Baked Ziti with Roasted Vegetables
This amazing baked ziti recipe is lightened up with roasted vegetables. Golden mozzarella, sizzling red sauce and pasta make this vegetarian ziti delicious!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 30, 2024
Here she is, the lightened-up baked ziti of my dreams. This baked ziti has all of lasagna’s saucy, mozzarella-topped appeal, but is easier to pull off on a regular weeknight. Amen.
When I dreamed up this recipe, I wanted to replace some of the pasta with roasted vegetables. In the end, I was able to displace half of the ziti (8 ounces) with two pounds (32 ounces!) of vegetables.
I chose cauliflower, which develops the most irresistible golden edges as it roasts, red bell pepper and yellow onion. I love this combination, but you could easily use your favorite vegetables here.
It took me a while to find the perfect ratio of mozzarella, marinara, and ricotta (I actually used cottage cheese, more on that in a bit). I believe I’ve hit the nail on the head with the final recipe, and can’t wait to hear how it turns out for you.
The Best Baked Ziti
This baked ziti recipe is so versatile. Here are a few more reasons to love it:
- This vegetarian baked ziti will satisfy everyone. True, it’s meatless, but carnivores love ziti without the meat when it tastes this good.
- This baked ziti would be a great option for a date night or casual entertaining. You’ll have plenty of time between steps to chat and sip wine.
- It’s a quiet recipe to make, too. You don’t have to sauté anything! I feel like this is an underrated recipe quality.
- This ziti can be assembled up to 3 days in advance, so this is a perfect dish to make ahead or bring to a friend who could use a good meal.
- This lightened-up classic Italian dish is surprisingly high in protein. Each serving offers twenty grams!
- This ziti would be awesome with my chopped Italian salad. Feel free to make a simplified version of it.
Watch How to Make Baked Ziti
Baked Ziti Ingredient Notes
This recipe doesn’t require a long list of ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need:
Pasta
Preferably ziti, but rigatoni or penne will also work. I usually opt for whole wheat noodles (love DeLallo and Bionaturae), but those have been harder to come by lately, so I used Whole Foods’ organic ziti for these pictures. Pasta is generally sold in one-pound boxes so you’ll need half of a box.
I believe you could use a sturdy corn and quinoa pasta blend to make this recipe gluten free.
Marinara
I’m a huge fan of my homemade marinara recipe, but since this recipe is supposed to be simple, I opted for a jarred option from the store. My favorite brand is Rao’s, which tastes pretty close to my homemade sauce. If you do want to make homemade marinara, you’ll need to double my recipe to yield the four cups you’ll need for this ziti.
Vegetables
I used cauliflower, bell pepper and onion. If you’re sensitive to onions, you might want to swap the onion for something else (maybe a sweet potato?).
You can use up your leftover vegetables in this ziti recipe. You’ll need about two pounds prepared vegetables to make it work. Keep in mind that heads of broccoli or cauliflower weigh twice as much as they yield in florets (so a two-pound bunch of broccoli will yield about one pound of florets).
Fresh Basil
Now, you could skip the basil, but it adds a lot of irresistible fresh flavor to jarred marinara, and livens up the cheesy finished dish. In my opinion, it is worth buying!
Mozzarella
Part-skim mozzarella is ideal here, since it develops a beautiful golden shade in the oven. It also makes your finished dish less greasy than it would be if you used full-fat mozzarella.
It’s best to grate your cheese yourself, rather than to buy the pre-shredded kind (you’ll also save money this way). Pre-grated cheese is typically coated in starch or powder that can inhibit its melty factor.
Cottage Cheese (or Ricotta)
Scandalous, I know! I genuinely prefer cottage cheese to ricotta here, even though I can’t stand cottage cheese on its own. Ricotta tends to get gummy when heated, which bothers me, whereas cottage cheese turns magically more creamy and delicious. Use whichever one you prefer in lasagna recipes.
A Few Tips Before You Get Started
Use half-sheet pans. If only everyone owned these basic half-sheet pans (affiliate link). They offer a lot of surface area, so your vegetables have some breathing room while they roast.
Be sure to use a big baker. You’ll need a three quart baker (think 9×13″ with deep sides) for this one. Here’s mine. To err on the side of caution against overflow, I’ve instructed you to place the baker on a clean rimmed baking sheet when it’s in the oven.
Don’t overcook your pasta. In fact, you want it a little bit undercooked, so cook it for the shortest amount of time offered on the package. It should still have a little bite to it when you drain it, since it will continue to cook while it’s in the oven.
