Time
120 min
Serving
24 persons
Calories
303
This is a vegetarian baked ziti recipe that I created for a Cub Scout potluck banquet, hence the large serving size.
Ingredients
- ziti: 2 packages (16 ounce packages)
- spaghetti sauce: 1 jar (16 ounce jar)
- ricotta cheese: 1 container (15 ounce container)
- baby spinach leaves: 1 pack (6 ounce pack)
- ready-peeled baby carrots: 1 pound
- olive oil: 2 Tbsp
- zucchini: 3 piece (diced)
- portobello mushroom caps: 1 pack (6 ounce pack, diced)
- button mushrooms: 1 pack (8 ounce pack, diced)
- ½ tablespoons minced garlic: 1 piece
- tomatoes: 1 can (28 ounce can, drained, diced)
- italian seasoning: 2 Tbsp
- Italian cheese blend: 1 pack (8 ounce pack, shredded)
- jars spaghetti sauce: 3 piece (16 ounce)
- italian seasoning: 2 Tbsp
- salt and ground black pepper: (to taste)
Metric Conversion
Stages of cooking
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Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
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Fill a large pot with lightly salted water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, stir in the ziti, and return to a boil. Cook the pasta uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the pasta has cooked through, but is still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain well in a colander set in the sink. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Transfer to a large roasting pan.
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Whisk together 1 jar of spaghetti sauce and the ricotta cheese in a large bowl. Add to the pasta and stir.
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Place the spinach in the bowl of a food processor; blend until finely chopped; remove and set aside. Then place the carrots in the food processor and process until finely chopped.
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Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook the chopped carrots in the hot oil until they begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Stir in the zucchini, portobello mushrooms, button mushrooms, and garlic; cook and stir until the zucchini is soft, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped spinach, tomatoes, and 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning; drain. Add to the ziti and mix. Sprinkle about 1/2 the bag of the Italian cheese blend over the pasta and stir through. Pour in the 3 remaining jars of spaghetti sauce; stir until the pasta and vegetables are evenly coated. Season with 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper; mix. Cover the pan with aluminum foil.
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Bake in the preheated oven until completely heated through, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove the foil and sprinkle the remaining cheese over the dish. Return dish to oven and bake until the cheese melts and begins to brown, about 10 minutes more.
