Healthy Baked Ziti
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Baked ziti with ricotta and ground turkey is a lighter twist on the classic Italian dinner. This healthy, high protein comfort food recipe makes a lean and satisfying comfort food!
This baked ziti with ricotta and ground turkey is one of my favorite comfort meals! This recipe is healthier than a classic version for a couple of reasons:
Ground turkey is leaner than ground beef and when possible, using whole wheat pasta is always a better choice! This is because whole grains have more fiber, which can help us feel full.
It’s extremely simple to make, high in protein, and easy to make gluten free by swapping out your pasta for a gluten free option. If you’re looking for a new weeknight meal, you will love this recipe too!
liz’s tips for Perfect baked ziti
- Cook the pasta to al dente. The cook time for al dente ziti is typically 3-4 minutes less than what’s noted on the package. Remember, the pasta will soak up sauce and continue to cook in the oven.
- Save time by multi-tasking. I like to get the water for the pasta boiling right away. This way, the pasta can cook while you’re browning the meat.
- Cover the dish with foil before baking. This keeps the casserole moist and prevent the pasta from drying out. Remove the foil a few minutes before the end of the cook time to help the cheese melt.
- To meal prep this recipe, simply assemble the unbaked ziti casserole ahead of time and keep it in the fridge. Then, let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before baking according to directions in the recipe card.
Ingredients
Substitutions
Oil: You can substitute the olive oil with avocado oil or melted butter.
Meat: You can make baked ziti with ground turkey, ground chicken, ground beef, or ground Italian sausage.
Pasta: If you can’t find whole wheat ziti, regular is fine. Or, rigatoni or penne will work. Read our post Is Thrive Market Worth It to find out why we love to order their pasta!
Gluten free pasta will also work—just be sure not to overcook it.
Tomato Sauce: You can use homemade tomato sauce or jarred tomato sauce.
Mozzarella/Ricotta: I don’t recommend using low fat mozzarella or ricotta. I think low fat cheese is significantly less creamy and does not have nearly as much flavor or melt as well.
Can you make this baked ziti with cottage cheese? I haven’t tried this, but it should work! I suggest swapping 1/2 of the ricotta for cottage cheese for a higher protein, lower fat dinner.
Can I add vegetables to baked ziti? Yes, you can add vegetables to baked ziti. Good options are chopped spinach, mushrooms, or finely diced carrots. You can also check out our Vegetable Baked Ziti recipe.
Making Baked Ziti with Ricotta + Ground Turkey
This is just a summary of the steps involved in making the healthy baked ziti. For the full instructions, see the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Jump to Recipe
- Brown the ground turkey over medium high heat in a large skillet.
- Meanwhile, cook the ziti to al dente. Drain and add to a bowl with remaining ingredients.
- Stir everything well to combine.
- Transfer mixture to a baking dish. Use a spoon to press it down a bit.
- Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top.
- Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes until cheese is melted.
Serving
Baked ziti is a complete meal in itself, so you don’t need to serve it with anything else. You can top it with some crushed red pepper to give it a nice spicy kick!
Of course, some garlic bread and a side salad or veggies are nice options with any pasta dinner. Italian sides that go well with this meal are Parmesan Roasted Asparagus and Quick Marinated Vegetable Salad.
Making Ahead, Storing and Freezing
Make Ahead: You can assemble the casserole ahead of time. Keep it unbaked in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Before baking, let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes (You don’t want to put a cold baking dish in the oven because it may crack).
Storing: Any leftover baked ziti will keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. The best way to reheat it is in a covered dish in a 350°F. oven, or you can microwave single portions on 80% power.
Freezing: You can freeze the fully baked ziti to thaw and bake in the future, but pasta dishes really do taste best when they are eaten fresh. The casserole may get a little watery when defrosting and reheating.
Other healthy pasta dishes
Looking for other easy Italian meals? Check out these 40+ Healthy Dinner Ideas for Family. Click here to grab our free healthy 30 minute dinners cookbook.
Here are some of our favorite pasta dishes:
Baked Ziti with Ricotta and Ground Turkey
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey or lean ground beef
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 lb whole wheat ziti
- 2 ½ cups low sodium marinara 23.5 oz jar – low or no salt added
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella divided
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add ziti and cook to al dente- approximately 8 minutes. *I suggest cooking 3-4 minutes less than the time noted on the package. Remember, the pasta will continue to cook in the oven and soak up the sauce along the way!