Please let me know how this baked ziti recipe turns out for you in the comments! I hope you love it as much as I do.
Craving more Italian comfort food? Don’t miss these recipes on Cookie and Kate:
- Best Vegetable Lasagna
- Baked Ziti with Lentils
- Hearty Spaghetti with Lentils and Marinara Sauce
- Classic Minestrone Soup
Baked Ziti with Roasted Vegetables
This amazing baked ziti recipe is lightened up with roasted vegetables. Golden mozzarella, sizzling red sauce and tender pasta make this vegetarian ziti super delicious! Recipe yields 8 servings.
Ingredients
Roasted veggies
- 1 medium head of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1″ squares
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced into wedges about ½″ wide
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- ¼ teaspoon fine salt, divided
Pasta and everything else
- 8 ounces ziti, rigatoni or penne pasta
- 4 cups (32 ounces) marinara sauce (homemade or store-bought), divided
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil, plus extra for garnish
- 8 ounces (2 packed cups) grated part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided
- 2 cups (16 ounces) cottage cheese or ricotta cheese, divided
Instructions
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To roast the veggies: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit with racks in the middle and upper third of the oven. Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper to prevent the vegetables from sticking.
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Place the cauliflower florets on one pan. On the other pan, combine the bell peppers and onion. Drizzle half of the olive oil over one pan, and the other half over the other pan. Sprinkle the salt over the two pans. Gently toss until the vegetables on each pan are lightly coated in oil.
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Arrange the vegetables in an even layer across each pan. Bake until the vegetables are tender and caramelized on the edges, about 30 to 35 minutes, tossing the veggies and swapping their rack positions halfway (lower rack to upper rack, and vice versa). Leave the oven on at 425, because we’re going to bake the dish at the same temperature. If you end up with any stray burnt onion pieces, discard them, and set the vegetables aside.
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Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook the pasta just until al dente, according to package directions (it will continue to cook while it bakes in the oven, so you want the pasta to still have a little bite to it). Drain and return the pasta to the pot.
- Add 2 cups of the marinara, the chopped basil, and ½ cup of the mozzarella to the pasta. Gently stir to combine.
- It’s assembly time! Spread 1 cup of additional marinara sauce inside a 9 by 13-inch baker. Top with half of the pasta mixture, and gently spread it into an even layer. Evenly sprinkle the roasted cauliflower on top, then dollop 1 cup of the cottage cheese over the cauliflower (it doesn’t need to be spread into an even layer), followed by ½ cup of the mozzarella.
- Top the mozzarella with the remaining pasta. Then sprinkle the roasted peppers and onion on top, dollop the remaining cup of ricotta on top, then dollop the remaining cup of marinara on that, then sprinkle the remaining cheese all over.
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Place a clean, rimmed baking sheet on the lower oven rack to catch any drippings. Place the ziti, uncovered, on top of the baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, then transfer to the upper rack for 2 to 5 more minutes until the cheese is deeply golden, if desired.
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Remove the baker from the oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before serving (trust me). Sprinkle freshly torn basil on top, slice with a sharp knife, and serve.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my lentil baked ziti and Allison Roman’s baked ziti.
Make it gluten free: Substitute sturdy gluten-free pasta (such as a corn and quinoa blend).
Advance preparation: You could roast the vegetables up to 3 days in advance. You can also go ahead and assemble the whole thing and refrigerate until baking. It’s probably a good candidate for freezing before baking, too. Please let me know if you try.
Dairy free/vegan note: I’m not sure if this recipe is a good candidate to make vegan, since the cheese offers both volume and structure. My best guess would be to double the recipe for my vegan sour cream (also available in my cookbook, page 217) and use 2 cups instead of the cottage cheese. Omit the mozzarella and use all of the tomato sauce for the final layer. Serve the lasagna with a dollop of additional sour cream on top or, better yet, basil pesto.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I prefer to avoid eating meat but it seems that so many vegetarian recipes out there are very low in protein – this was wonderful, and I really appreciate the suggestion to use cottage cheese instead of ricotta!
Kate, Another fabulous recipe! I made it exactly how you had it posted. My husband loved it. Made a salad, garlic bread and this wonderful pasta dish of yours. The cauliflower, red pepper and onions were wonderful in it. Great combination of flavors. Today was my cookie and Kate cooking day. Made your hummus, granola and jalapeño lime salad dressing. Thank you for the wonderful recipes! I’m never disappointed in any of your recipes.
I’m glad to hear you have tried it already and loved it, David! I appreciate the review.
