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    Home » Recipes » Vegetarian

    Published: Jun 16, 2020 · Modified: Feb 17, 2023 by Nisha · This post may contain affiliate links · 9 Comments

    Baked Ziti with Spinach (vegetarian, vegan option, gluten-free option)

    Jump to Recipe

    Baked Ziti with Spinach recipe with step by step photos. Italian-American comfort food prepared with pasta tossed in a cheesy tomato spinach sauce and baked off with more cheese.
    Baked Ziti with Spinach (vegetarian, vegan option, gluten-free option)

    I had a wonderful quarantine birthday celebration this past weekend. My niece came over from LA to spend the weekend with my husband and I. This entire weekend was about indulging, hanging out, and watching movies. One of the dishes I made was Baked Ziti with Spinach.
    Baked Ziti with Spinach (vegetarian, vegan option, gluten-free option)

    Do I need to make the sauce from scratch?

    No, you don't. Nonetheless, for this recipe, I made my own sauce from scratch using San Marzano tomatoes and other basic ingredients. I prefer making my own sauce so the sodium content is not crazy high. The end result is absolutely delicious and worth the extra 20 minutes of your time.

    Alternatively, you can use store-bought sauce and I always recommend Rao's Marinara Sauce which tastes as good as the real thing.
    Baked Ziti with Spinach (vegetarian, vegan option, gluten-free option)

    Can I make this recipe Vegan, Gluten-Free, or Healthier?

    YES! Although there are 3 types of cheese in this recipe, you can easily opt to use cheese to better suit your dietary restrictions.

    Vegan: use vegan mozzarella, vegan parmesan, and vegan ricotta cheese. I really like Kitehill Ricotta, however I'm not sure about mozzarella and Parmesan brands.

    Gluten-Free: this recipe can easily be gluten-free by swapping regular white pasta for gluten-free pasta.

    Healthier: this recipe can't be healthy, however, you can certainly lighten up on the calories. Use reduced-fat mozzarella instead of regular whole milk mozzarella. Use part-skim ricotta instead of whole-milk ricotta cheese. I haven't seen a reduced-fat option for parmesan cheese. Furthermore, use whole wheat pasta instead of white pasta.
    Baked Ziti with Spinach (vegetarian, vegan option, gluten-free option)

    6 Steps to make Baked Ziti with Spinach

    Prepare the sauce.
    Prepare the ricotta cheese spinach mixture.
    Boil the pasta.
    Combine the pasta, cheese, and most of the sauce.
    Assemble the dish.
    Bake the ziti.
    Baked Ziti with Spinach (vegetarian, vegan option, gluten-free option)

    Baked Ziti with Spinach is:

    Cheesy
    Creamy
    Outrageously Delicious
    Indulgent
    Vegetarian
    Gluten-Free option (use GF pasta)
    Whole Wheat option (use WW pasta)
    Vegan option (use vegan ricotta, vegan mozzarella, vegan parmesan)
    Lightened Up option (use part-skim ricotta, reduced-fat mozzarella)
    Baked Ziti with Spinach (vegetarian, vegan option, gluten-free option)

    How to make Baked Ziti with Spinach recipe step by step?

    Prep

    1. Heat up a pot of water for the pasta.
    2. Chop the onions and garlic. Open a can of tomato sauce and San Marzano tomatoes.

    Prepare the Sauce

    1. Heat up a dutch castiron on medium heat. Once hot, add olive oil followed by crushed red pepper and onions. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions are golden brown.
    2. Add garlic. Saute for 30 seconds.

    3. Add tomato sauce and San Marzano tomatoes.
    4. Stir well.
    5. Add dried oregano, dried basil, salt, and black pepper. Stir. Cover with a lid and cook sauce for 7 minutes.
    6. The sauce is ready. Turn off the stove. Set aside to cool.

    Boil the Pasta

    1. Add pasta to salted boiling water. Follow the instructions on the package and cook the pasta until al dense. DO NOT OVERCOOK the pasta else it'll get super mushy when baking the ziti.
    2. Once done, drain the pasta and run it under cold water. This prevents the pasta from sticking together. Set aside.
    3. In the meantime, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

    Prepare the Ricotta Spinach Mixture

    1. In a large mixing bowl, add ricotta cheese, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, spinach, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and dried oregano. Mix well.
    2. Add 3 cups prepared marinara sauce from above. Mix well.
    3. Now add the pasta to the ricotta-spinach-sauce mixture.
    4. Ready.

    Assemble

    1. Spray a 12" x 9" baking dish with olive oil.
    2. Transfer all the pasta to the baking dish.
    3. Top with remaining marinara sauce.
    4. Now top with freshly grated parmesan cheese (without rennet preferably). Make sure to use a good quality parmesan.
    5. Add freshly grated 1 cup mozzarella cheese.

    6. Cover with a foil.
    7. Into the oven for 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes so the cheese browns slightly.

