Baked Ziti

I can’t believe I haven’t shared our recipe for gluten-free Baked Ziti!

It’s a classic Italian recipe from my grandmother– made gluten-free of course!–  and we make it all the time!

It’s easy, cozy, crowd-pleasing and fills up hungry teens!

Plus it’s one of those meals that looks impressive but is crazy easy to whip together!

We still call it Baked Ziti even though we’ve never seen a gluten-free ziti — just penne. So we make it with gluten-free penne, which is similar just a slightly different shape.

And it’s super easy to make!

All you need is:

your favorite gluten-free penne (we tend to use Barilla gluten-free for this recipe)

ricotta

egg

mozzarella

parmesan cheese

tomato sauce (below is our recipe for a simple one!)

And it comes together quickly.

We always start with the sauce. You can use a pre-made sauce but coming from an Italian family, we always make our own sauce.

We have many different recipes but below is a simple tomato sauce that works perfectly here!

All you need is:

olive oil

garlic

plain tomato paste

boxed or canned strained tomatoes or tomato puree (we use Pomi)

basil

salt & pepper.

And it assembles in minutes, then simmers as quickly as 30 minutes.

Once you start making your own sauce, you’ll never go back!

When ready to assemble the baked ziti, bring your pasta water to a boil and cook your pasta al dente — it will continue to cook as it bakes.

Meanwhile, in a large mixing bowl, mix the ricotta and egg.  We use anywhere from l lb ricotta to 1  1/2 lbs if we want it creamier.

And add in a bit of the hot pasta water (anywhere from a spoonful or two to 1/4 cup) to thin out the ricotta/ egg mix to a desired texture and creaminess.

Then add the cooked pasta directly to the ricotta mix and stir to combine and cover all the pasta. Add in the mozzarella and parmesan and mix to combine well too.

Then add the pasta mix to your baking pan (already generously covered with a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce)

Top with tomato sauce and parmesan cheese and bake!

That’s it!

Pro Tip: Depending on how crisp you like the top of your baked ziti, you can bake it covered in foil for part of the baking time.

So who wants a big scoop?

Hope you love it as much as we do!

And we made this with Barilla gluten-free penne. To see all the gluten-free pastas we love, click here.

Scroll down to see the recipe and leave a comment if you make it.