I made this last weekend and it was absolutely amazing! I used fat free cottage cheese instead of ricotta and I honestly cannot tell the difference. The only thing I did different was put some Italian seasoning on the vegetables while I roasted them to add additional flavor. I will definitely be making this again!
Thanks for trying it, Cara! I’m glad you liked it.
My family loved this! It was amazing!
Thank you, Kate!
Thank you!! Just what I needed to reduce weight and lead a healthier life
Thanks for sharing, Ben!
I made this exactly as written using a 32oz jar of Rao’s Marinara with the exception that I mixed an egg into 2 cups of Galbani whole milk ricotta (which is rated the best store-bought ricotta on several websites). My husband and I were both very happy with the results. This recipe is a keeper.
I served the ziti with Kate’s Italian Salad as referenced above but I left out the radicchio since I don’t like it and I I left out the provolone since I didn’t think we needed any more cheese. The salad was also very good and a nice change from my usual arugula salad with parm, lemon juice, and olive oil.
Sounds great, Carol! If you would like to leave a star review, that would be amazing!
My oldest daughter and I made this for dinner tonight and she declared it delicious. We used your marinara recipe, which I made ahead while I was roasting the veggies. I added minced parsley and salt to my ricotta. Also, I made these in two small glass Pyrex dishes. I baked 1 for dinner and refrigerated the other, as I think pasta never tastes as good reheated. I too guessed at the temperature, no wonder mine took okay longer to bake.
I love that you used my marinara recipe! I bet it tasted even better. Thanks so much for sharing, Kristin!
For any of my pasta recipes, instead of ricotta cheese I use extra firm tofu and I mash it with a potato masher. Then I add in some oregano and basil and nutritional yeast and mashed at all together and that’s what I use instead. It’s nice and light and add more protein! For one package of extra firm tofu I use about a half of cup of nutritional yeast, more or less to taste make sure to squeeze extra water out of the tofu
Thanks for sharing, Sarah!
I just made baked ziti with roasted vegetables this evening for a small dinner party and it was FABULOUS! I love a heavy, cheesy pasta dish as much as the next person, but even though this was relatively light on the cheese and pasta, it was really, really yummy. Everyone loved it. My only regret is that my guests jumped at the offer to take some home so I didn’t get to keep all the leftovers for myself.
Thank you so much, Kate. You haven’t steered me wrong yet.
Thanks for letting me know it was a hit with your dinner party, Heidi!
Loved it! I was skeptical because I am not usually a big fan of cauliflower but the flavor combination was amazing! My husband liked it too, and it was easy to put together (I roasted the veggies in advance) so I will definitely save this recipe.
Thanks for your review, Deb! I’m glad you tried it, even though you were skeptical.
Wow, this was even tastier than I expected it to be. Thank you! I made a double batch of your marinara as you suggested (but didn’t use it all), and made the recipe as written, with cottage cheese. When I was making the pasta layers, it didn’t look like enough, but I did like the ratio of veggies to pasta in the finished product. Thanks for sharing this great recipe.
Thank you, Kelly!
Absolutely scrumptious! Caught my husband sneaking extra bites in the kitchen for “dessert”… definitely a keeper.
That’s awesome! Thanks for your review, Paula.
Amazing! I’ve been nudging my family more and more toward plant based over the years, especially since my father in law (with health issues) moved in w us. This was their FAVORITE meatless dish I’ve made to date; even my son was happy. And I was happiest, knowing how many veggies they were eating. Might sneak in a few more next time. :)
This is a good one! Thanks for letting me know it was a hit with your family, Alisse!
Thank you for another wonderful recipe! This was quick and delicious. . .my entire family loved it!
You’re welcome, Frances! I’m so happy to hear it.
Excellent Excellent Excellent! I added a bit of fresh minced garlic to the cauliflower roasting just because I love garlic… recipe was easy to follow as usual and fantastic!
I’m glad you loved it, Ashley!
I am a big fan of your site and am so thankful for your recipes! I too like Rao’s sauces but they are very expensive where I live. On a whim I tried the Muir Glen Tomato Basil (at half the price) and was very impressed. Tastes fresher than the Rao’s and much less oil. I know you like the Muir Glen canned tomatoes so I thought I would pass this tip on. Trying this recipe tonight. Have not doubt my family will be pleased!
Thanks for sharing, Kris!
We loved this recipe! We live quite a ways out of town, so I used what I had in the pantry/frig: provolone instead of mozzarella and one jar of marinara plus a can of diced tomatoes augmented by Italian seasoning blend, and I used fat-free cottage cheese. It was scrumptious! Can’t wait to try it with roasted zucchini and mushrooms.
