, then this is something you don’t need to make every time you want to whip up a baked ziti!
You can also assemble the whole dish ahead up to when you would put it in the oven. Covered, you can keep it in the fridge and bake it a day later or you could freeze it for a few months. You can bake it directly from frozen, just make sure to increase the cook time!
With that in mind, the first step of this recipe is to make the sauce. It’s super simple and requires very little advance prep or active time.
Add some chili flakes, fennel seeds and a bit of olive oil to a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Once the oil is shimmering and sizzling around the seeds, add some minced garlic. Cook for about 30 seconds, just until fragrant.
Then, add a bit of tomato paste and cook until it’s darkened and sticky – about 2 minutes longer. Stir in some dried oregano and pour over some whole peeled tomatoes that you’ve pureed or crushed thoroughly with your hands.
To the tomatoes, also pour in a bit of water (I like to rinse out the can and use that water so I don’t waste anything!), add a sprig of basil and a touch of salt. Let the sauce come to a simmer and let it bubble away for about fifteen minutes. You’ll notice that this sauce isn’t too dissimilar to the one used in my pizza burek!
Meanwhile, go ahead and cook your pasta for a few minutes less than the package suggests. You want it on the under-done side of al dente to ensure that the pasta is not mushy once the dish is baked.
Ziti is obviously the traditional pasta shape for this dish, but I personally like using rigatoni (I like bigger tubes) for this. You could even use penne if that’s what you have on hand.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain it from the water and add it to a mixing bowl. Spoon over about a quarter of the sauce and stir to coat the noodles.
Then, in a small mixing bowl, whisk together some ricotta, parmesan cheese and a touch of heavy cream. The cream prevents the ricotta from being too grainy once cooked and makes everything taste nice and luscious.
Note that if you have any leftover ricotta after making this, you can use it in something like my artichoke bruschetta or French onion dip!
Now it’s time to assemble! Spoon just enough sauce to coat the bottom of an 8in (20cm) square baking dish. Then, add half of your pasta, spreading it out so that it evenly covers the bottom of the dish.
Scoop over half of the remaining sauce. Then, spread over the ricotta and parmesan mixture. Top with half of your grated mozzarella cheese.
Layer the rest of your pasta on top. Add the remaining sauce and the top with the rest of your mozzarella. Then, grate over a bit more parmesan cheese and season with some black pepper.
Cover the dish tightly with lightly greased foil and move the dish to a 200°C/400°F oven for about 20 minutes. At this point, the cheese will be melted and the sauce will be bubbling but there won’t be any browning.
Remove the foil and bake for a further 10 minutes – you want the top to turn golden brown and for the edges to get lightly crispy. Take the baked ziti from the oven and let cool for at least 5 minutes before cutting into it and serving.
Meatless Baked Ziti with Riccota & Mozzarella
Ingredients
- ½ tsp whole fennel seeds
- ½ tsp chili flakes
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 2 (400g/14oz) cans whole peeled tomatoes pureed until smooth
- 1 sprig basil
- 500 g (1 lb) ziti, rigatoni or penne pasta
- 200 g (1 cup) ricotta
- 50 g (½ cup) parmesan cheese finely grated, plus more for topping
- 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 200 g (1½ cups) low-moisture mozzarella grated (see notes)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F. Add the fennel seeds, chili flakes and 1 tbsp of olive oil to a small saucepan. Set over medium heat. Once shimmering and the fennel is fragrant, add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for another minute or 2, just until it begins to darken and get a bit sticky. Add the oregano, canned tomatoes, basil sprig, 300ml (1¼ cups) of water and ½ tsp of salt. Bring to a simmer.
- Allow the sauce to simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the sauce is lightly thickened and the flavours are homogenous. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook the pasta for 3 minutes less than the package suggests.
- Add the cooked pasta to a large mixing bowl and spoon over ¼ of the sauce. Stir to combine and set aside.
- Add the ricotta, parmesan and heavy cream to a medium mixing bowl. Season with a pinch if salt and a generous grind of black pepper. Stir until well combined.
- Spoon enough sauce to just cover the bottom of an 8in (20cm) square baking dish. Add half of the pasta and pour over half of the remaining sauce. Top with the ricotta and parmesan mixture and sprinkle over half of the grated mozzarella.
- Top with the remaining pasta and spoon over the rest of the sauce. Sprinkle over the remaining mozzarella cheese, ensuring it is evenly covered. Grate over a bit more parmesan. Cover the dish tightly with lightly greased foil and move it to the oven.
- Bake the pasta for 20 minutes before removing the foil and returning to the oven for 10 more minutes – or until the top is golden and crisp around the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before serving, topping with some chopped fresh basil and a bit more parmesan cheese.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutritional information is automatically generated and provided as guidance only. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
This luscious meat-free baked ziti is simple to make and so incredibly delicious that it’s sure to be requested often by all those you make it for. I know it’s one of my favourites!
Are you after a vegetarian ziti recipe? Have any questions? Let me know in the comments!
