Baked Ziti with Spinach and Ricotta (no meat)

Baked pasta is the perfect meal to feed a crowd. I love to make this ahead of time and just popping it in the oven when we are ready to enjoy.

This baked ziti has no meat and is instead loaded with fresh veggies, tomato sauce, and cheeses. It is a great recipe that is always a family favorite.

Meatless Baked Ziti Recipe Ingredients

• Pasta: I use ziti for this baked pasta recipe, you can also use penne if you prefer. I use regular pasta but you can easily swap it out for whole wheat or gluten free pasta.
• Onion: This recipe calls for 1 yellow onion. You could also substitute a red onion or 2 shallots instead.
• Zucchini: The zucchini adds some texture to the pasta. You can easily skip this or add more if you want. If you want to swap it out for another vegetable, asparagus or broccoli would also work.
• Bell Pepper: The red bell pepper blends really nicely with the tomato sauce. You could easily swap out with other bell peppers if you prefer.
• Garlic: This recipe calls for 3 garlic cloves. Feel free to use more or less based on preference.
• Seasonings: The seasonings use in this recipe are salt, oregano, and red pepper flakes. If you are sensitive to spice you can skip the red pepper flakes. You could also add in Italian seasoning or some dried basil.
• Marinara Sauce: You can use any type of tomato sauce in this recipe. I have made it with a roasted garlic tomato sauce, a classic maranaa, or even and arriabata sauce. Any type of pasta sauce you choose should be good here
• Spinach: This recipe calls for 3 cups of spinach. It sounds like a lot but it cooks down quite a bit. You could even add more if you want.
• Ricotta: The creamy ricotta adds a great flavor and creaminess to the dish. I sometimes see people use cottage cheese in their pasta but I think ricotta tastes so much better.
• Parmesan: Parmesan cheese adds a great saltiness to the pasta. If you want more cheese you can easily double the amount of parmesan or have extra to add on top for serving.
• Mozzarella: For the top of the pasta bake, add some shredded mozzarella to melt over the pasta. I like to use a ball of fresh mozzarella and just pull off little piece to add to the top of the sauce.
• Basil: I love to top this ziti pasta with a little bit of fresh herbs. If you don’t have any fresh basil it will be fine without it.

How to Make a Vegetarian Baked Ziti

Making a baked pasta is actually simplier than it may seem. Here are the main steps to making a baked ziti:

1. Cook your pasta
2. Cook your veggies
3. Mix together pasta, veggies, sauce, and cheese
4. Bake for 30 minutes

What to Serve with Baked Ziti

This is a fairly heavy pasta dish so I love to serve it with some type of light side salad. You can also serve it with some garlic bread to soak up any extra sauce.

A few of my favorite salad pairing with this meal are:

• Simple Kale Salad
• Spinach and Arugula Salad with Apples and Pecans
• Dill and Feta Chopped Salad

How to Make Ahead

This is a great meal to make ahead of time. After step 5, before baking, put a lid on your baking dish and place in the fridge for up to 4 days. If you want to store for longer you can put it in the freezer for up to 1 month.

When you go to bake the pasta it might take a little bit longer since it is baking from cold.

I love to use baking pans that come with a lid so it is in a sealer airtight container. I use these ones from Ikea. Here are similar baking dished from Amazon.

How to Store

You can store left overs in the fridge in an airtight container. If your pasta has dried out at all, add a little extra tomato sauce or water when reheating.

Other Pasta Recipes You Might Like

• Easy Spinach Artichoke Pasta Bake
• The Best Spicy Vodka Rigatoni
• Weeknight Goat Cheese and Tomato Pasta