    Baked Ziti with Spinach is ready. Wait 15 minutes before serving.
    Baked Ziti with Spinach (vegetarian, vegan option, gluten-free option)

    More Pasta Recipes

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    • Baked Ziti with Spinach
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    • Creamy Spicy Vegan Pasta

    📖 Recipe Card

    Baked Ziti with Spinach

    5 from 11 votes
    By: Nisha
    Italian-American comfort food prepared with pasta tossed in a cheesy tomato spinach sauce and baked off with more cheese.
    Prep Time 20 minutes mins
    Cook Time 10 minutes mins
    Total Time 30 minutes mins
    Servings 6 servings
    Calories 405 kcal
    SaveSaved! Pin Print

    Equipment

    • Le Creuset 3.5 Qt. Dutch Oven

    Ingredients
      

    for the Marinara Sauce

    • 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
    • 1 large onion chopped
    • 2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
    • 4 cloves garlic chopped
    • 1 28 ounces San Marzano tomatoes crush with hands
    • 1 8 ounces tomato sauce
    • 1 tablespoon dry oregano rubbed
    • 1 tablespoon dry basil
    • ½ teaspoon black pepper
    • ½ teaspoon salt more if need be

    for the Ricotta Cheese Spinach Mixture

    • 1 16 ounce whole milk ricotta cheese
    • ½ cup frozen chopped spinach microwaved, squeeze water out
    • 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ½ teaspoon oregano rubbed
    • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 1 pound penne pasta cooked; or use ziti
    • 3 cups marinara sauce

    for the Topping

    • remaining marinara sauce
    • ½ cup parmesan cheese grated; use good quality without animal rennet
    • 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded

    for Garnish

    • to taste fresh basil julienned

    Instructions
     

    Prep

    • Heat up a pot of water for the pasta.
    • Chop the onions and garlic. Open a can of tomato sauce and San Marzano tomatoes.

    Prepare the Sauce

    • Heat up a dutch castiron on medium heat. Once hot, add olive oil followed by crushed red pepper and onions. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the onions are golden brown.
    • Add garlic. Saute for 30 seconds.
    • Add tomato sauce and San Marzano tomatoes.
    • Stir well.
    • Add dried oregano, dried basil, salt, and black pepper. Stir. Cover with a lid and cook sauce for 7 minutes.
    • The sauce is ready. Turn off the stove. Set aside to cool.

    Boil the Pasta

    • Add pasta to salted boiling water. Follow the instructions on the package and cook the pasta until al dense. DO NOT OVERCOOK the pasta else it'll get super mushy when baking the ziti.
    • Once done, drain the pasta and run it under cold water. This prevents the pasta from sticking together. Set aside.
    • In the meantime, preheat oven to 375 degrees.

    Prepare the Ricotta Spinach Mixture

    • In a large mixing bowl, add ricotta cheese, 2 cups mozzarella cheese, spinach, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and dried oregano. Mix well.
    • Add 3 cups prepared marinara sauce from above. Mix well.
    • Now add the pasta to the ricotta-spinach-sauce mixture.
    • Ready.

    Assemble

    • Spray a 12" x 9" baking dish with olive oil.
    • Transfer all the pasta to the baking dish.
    • Top with remaining marinara sauce.
    • Now top with freshly grated parmesan cheese (without rennet preferably). Make sure to use a good quality parmesan.
    • Add freshly grated 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
    • Cover with a foil.
    • Into the oven for 25 minutes at 375 degrees. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes so the cheese browns slightly.

    Baked Ziti with Spinach is ready. Wait 15 minutes before serving.

      Notes

      • for gluten-free option: use GF pasta.
      • for whole wheat option: use WW pasta.
      • for vegan option: use vegan ricotta, vegan mozzarella, vegan parmesan.
      • for a lightened up option: use part-skim ricotta cheese, reduced-fat mozzarella cheese, and regular parmesan cheese.

      Nutrition

      Calories: 405kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 22gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 823mgPotassium: 214mgFiber: 5gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 2763IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 469mgIron: 4mg
      Course Main Course
      Cuisine American, Italian
      Tried this recipe?Mention @honeywhatscooking or tag #honeywhatscooking!
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        Recipe Rating




      1. Indu Bhoyrul says

        March 29, 2021 at 4:15 pm

        5 stars
        Made Baked Ziti for my family over Christmas holidays, such a huge hit with my boys!!
        Thank you Nisha🥰🥰

        Reply
      2. Kinjal says

        January 26, 2021 at 12:16 am

        5 stars
        Love the idea of adding spinach to the baked ziti!

        Reply
      3. Hema says

        August 01, 2020 at 4:37 pm

        5 stars
        This is an absolute favorite at our house! My hubby who never eats pasta even loves this and asks for it! Thank you!

        Reply
      4. Aman says

        June 29, 2020 at 12:22 pm

        5 stars
        This was such an easy and delicious recipe. It was definitely a crowd pleaser!! I used gluten free pasta and it turned out so good. Everyone had third servings and kept raving about it being so good, so thank you for sharing!!

        Reply
      5. Gagan says

        June 26, 2020 at 6:12 pm

        5 stars
        Such a good recipe. So easy to make. Thank you!!

        Reply
      6. Kinnari says

        June 20, 2020 at 12:41 am

        5 stars
        Hands down THE BEST baked ziti I’ve ever had!!! This recipe is foolproof and very easy to follow. It was also easy to modify it for our dietary needs. My entire family loved it...it’s a keeper!!!

        Reply
      7. Kajal says

        June 19, 2020 at 11:16 pm

        Can’t wait to make this. Looks delish!!!

        Reply
      8. Simran says

        June 17, 2020 at 10:25 pm

        5 stars
        Such a great recipe! Easy to follow, not too many ingredients and the flavour is on point! My husband said it’s my “best pasta yet.” Even my toddler loved it. It’s a dish the whole family can enjoy!

        Reply
        • honeywhatscooking says

          June 17, 2020 at 11:25 pm

          Thanks so much Simran. I'm so glad it's hubby and toddler approved. That means a lot. xoxo

          Reply

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      Hi, I'm Nisha! I'm a foodie who is passionate about healthy-ish living and mindful eating. You'll find a little bit of everything here. I use mostly organic real ingredients and incorporate seasonal produce in my cooking. I believe food is medicine. Come join me on this soul-searching journey as I share my love for good food, and I hope somewhere along the way, I inspire you to eat better.

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