Baked Ziti


4 of 5 (1)
member ratings
Nutritional Info
  • Servings Per Recipe: 12
  • Amount Per Serving
  • Calories: 533.3
  • Total Fat: 22.8 g
  • Cholesterol: 68.3 mg
  • Sodium: 1,019.5 mg
  • Total Carbs: 50.2 g
  • Dietary Fiber: 4.7 g
  • Protein: 34.9 g

View full nutritional breakdown of Baked Ziti calories by ingredient


Introduction

Make your own sauce to make this really good. Store bought sauce can be used, but the dish won't be as yummy. Eat a small portion, and have some salad and vegetables, to make this part of your healthy routine. Make your own sauce to make this really good. Store bought sauce can be used, but the dish won't be as yummy. Eat a small portion, and have some salad and vegetables, to make this part of your healthy routine.
Number of Servings: 12

Ingredients

    1 lb. uncooked ziti
    2 large cans of tomato puree
    2 medium onions, chopped
    4-6 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
    1 Tbsp fresh oregano, chopped fine. If using dried, use half the amount.
    salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
    2 lbs part-skim ricotta
    2 lbs part-skim mozzarella (shredded if available, or shred yourself)

Directions

Sautee chopped onion in olive oil till translucent. Add finely chopped garlic and continue to sautee briefly, until the garlic releases its aroma.

Add all the tomato puree, lower the burner, and simmer uncovered for about 2 hours, stirring often (about every 5 minutes). This will bubble up and spit out of the pot, so if you have a fry screen, you can use it to prevent tomato from getting all over your kitchen. Add the oregano during the last half hour of cooking. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings to taste.

When the sauce is ready, cook the ziti according to package directions. When al dente, drain well.

Put the ricotta into a large bowl, and spoon sauce into it until it takes on a pink tinge and is soft, but not runny. This will probably be about a cup, but I've never measured.

Add the cooked ziti to the ricotta mixture, and mix together till it's all mixed together.

Prepare a 9 x 13" lasagna pan (brush it with olive oil). Spoon half the ziti mixture into the pan. Cover with half the shredded mozzarella. Spoon some sauce over this (it doesn't have to cover completely - leave some space). Repeat in a second layer.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and place in a 350 degree oven. Bake for about 40 minutes, or till it begins to bubble. Remove the foil and bake another 5 minutes, or till it's very bubbly, but hasn't started to brown yet.

Serve with extra sauce, so folks who like to can spoon the extra sauce on at the table.

Number of Servings: 12

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user LILEONORE.