Vegetarian Baked Ziti: Recipe and Cooking Tips
Written by MasterClass
Last updated: Apr 20, 2022 • 4 min read
If you’re looking for comfort food on a busy weeknight, try vegetarian baked ziti. This pasta dish has all the charm of lasagna and half the fuss.
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What Is Vegetarian Baked Ziti?
Vegetarian baked ziti is an Italian dish featuring layers of al dente pasta tossed with a light tomato sauce, sautéed vegetables, and cheese. Traditional baked ziti often includes seasoned ground beef, but meatless baked ziti swaps in hearty vegetables like zucchini, bell peppers, and eggplant. If you know how to make lasagna, the process is similar: Assemble the pasta in a casserole dish and bake it until the top layer of cheese is bubbly and golden brown.
4 Tips for Making Vegetarian Baked Ziti
Baked ziti’s defining feature is flexibility: Use the ingredients you have on hand. Here’s what to know about each component:
- 1. Use the right pasta shape. Ziti is a short, hollow, extruded pasta noodle with a smooth texture. A defining characteristic of ziti is its flat ends, cut at ninety degrees rather than at an angle, like penne. (Learn more about the differences between ziti vs. penne.) At the grocery store, you can buy packages of pre-broken ziti with inch-long individual noodles or unbroken ziti with ten-inch-long tubes that you break by hand before cooking. If you can’t find ziti, use penne or rigatoni—the key is a hollow noodle that will fill with sauce.
- 2. Use a ground beef substitute, or skip it entirely. Many grocery stores offer vegetarian “ground beef” in the frozen section, but you can also crumble your favorite veggie burger patty and use it for extra protein.
- 3. Make homemade tomato sauce. Tomato sauce is easy to make at home; plus, making it from scratch allows you to adjust for your personal preferences. If you like heat, add a spoonful of chopped Calabrian chili and extra garlic; if you prefer a traditional marinara sauce recipe, use a combination of fresh and dried herbs (like oregano and basil) to infuse the whole dish with their aroma.
- 4. Make it vegan. To make a vegan baked ziti, use your favorite vegan cheese and egg-free pasta noodles.
How to Store Vegetarian Baked Ziti
Store vegetarian baked ziti in an oven-safe airtight container in the refrigerator for one week. (Before sealing, allow the dish to come to room temperature.) To reheat, cover the ziti with foil and place it in a 380-degree-Fahrenheit oven until warmed through; remove the foil to crisp the top layer.
To make ahead, assemble all of the components in a baking dish, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and store it in the fridge. For more extended storage, freeze the assembled dish before baking, then bake in the oven as directed.
Simple Vegetarian Baked Ziti Recipe
makes
prep time
20 mintotal time
1 hr 20 mincook time
1 hrIngredients
Note: The total time does not include 10 minutes of inactive time.
- 1
In a sauté pan over medium heat, warm 2 tablespoons of the olive oil until shimmering.
- 2
Mince 3 of the garlic cloves. Add the minced garlic to the pan along with the fennel and red pepper flakes.
- 3
Sauté the garlic and spices until aromatic, about 1 minute.
- 4
Add the tomato paste, and stir to combine.
- 5
Continue to cook until the tomato paste turns a shade darker, another 3–4 minutes.
- 6
Add the diced tomatoes and season to taste with salt and pepper.
- 7
Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer and cook until thickened, occasionally stirring, about 10 minutes.
- 8
Add the oregano and stir to incorporate.
- 9
Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper as needed. Set it aside.
- 10
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, warm the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until shimmering.
- 11
Add the onion and season with salt and pepper.
- 12
Sauté the onion until it begins to soften, 3–4 minutes.
- 13
Thinly slice the remaining 2 cloves of garlic. Add the sliced garlic to the pan with the onion.
- 14
Sauté the onion and garlic until fragrant, another 1–2 minutes.
- 15
Add the zucchini, bell pepper, and eggplant. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
- 16
Sauté until the vegetables are tender but still maintain their structure, about 5–7 minutes.
- 17
Add the olives, if using, and stir to combine.
- 18
Taste the vegetable mixture and adjust with more salt and pepper as needed. Set it aside.
- 19
In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, shredded mozzarella, grated Parmesan, and lemon zest, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Set it aside.
- 20
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
- 21
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions until al dente.
- 22
Drain the pasta well and transfer it to a large mixing bowl.
- 23
Preheat the oven to 380 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 24
Add ¾ cup of the tomato sauce to the bowl of cooked pasta, and toss to combine.
- 25
Spread a layer of sauce along the bottom of a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- 26
Cover the sauce base with about half of the cooked pasta.
- 27
Dollop generous spoonfuls of the cheese mixture evenly over the pasta layer, using about half of the cheese mixture.
- 28
Top the cheese mixture with half of the sautéed vegetables.
- 29
Repeat with the remaining pasta, cheese mixture, and vegetables.
- 30
Finish with any remaining sauce and top with additional shredded mozzarella and Parmesan.
- 31
Bake the ziti, rotating the pan halfway through, until the cheese has melted and the dish is golden brown along the edges, about 40 minutes.
- 32
Remove the dish from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before garnishing with fresh basil, slicing, and serving.
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