**Baked Ziti and Roasted Veggies: A Flavorful and Hearty Italian-American Dish**
Baked ziti is a classic Italian-American pasta dish featuring tender ziti noodles enveloped in a rich, flavorful sauce, topped with melted cheese, and baked until golden and bubbly. This comforting casserole is often served alongside a medley of roasted vegetables, creating a delightful combination of flavors and textures. In this article, we'll delve into two delectable recipes: a classic baked ziti with a homemade tomato sauce and a vegetarian version with roasted vegetables and a creamy Alfredo sauce. Both recipes promise a satisfying and memorable dining experience, perfect for family gatherings, potlucks, or cozy weeknight dinners.
ROASTED VEGETABLE ZITI BAKE
This fresh-tasting and well-seasoned entree is a real crowd-pleaser. "I combine roasted vegetables, zesty sauce and just the right touch of melted cheese to create this pasta dish that's deliciously filling," says Helen Carpenter from her home in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Provided by Taste of Home
Categories Dinner
Time 1h20m
Yield 12 servings.
Number Of Ingredients 21
Steps:
- In a 15x10x1-in. baking pan coated with cooking spray, combine the eggplant, red onion and yellow peppers. Drizzle with oil; sprinkle with salt. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 35-45 minutes or until edges of peppers begin to brown, stirring every 10 minutes., Meanwhile, in a saucepan, saute onions in oil until tender. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and fennel; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, parsley, salt, pepper, sugar and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain., In two greased 2-qt. baking dishes, spread 1/2 cup sauce each. In each dish, layer a fourth of the pasta, a fourth of the roasted vegetables and 1/2 cup sauce. Top with 2 cups spinach and 1/2 cup sauce. Top with remaining roasted vegetables, pasta and sauce. , Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until heated through and cheese is melted.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 230 calories, Fat 5g fat (1g saturated fat), Cholesterol 5mg cholesterol, Sodium 497mg sodium, Carbohydrate 40g carbohydrate (0 sugars, Fiber 4g fiber), Protein 10g protein. Diabetic Exchanges
BAKED ROASTED VEGETABLE ZITI
The best Baked Ziti with tons of delicious roasted vegetables and topped with melted mozzarella cheese. Easy and so delicious.
Provided by Kristen McCaffrey
Categories Dinner
Time 50m
Yield 5
Number Of Ingredients 11
Steps:
- Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.
- Toss the vegetables with olive oil, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Roast for 15 minutes or until tender. Set aside one serving for lunch later in the week.
- Turn the oven down to 400 degrees.
- Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions but take out of the water after 8 minutes or when the pasta is very al dente. It will cook again in the oven so this will prevent it from over-cooking.
- Toss together the roasted vegetables, pasta, and marinara sauce. Pour into a prepared baking dish. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbling.
Nutrition Facts : ServingSize 1.25 cups, Calories 365 cal, Carbohydrate 55 g, Fat 10 g, Protein 16 g, Fiber 11 g, SaturatedFat 4 g, Cholesterol 17 mg, Sodium 678 mg, Sugar 16 g
VEGETARIAN BAKED ZITI
Baked ziti is one of our family favorites; I developed this to serve at dinner when a good friend who is a vegetarian comes over.
Provided by HisHouseCook
Categories Pasta and Noodles Pasta by Shape Recipes
Time 1h25m
Yield 12
Number Of Ingredients 15
Steps:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Spray a 3-quart baking dish with cooking spray.
- Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, and garlic; cook, stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with Italian seasoning and salt; stir to combined.
- Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add ziti and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender yet firm to the bite, about 11 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water.
- Mix spaghetti sauce and diced tomatoes together in a medium bowl.
- Spread 1/3 of the sauce mixture in the bottom of the prepared casserole. Layer ingredients as follows: 1/2 of the ziti, 1/2 of the vegetable mixture, 1/2 of the Parmesan substitute, 1/2 of the mozzarella slices, 1/2 of the remaining sauce, all of the remaining ziti, all of the remaining vegetables, all of the remaining Parmesan substitute, and all of the remaining sauce. Set remaining mozzarella slices aside.
- Cover loosely and bake in the preheated oven until bubbly, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, uncover, and top with remaining mozzarella slices. Return to the oven and bake, uncovered, until cheese is melted and slightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes longer.
Nutrition Facts : Calories 389.3 calories, Carbohydrate 47.3 g, Cholesterol 25.7 mg, Fat 14 g, Fiber 7 g, Protein 18.7 g, SaturatedFat 4.8 g, Sodium 866.9 mg, Sugar 11.2 g
ROASTED VEGETABLE BAKED ZITI
Steps:
- Preheat broiler. Make sauce: In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and cook, whisking about 2 minutes. Stir in vegetable stock, a little bit at a time. Add onion and Parmesan cook until the thickness you would like. Remove onion. Set aside. In a roasting pan arrange tomatoes, eggplant, red peppers, onion and toss with garlic, olives and oil. Place pan in the oven on the top shelf for 30 minutes or until vegetables are beginning to brown. Remove from oven to a cutting board and roughly chop all the vegetables. Transfer them to a bowl. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Ladle about 1/3 of sauce on the bottom of a 9 by 13-inch pan. Layer 1/2 of vegetables, 1/2 cooked pasta, 1/2 of mozzarella, 1/2 pasta, 1/3 sauce, 1/2 mozzarella, 1/2 vegetables, 1/3 sauce, Parmesan. Bake, covered with foil, for approximately 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 minutes more or until bubbly.