Thank you for sharing your version, Debbie! I’m happy you enjoyed it.
I made this ziti recipe for company. It was loved by all. I used part skim ricotta, otherwise followed the recipe closely. I prepared it in the afternoon so baked it for 45 to 50 minutes.
I’m glad it was a hit, Beth!
I made this the other day using gluten free penne pasta since I did not have gluten free ziti. It was delicious! We love the taste of the roasted veggies. Its one of our favorite recipes. I roasted the veggies first an hour or so before hand due to my time schedule then made the rest later and baked. It sounds like a lot of work in prep but actually wasn’t.
Our new favorite.
Great to hear, Joan! I appreciate the review.
Can the leftovers be frozen to eat at a later time?
I haven’t tried it, Kerry. But, typically recipes with dairy don’t freeze the best as they tend to get watery. If you try it, let me know!
Can this be cooked and frozen,then reheated?
I have’t tried it. Typically, dishes with a lot of dairy liked this don’t always freeze well as they tend to get watery.
This is amazing. So much rich flavor with the roasted veg. Used vegs listed in recipe, plus one roasted sweet potato. Requires a bit of prep but very much worth it! I keep 28 oz can crushed tomatoes on hand always. Added seasoning and used it for the sauce. Love the cottage cheese instead of ricotta. Would like to give this recipe10 stars
Thanks for sharing! I’m so happy you loved this one so much, Diane.
We used this recipe for our Mardi Gras dinner, and we made it with your marinara recipe…. Our somewhat veggie averse kids asked for seconds! A hit all around, thanks!
You’re welcome, Joe! Thanks for sharing.
Hi! I’m a big fan of your blog and I cook your recipes daily. Love your work! I followed this one to a T, though, and it came out very dry and chewy. :/ I use a gas oven and baked it for 30 minutes. Would you suggest putting the pan on the lowest rack, or maybe cooking it for less time? I’ve had other califlower pasta dishes here before though and normally they come out delicious! Don’t know where I went wrong.
Oh no! I’m sorry this didn’t turnout perfect for you. Yes, maybe try baking it for a little less time and increase as needed. Ovens can be tricky!
I had hoped to let you know how the leftovers stood up to freezing but it’s so good that there are none. We loved our broccoli version but we’re definitely going to try cauliflower next time. I suspected by jarred spaghetti sauce would be bland so I am glad I added red pepper flakes and extra garlic. Another hit recipe from Cookie – don’t know what you’d do without her!
Love to hear that, Cheri! Thanks for the review.
I made this dish last night for myself and friends. We loved it. It was so tasty Im afraid we had seconds.Looks fabulous in the dish. Im afraid I haven’t got a photo but it looked just like your picture. I will definitely make this again.
Thank you for sharing, Diane!
Great flavor and feels much lighter than traditional ziti bakes. I made this for a meal drop off- perfect because my girlfriend could just pop it in the oven when her family was ready to eat. A great blog post would be your top 5 meals for meal drop offs :)
Thank you, Jessica!
I have to admit I was skeptical about the roasted cauliflower but it was my favorite part of the dish. Who knew? Great way to curb the lasagna craving with a much healthier version!
That’s awesome! I love when that happens. Thanks for sharing, Michelle!
Another amazing dish from C+K! I used rotini, jarred Rao’s roasted garlic marinara, and part skim ricotta. This dish was hearty, satisfying, and felt a little bit healthier than traditional backed ziti thanks to all of the veggies.
Thank you, Joni! I’m also glad you tried Rao’s sauce. I appreciate the review!
I LOVED this! Usually I’m bad about eating leftovers but I actually looked forward to taking this to work for lunch every day. Followed the recipe exactly except forgot to get basil at the store and used Whole Foods brand marinara. I’m going to make and assemble a day ahead of time for book club this week so will let you know if there are any issues with that. Thanks for the great vegetarian recipes!!
You’re welcome, Hannah! Thank you for your review.
I was a cauliflower skeptic until I made this recipe. The roasted cauliflower has a toasty, savory taste. It went very well with the tomato sauce. This is a much more balanced baked ziti than what I grew up with; it’s still cheesy and delicious but I can feel good about serving it. One of my friends told me “I would become a vegetarian if every meal tasted like this.”
I’m so glad you made it anyway! I love that is was a hit, Jackie.
Hi Kate! I plan to make this this weekend, and am considering adding lentils for bulk – I get hungry way too quickly on primarily-veggie dishes.. Would you recommend adding the lentils as prepared in your lentil baked ziti recipe? Thanks, and I can’t wait to try this out!
