baked ziti vegetarian

No-Boil Baked Ziti with Spinach, Mushrooms and Ricotta - a simple, healthy one-pot meal with only 15 minutes of hands-on time before baking in the oven. Vegan and GF adaptable!

Baked Ziti with Spinach &amp; Mushrooms 

olive oil

onion, chopped

garlic cloves, rough chopped

salt, pepper

chili flakes

Italian seasoning

baby spinach, chopped spinach

chicken stock

dry ziti

ricotta, or herbed tofu ricotta

pecorino

mozzarella cheese

basil

In a large, 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat, add onion, garlic and mushrooms and season generously with salt and pepper,  cooking and stirring until mushrooms release all their liquids and this cooks off, and eventually they get golden brown, about 12 minutes. Taste and make sure these are salted and flavorful.

Add spinach and wilt, then add 2 cups of broth or stock, a jar of marinara sauce and the dry pasta ( about 2 ¾-3 cups dry). Stir, and bring to a simmer. Dot with the dollops of ricotta. Sprinkle with mozzarella and pecorino.  Cover well and place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover and let the cheese get a little golden for a couple of minutes. If there seems to be too much liquid left in the pan, simply simmer uncovered on the stovetop  for 1-2 minutes until it evaporates.

Garnish with fresh herbs and chili flakes.

Entire family Loved this recipe!! I used kale, and added zucchini (since
I have a ton from the garden)
It was amazing. Will definitely make again and again. Super easy, and the clean up also one pan! Can’t beat that. I am excited to try many more of your recipes, they all look amazing. Thank you! ♥️

Absolutely amazing!!! 
I added squash (because I didn’t have enough mushrooms) and crushed tomatoes. Fresh Cilantro for garnish. Appreciate the recipe so much!!!
(FYI, you might want
To correct  the “friends” statement above. It was spelled incorrectly. That would bug me
(But I’m an OCD freak). 😉

This recipe is all you need to make an all-star vegetarian baked ziti with ricotta, marinara sauce, and a layer of bright veggies. Perfect weeknight baked pasta, and you can prepare it ahead and store in the fridge or freezer for later. See notes.

BEST Vegetarian Baked Ziti

Ziti pasta

virgin olive oil

red onion, chopped

zucchini, small diced

bell pepper (orange

garlic cloves,

Kosher salt

dry oregano

tsp sweet paprika

Marinara sauce (store-bought is fine)

basil leaves, torn or carefully sliced/chopped

ricotta (I used part-skim)

Parmesan, divided

oz shredded Mozzarella

Cook the pasta. 

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When ready, add the pasta and cook to al dante according to package. When ready, drain pasta but save about 1/2 cup cooking water.

Cook the vegetables. 

While the pasta is cooking , cook the vegetables. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add onions and cook for 3 minutes or so, tossing regularly, then add diced zucchini, bell pepper, and garlic. Raise heat to medium-high and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes, tossing regularly, until vegetables have softened and cooked through. Season with kosher salt, oregano and paprika. Sit aside till needed.

Prepare the Ricotta Filling. 

In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, 1/4 cup grated Paremsan and 3 tbsp Mozzarella. Mix well. (If needed, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to help mix the cheese)

Combine Pasta with Sauce and Cheese Filling

Once the pasta has been cooked and drained, bring it back to the cooking pot. Add 1/2 of the marinara sauce and starchy cooking water you reserved (1/2 cup). Mix well to coat the pasta with the sauce. Fold in the ricotta cheese filling. Mix again to combine, but leave some big "pockets" of the cheese mixture.

Assemble the Pasta Casserole. 

Grab a 9 1/2" x 13" casserole dish. Pour a little marinara sauce to the bottom of the dish, spread.  Spread half the pasta. Now add the cooked vegetables and some of the torn basil on top and spread well across the pasta layer. Sprinkle a little bit of shredded mozzarella on top (leave more mozzarella for very top layer.) Add remaining pasta. Spread remaining marinara sauce on top and add remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

Bake. 

Place the casserole dish on the middle rack of your heated oven. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or so. Remove from heat and let rest about 10 to 15 minutes before cutting through. garnish with fresh basil.

This is one of my favorite weeknight dinners. Everyone in my family loves it.

