Healthy Baked Ziti


Comforting and delicious Healthy Baked Ziti packed with veggies, flavorful turkey sausage and makes the perfect weeknight meal the whole family will love! Leftovers guaranteed!


Ingredients:

  • 1 lb ziti noodles

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil

  • 1 lb ground turkey sausage

  • 1/2 yellow onion, chopped

  • 1 medium zucchini, chopped into small chunks

  • 8 oz petite baby bella mushrooms, sliced

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 tsp Italian seasoning

  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1/2 tsp black pepper

  • 2 cups marinara sauce, halved, we used Rao's

  • 2 cups vodka sauce, halved, we used Rao's

  • 2-3 cups baby spinach leaves

  • 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese (or ricotta cheese)

  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

  • 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese

  • Fresh basil, for serving


Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and coat a 9x13 baking pan with a little nonstick spray. 

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, drizzle a little olive oil and brown the turkey sausage, cooking until crumbled and slightly cooked through.

Next, add in the chopped onion, zucchini, mushrooms, garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes and salt/pepper. Saute everything together until the veggies are tender and then add in 1 cup each of the marinara sauce and vodka sauce. Let that simmer while you prepare the pasta.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a biol. Once the water is boiling, cook the ziti noodles until al dente, according to the package directions, and stir the pasta occasionally. When the pasta is finished cooking, use a colander to drain the water, and then transfer the pasta to the casserole dish. 

Turn off the heat of the veggie marinara mixture and add in the spinach leaves, mixing well until the start to wilt. Transfer this mixture over the noodles in the casserole dish. 

Pour in the remaining marinara and vodka sauce, the cottage cheese, and the parmesan cheese. Mix everything well, until fully combined. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese. 

Cover the ziti with foil and bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the casserole is hot and bubbly around the edges. Remove the foil and broil the dish for 1-2 minutes to get the top golden and bubbly.

Remove from the oven and let cool slightly before serving. Top with fresh basil.

Enjoy!


Nutrition:

Serving: 1/8th of recipe | Calories: 535kcal | Carbohydrates: 52.3g | Protein: 31.3g | Fat: 23.4g | Saturated Fat: 6.7g | Sodium: 960mg | Fiber: 3.7g | Sugar: 9g

Nutrition inforation is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.


 

 

 

 

Gellner, K. (2024d, April 23). Healthy baked ziti. Eat Yourself Skinny. https://www.eatyourselfskinny.com/healthy-baked-ziti/#wprm-recipe-container-22949