Vegetarian Baked Ziti
Vegetarian Baked Ziti
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- This is such an amazing dish. It’s also a great freezer meal. This will make 2 casseroles.
- In a large stock pot, boil water and add about 2-3 tablespoons of kosher salt.
- Now, add your pasta and cook till about ¾ of the cooking time on the package.
- Once pasta is done, pull out of the pot using a spider and add to a large bowl that has 3-4 ladles of your marinara sauce. Stir the pasta and coat with the sauce.
- Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil.
- Once the oil is shimmering but not smoking, add your zucchini. Season the zucchini with 3/4 teaspoon of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper.
- Cook the zucchini, stirring until lightly browned. This will take 5-8 minutes.
- Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Now, repeat the same step with the mushrooms. Remove the mushrooms and add to the dish with the zucchini.
- In another large bowl, add your ricotta, whisked egg, 2 cups of the shredded mozzarella, drained spinach and ½ cup of pecorino romano. Mix this all together until combined.
- Now, it’s time to assemble! You’ll need to 9 x 13 casserole dishes. Ladle enough sauce onto the bottom of each dish so the pasta won’t stick. You now want to layer like a lasagna. You want to add a layer of pasta, zucchini and mushrooms next, ricotta mixture, mozzarella and layer of sauce. Repeat with a second layer. Finish by covering the whole casserole with mozzarella. You will do this for both casseroles.
- You can now bake this in a 400-degree oven for 45 minutes. I like to cover for the first 20-30 minutes and then uncover until the cheese is nice and browned and the casserole is bubbling.
- You can also cover the casseroles with plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil. I like to write on the foil, so I know what’s in my freezer. This will stay good in your freezer up to 3 months.
- You can cook this right from your freezer, 400-degrees for 1-hour and 15 minutes or defrost the night before and cook for 45 minutes as described above.
- This is delicious and you’ll be glad you made two. Enjoy!
Video
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Let us know how it was!Make-ahead & Freezing
Makes two 9 x 13 casseroles. After assembling, cover each casserole with plastic wrap and then a layer of aluminum foil and label the foil. Stored this way, the casseroles will keep in the freezer up to 3 months.
To bake from frozen: bake at 400°F for 1 hour and 15 minutes. To bake after defrosting: defrost overnight and bake at 400°F for 45 minutes, covered for the first 20–30 minutes, then uncovered until the cheese is browned and the casserole is bubbling.
Ingredient Prep
- Ricotta: Drain using a coffee filter and strainer over a large bowl for at least 3–4 hours or overnight.
- Frozen spinach: Thaw, transfer to a clean dish towel, and squeeze out all the water before adding it to the ricotta mixture.
Why drain the ricotta and squeeze the spinach?
Draining ricotta removes whey that can separate and release liquid as the casserole heats; that excess liquid loosens the ricotta mixture and can make the filling runny. Squeezing thawed frozen spinach removes trapped water from the leaves so the spinach doesn’t dilute the ricotta. Removing those sources of moisture ahead of baking helps the filling stay creamy and the casserole hold its structure.
Watch Dr. J Make Vegetarian Baked Ziti
Watch Dr. J make Vegetarian Baked Ziti and see how it comes together.