Will definitely make this again, it was really good! I didn't have zucchini on hand so I substituted artichole hearts and it was amazing. I also added a bit more basil and oregano as well as garlic. Thank you Suzy. This recipe was 
"Heluah Owie". (Very Good) : )

Oh please please please tell me where you got your baking dish...  i beg of you...

This was fantastic! The only substitution I made was to add some mushrooms. I’ve been in the mood for mostoccoli (as a Chicagoan, that’s what we call this dish!) for a while, and yours didn’t disappoint.

Very tasty, husband approved. I did use a spicy marinara for half of the sauce and we really liked that.  Also used a whole milk ricotta I made myself. We will make this again. Thank you!

Great recipe but of course don't use parmesan if you want it to be vegetarian - there are easy to find veggie alternatives.

Made this today and my wife and I both thought it was a winner! Thank you!

I made this for my family and everyone loved it even the kids. It taste like better than a resturant pasta.

Hello there! Do you use Twitter? I'd like to follow you if that would be okay.
I'm undoubtedly enjoying your blog and look forward to new 
posts.

My whole family of picky eaters loved this recipe.

mushrooms, sliced (cremini, portobello,

salt

pepper

Italian herbs

veggie broth (or chicken broth)

dry ziti pasta

ricotta cheese, or herbed tofu ricotta

garnish with fresh basil (or Italian parsley) and chili flakes.

In a large, 12-inch skillet, heat oil over medium heat, add onion, garlic and mushrooms and season generously with salt and pepper, Italian herbs, cooking and stirring until mushrooms release all their liquids and this cooks off, and eventually they get golden brown, about 12 minutes. Taste and make sure these are salted and flavorful.

Add fresh spinach and wilt, then add 2 cups of broth or stock, a jar of marinara sauce and the dry pasta (about 2 ¾-3 cups dry). Stir, and bring to a simmer. Dot with the dollops of ricotta. Sprinkle with mozzarella and pecorino.  Cover well and place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover and let the cheese get a little golden for a couple of minutes (feel free to broil).  If there seems to be too much liquid left in the pan, simply simmer uncovered on the stovetop for 1-2 minutes until it evaporates.

Absolutely delicious! I used both sausage and mushrooms. I cannot believe that such an easy dish to make can taste so darn good! Thank you for this recipe.

So good!  Followed recipe to a t using the herbed tofu ricotta. Delish!  Thank you!

Fast and delicious! I made this with chicken Italian sausage, mushrooms and chickpea pasta. Bonus points for leftovers for the whole family. My two-year old couldn't get enough of this baked ziti - she insisted on seconds, thirds, and fourths. A home run recipe, just like every other one on this fabulous site.

Instructions are terrible. When do I put in the italian seasoning? Bring to a simmer then cook to cook the noodles or just as soon as it starts to simmer I throw it in the oven?

I tried this last night with Beyond Beef. TBH, the Beyond had a slightly strange flavor, and I think I would have preferred using only mushrooms. Next time I make it, I'll probably slightly reduce the broth, too, as the finished dish had a bit too much liquid.

This is a fun recipe! I threw the Italian Seasoning in with the pasta as I like the Rosemary to cook in and soften if possible. I wondered if next time a splash of Brandy in the sauce and a fresh basil garnish would be nice? But it's also very delicious the way it is! Thank you for sharing.

Fantastic. My picky family devoured it. Next time I want to sub out 1/2 cup of the broth for a dry red wine.

Made this with bow ties instead of ziti and my family LOVED it! Great flavors, very hearty and warm. Thank you for this recipe!

So delicious!!! I topped mine with a fresh squeeze of lemon and peacans. Such a good meal for a pot luck or dinner party.

I made this with Protein Plus penne pasta for extra protein and added zucchini for more veggies. Turned out great!

Tastes great when I happen to look at the right spot for the pasta measurement. However, the amount of pasta in the ingredients list is not consistent with what you say in the paragraph description of the recipe.

https://content.jwplatform.com/videos/JTnS4RGN.mp4

Watch how to make no-boil Baked Ziti with Spinach and Mushroom. With only 15 minutes of hands-on time before baking in the oven, this one-pot meal is the perfect weeknight dinner the whole family will love! Video 

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