That would be a great place to start, Meg! Let me know what you think.
This was so delicious. I appreciate you sharing your recipe!!
You’re welcome, Lisa! I’m happy you liked it.
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Love this veggie combo!
Thank you, Claire!
I’ve been making this recipe for a couple of months now but just made it for a birthday lunch and wanted to tell you how much I love it. I actually haven’t added the cauliflower but think the recipe is so tasty even without it. Like you, I used whole grain pasta (penne since ziti wasn’t available) and Rao’s sauce. Thank you for this–so easy yet delicious!
I’m glad you love it, Jenna!
Made this tonight and it was so so good. Rao’s will be my go to marina sauce from now on! I did use more cheese (hey I’m from WI) but other than that I made it as written. Thank you Kate for all of your wonderful vegetarian recipes!
Thank you for your review, Nicole!
This was delish! I added mushrooms and used homemade vegan ricotta and even my meat-loving husband said this was good!
Hooray! Thanks for the review, Jocelyn.
I agree about the cottage cheese. My mom always used cottage cheese in her lasagna. It is moist and creamy! Yum!
Great to hear you think so, Laura!
I made this and everyone in my family loved it! Definitely will be making this regularly. Healthy, filling and delicious!
Thank you, Laura!
I love this! I’ve made it twice. First time with ricotta and second time with cottage cheese and I’m with you Kate, I prefer the cottage cheese. I followed the recipe and it turned out amazing, but added a little extra basil because I love basil! I think this recipe would be really good with mushrooms too. I didn’t make my own marinara, but I bought a reduced sodium one Silver Palate that was pretty delicious.
I’m glad you are loving this recipe, Kelly! I love basil too, and a little extra sounds nice!
Hey Kate,
I am going to make this recipe tomorrow for a dinner party. I will have a slow roast already cooking in the oven at 350, is it possible to cook this dish at 350 with a longer cook time, so that I do not disturb my other dish?
You could try it and see. Since most of it is already cooked, it should be ok. Although I didn’t test it at that temperature so not sure how long it will take. Keep an eye on it. To get the cheese bubbly, you will want to increase the temperature at the end, if that works. Or see if moving it to the top rack will work. Good luck!
Has anyone made this ahead of time and frozen it? Would I thaw it first before baking, or bake from frozen?
I don’t think this one would freeze well, Linda. Typically dairy and pasta dishes don’t hold up as well frozen. But, if you try it, let me know!
I made this for a group coming over after church last weekend. It turned our great!! I added a middle layer of sautéed mushrooms with garlic. I thought it would give a little meatiness to the dish. It is a wonderful recipe—thank you so much for sharing
You’re welcome, Susan!
Hi Kate, my toddler and I love your lasagna! (Hard to get a 20 month old to eat vegetables) I want to make this ziti tonight for dinner and possibly freeze one for us to eat next month for when is little brother arrives. Any tips for making this dish freeze well?
Thank you!
I hear this one is a hit with kiddos, too! Unfortunately, I haven’t froze this one. Typically, pasta dishes and with dairy don’t freeze well as they tend to release a lot of water. Congrats on the new on on the way, too!
If you use a 10×14 pan you don’t have to use a dripping catcher. I only have one rimmed banking sheet – used a pizza pan for the cauliflower – worked fine. It’s easier to coat the veggies in oil in a bowl rather than on the baking sheet. Made your marinara sauce – easy cheesy! Another great recipe! Thanks! I’d post a pic but can’t see how. Oh, and I used more cheese than you call for. Always :)
Thanks for sharing!
I just made this tonight ant it is delicious! Thanks for another great recipe.
You’re welcome, Mary!
Kate, this was absolutely phenomenal! I have not reviewed one of your recipes before, but this one deserves the kudos! It was superb – thank you for this. It will be added into my rotation of commonly-made recipes!
I’m so happy you love this one, Melissa!
Made this over the weekend and it was a hit! Made your marinara sauce as well. I ended up just roasting all the veggies together and that worked well. Tasted just as good if not better on Day 2. Thank you!!!!
You’re welcome, hope! Thanks for sharing.
Soooo late to the game! First go at baked pasta other than lasagne. It was delicious, but I’m not the person to impress… BOTH the fussy toddler AND the baby loved it!! Thanks – adding this one to the regular vego meals list!
I’m glad this impressed even the picky eaters, Sarani! Thanks for your review.
Absolutely delicious and my toddler ate it up. I would definitely make this again and I’ve recommended it to a bunch of friends already.
Thanks for recommending it, Nancy!