Name: Easy Vegetarian Ziti Casserole Recipe
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 50 min
Cuisine: vegetarian
Ingredients: 2 cloves garlic, minced; 1 tbsp olive oil; 1 tsp italian seasoning; 1 jar spaghetti sauce; 1 cup fresh ricotta; 1 (10-oz). package frozen spinach, drained and chopped; 1 diced zucchini; 1/2 tsp salt, to taste; ground black pepper, to taste; 1/2 c. grated Parmesan; 2 c. shredded mozzarella

For this easy weeknight vegetarian recipe all you need are some veggies, ricotta, marinara sauce, and pasta. You can make this Healthy Vegetable Casserole Recipe any night of the week or prepare it ahead and store for later.

Easy Healthy Vegetable Casserole Recipe

This Easy Vegetarian Ziti Casserole Recipe is super easy to make and perfect for a weeknight! You can make it with regular pasta or gluten-free pasta.

In fact, studies show that vegetarians tend to have better diet quality than meat-eaters and a higher intake of important nutrients like fiber, vitamin C, vitamin E and magnesium. A vegetarian diet may provide several other health boosts as well.

Add your favorite veggies to this ziti casserole! And the more cheese the better! Yummy. If you aren’t crazy about ricotta cheese, you can use cream cheese instead. I love the creaminess of cream cheese more than ricotta, but ricotta makes it taste more like a lasagna.

It’s so easy to cook the pasta separately and then mix up the ricotta with vegetables in a bowl. If you want to sauté anything like fresh spinach or zucchini, you can do that while the ziti is cooking.

I’ve made this with homemade red sauce but I prefer to buy my favorite spaghetti sauce. It’s so much easier and less mess and more flavorful. But if you know how to make good spaghetti sauce, go for it!

Easy Vegetarian Ziti Casserole Recipe

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 50 minutes

This easy vegetarian ziti casserole recipe is a great hearty weeknight meal.

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp italian seasoning
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 cup fresh ricotta
1 (10-oz). package frozen spinach, drained and chopped
1 diced zucchini
1/2 tsp salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 c. grated Parmesan
2 c. shredded mozzarella

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta until very al dente; drain.
In a medium pot over medium heat, heat oil.
Add zucchini and sauté about 5 minutes then add garlic for 30 seconds and turn off heat. Add spaghetti sauce and mix to blend. Add salt and pepper if necessary. Add italian seasoning.
After pasta is done cooking, use pot to combine ricotta and spinach.
Add pasta to sauce. Then fold in ricotta mixture, leaving large clumps. Spread about half of the pasta mixture into the bottom of a large casserole dish.
Sprinkle half of the mozzarella and Parmesan over the pasta. Top with the rest of the pasta mixture and sprinkle with the remaining cheeses.
Cover with foil and bake until cheese is bubbling, about 20 to 25 minutes.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 170Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 524mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 2gSugar: 2gProtein: 12g