Simple recipe to make the best Gluten Free baked ziti!
If you haven’t noticed by now our family loves pasta! As in, the kiddos would eat it every day and be happy. Living Gluten Free this means our pastas are either rice, quinoa or lentil based. I tend to favor the multi-grain pastas as I feel they hold up better, especially if I am going to bake with them.
Baked pasta is a personal favorite of mine. I have fond memories of having baked ziti growing up. There were a few restaurants that made it with so much cheese you could barely find the pasta!
Since going Gluten Free I have created a couple versions of baked ziti, you can find my slow cooker recipe here.
I created this version of baked ziti because I needed a fast and large dish that I could make one night and eat off of for days. This recipe made enough to feed us 1 dinner and I have 4 single servings of leftovers – score!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 lb ground beef
- 24 oz red tomato pasta sauce
- 12 oz Gluten Free penne pasta
- 2 cups ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
- 1 egg
- Salt and pepper
- 1/2 tsp of dried oregano
- 1 clove garlic, diced
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat
- Add the onions and cook for 3 minutes
- Add the ground beef, brown and drain excess fat
- Add the red sauce to the meat and onions, simmer on low
- Boil water and cook the pasta for only 5 minutes, drain
- In a bowl combine the ricotta cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella, egg and seasoning
- In a large casserole dish combine the sauce mixture, pasta and cheese mixture
- Top with remaining cup of mozzarella cheese
- Cover with foil and bake for 35 minutes
- Remove foil and bake for 5 minutes
This is one of those recipes that tastes better the next day heated up, so it is perfect for leftovers.
You could add other veggies like peppers, mushrooms or zucchini if you want to take it to the next level. I kept ours simple, but feel free to get creative.
This recipe would also be perfect for dinner guests or a pot luck. No one will even know it is Gluten Free.
Enjoy!
How many servings is this?
6-8 depending on serving size
Looks great! Want to try! What kind of Ricotta cheese do you use that you trust is GF and safe processing?! Thanks
I use the Walmart store brand
What size casserole dish do you use?
What brand of pasta do you use? Thanks! This looks yummy!! 🙂
I use: LiveGFree from Aldi, Ronzani, Barilla
What do you do with the garlic clove?
Cook with the meat or just put in the sauce.
Looks yummy!
Do you boil the pasta first?
Yup! But only for about 5 minutes
Hi, do you think I could bake this and put in a crock pot to keep warm for a teacher conference?
Totally! It will be so good after it sits. Enjoy!
I’m on a low fodmap diet do you think I could omit that step and just mix the sauce and meat and pasta and top with mozz then bake?
Have you ever frozen this?
I have frozen it before and it worked out well.
Has anyone frozen this meal before? If so, did you prepare just like the recipe but put it straight in freezer? Then thaw and cook for the regular 35 mins? Thank you!
Yes, I have frozen it before. I freeze it before I cook it. Take it out frozen and put it in the oven. 350 for 40 min.
Do you mix all the ingredients together in the casserole dish?
I do yes! Saves on dishes to wash