BEST VEGETARIAN BAKED ZITI
This recipe is all you need to make an all-star vegetarian baked ziti with ricotta, marinara sauce, and a layer of bright veggies. Perfect weeknight baked pasta, and you can prepare it ahead and store in the fridge or freezer for later. See notes.
Provided by Suzy Karadsheh
Categories Entree
Time 55m
Number Of Ingredients 14
Steps:
- Heat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When ready, add the pasta and cook to al dante according to package. When ready, drain pasta but save about 1/2 cup cooking water.
- While the pasta is cooking , cook the vegetables. In a large skillet, heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add onions and cook for 3 minutes or so, tossing regularly, then add diced zucchini, bell pepper, and garlic. Raise heat to medium-high and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes, tossing regularly, until vegetables have softened and cooked through. Season with kosher salt, oregano and paprika. Sit aside till needed.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, 1/4 cup grated Paremsan and 3 tbsp Mozzarella. Mix well. (If needed, add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to help mix the cheese)
- Once the pasta has been cooked and drained, bring it back to the cooking pot. Add 1/2 of the marinara sauce and starchy cooking water you reserved (1/2 cup). Mix well to coat the pasta with the sauce. Fold in the ricotta cheese filling. Mix again to combine, but leave some big "pockets" of the cheese mixture.
- Grab a 9 1/2" x 13" casserole dish. Pour a little marinara sauce to the bottom of the dish, spread. Spread half the pasta. Now add the cooked vegetables and some of the torn basil on top and spread well across the pasta layer. Sprinkle a little bit of shredded mozzarella on top (leave more mozzarella for very top layer.) Add remaining pasta. Spread remaining marinara sauce on top and add remaining mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
- Place the casserole dish on the middle rack of your heated oven. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes or so. Remove from heat and let rest about 10 to 15 minutes before cutting through. garnish with fresh basil.
Nutrition Facts : ServingSize 1 piece, Calories 299 calories, Sugar 7.6 g, Sodium 681.9 mg, Fat 8.6 g, SaturatedFat 3 g, TransFat 0 g, Carbohydrate 40.3 g, Fiber 3.9 g, Protein 14.9 g, Cholesterol 18.9 mg
BAKED ZITI AND ROASTED VEGGIES
Baked veggies makes this dish special. This recipe is from a clipping out of a magazine. Not sure which on but this is sooo tasty.
Provided by Aroostook
Categories Cheese
Time 1h15m
Yield 6 serving(s)
Number Of Ingredients 19
Steps:
- Heat oven to 450F.
- Toss eggplant, red onion, peppers, oil and salt in shallow pan.
- Roast 30 minutes stirring once or twice until vegetables begin to brown.
- Sauce: Heat oil in saucepan.
- Add onions& cook covered over medium heat 10 min.
- Stir in garlic, red pepper and fennel Cook 30 seconds.
- Add tomatoes salt pepper sugar and thyme.
- Bring to boil reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes.
- Stirr in parsley.
- Makes 3 cups.
- Reduce oven heat to 400F.
- Toss ziti with vegetables sauce and spinach in bowl.
- Spread in shallow 3-quart baking dish.
- Sprinkle mozzarella over top.
- Bake 20 minutes or until bubbly.
Tips:
- Choose the right pasta. Ziti is the classic choice for baked ziti, but other short pastas like penne, rigatoni, or shells can also be used.
- Cook the pasta al dente. This means cooking it until it is just tender but still has a slight bite to it. Overcooked pasta will become mushy when baked.
- Use a flavorful sauce. A good tomato sauce is essential for baked ziti. You can use a store-bought sauce or make your own. If you are using a store-bought sauce, be sure to season it to taste with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Add plenty of cheese. Cheese is what makes baked ziti so rich and decadent. Use a combination of mozzarella, Parmesan, and ricotta cheeses for the best results.
- Roast the vegetables beforehand. Roasting the vegetables before adding them to the pasta will help them to caramelize and develop a more flavorful taste.
- Don't overcook the casserole. Baked ziti should be cooked until it is bubbly and the cheese is melted and golden brown. Overcooking will dry out the casserole and make it tough.
Conclusion:
Baked ziti with roasted vegetables is a delicious and easy-to-make meal that is perfect for any occasion. With a few simple tips, you can make sure your baked ziti turns out perfect every time. So next time you're looking for a hearty and satisfying meal, give this recipe a try!
Are you curently on diet or you just want to control your food's nutritions, ingredients? We will help you find recipes by cooking method, nutrition, ingredients...
Check it out »
#time-to-make #course #main-ingredient #cuisine #preparation #main-dish #eggs-dairy #pasta #vegetables #oven #easy #european #beginner-cook #italian #cheese #stove-top #dietary #pasta-rice-and-grains #equipment #4-hours-or-less
You'll also love