- While pasta is cooking, heat olive oil in a separate pan. Brown the turkey, garlic and pepper until completely cooked (approximately 10 minutes) + set aside.
- Drain your pasta in a colander and set aside. In the pot you boiled the pasta, mix together drained pasta, cooked turkey, tomato sauce, 1 cup of mozzarella, ricotta, parmesan cheese, and basil.
- Pour mixture into a large baking dish (13×9 or 11×7) Sprinkle remaining cup of mozzarella cheese on top.
- Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes until cheese is melted. Grab a bowl and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Meat: You can make this with ground Italian sausage or any other type of meat, like ground beef or chicken. If you’d like to omit the meat altogether, the dish will be lower in protein, but still delicious! Try my vegetable baked ziti recipe.
- Ricotta: You can substitute cottage cheese for one half of the ricotta if you’re looking for a higher protein, lower fat dinner. I do not recommend using low fat ricotta, because it is significantly less creamy and not nearly as flavorful.
- To make this baked ziti recipe gluten free, substitute gluten free pasta for the regular ziti. Just be sure not to overcook the noodles!
Made this to use up some ground beef I had. It is a very flexible recipe. I did add onion, diced bell pepper (red & yellow) and 2 diced zucchini as I needed to use those as well, and I subbed the ricotta with cottage cheese I had on hand. I will make it again.
Excellent! My husband even had seconds, which is not usual for him! I did do some substituting…gluten free rice penne noodles, cottage cheese for ricotta, cream cheese instead of parm cheese, no meat, added cup of spinach and Romano instead of mozzarella. Love your recipes! Thank you!
Loved this meal! Creamy and delicious and easy to make. I can’t wait to eat more leftovers. We paired it with a small side salad.
Oh so good! You would never suspect this is a healthy version. We used ground turkey and another curly pasta we had on hand. It made much more than expected so we had lunch/dinner for several days. Very easy to make during the week.
Absolutely delicious! I used half hamburger and half Italian sweet sausage. Easy, simple ingredients that I already had at home. Teen approved also. 🙌
Absolutely delicious! Teen approved also.
Woo! Love hearing that!
My toddlers loved it! Fan favorite!
Love this! It’s been a staple for our family. We now have 1 nightshade free eater (womp womp!) so still looking for a way to include them with a tomato free ingredient!
So easy and so good! And kid approved!
Have this saved…could I sub cottage cheese in place of ricotta? Looking forward to trying this!
Never mind…I saw my answer above…forgot to look there first. Thank you for the recipes!
Made tonight and added chopped spinach. So good!!
Another winner! Delicious, cheesy, and super filling! My grocery store didn’t have whole wheat past in stock, so used regular pasta, but otherwise followed to a T. My boyfriend said it was incredible and I couldn’t agree more.
Another winner in my book!
Yay! Love to hear that!
I made the Baked Ziti Sunday! It was great. Recipe was very easy to follow.
So happy you liked it, Dawn!
This sounds delicious and I look forward to trying it! Can I fully assemble it, put it in the fridge and bake it the next day?
Thanks Andrea! Yes you can!
I liked the look and sound of your pasta so I veganized it for my family. I used whole wheat pasta and made my own ricotta cheese from tofu and used mozzarella shreds from Violife. I will say the next time I will cook the pasta the entire time before finishing this casserole as after 30 minutes they tasted uncooked still. However, because I used vegan products which doesn’t have the moisture of ricotta and mozzarella I covered the dish and cooked it longer. I took it out of the oven and put the mozzarella shreds on top and put the dish under the broiler. It worked perfectly. For the meat I used Gardein meatballs and I cooked them and crumbled them into the dish. This is a real keeper. My family loves it and I will make it again. Every recipe takes time the first time but now that I know the ins and outs, this is an easily veganized dish.
I’m so glad you liked it, Laurie! Thank you so much! The pasta should be somewhat cooked before going in the oven
I recently made this for my friend who had a baby. Her and husband loved it! I added in some spinach for extra nutrition
That’s so nice of you!! Glad they enjoyed it and love the addition of the spinach!
Tried this for dinner last night and OMG it will definitely be added to our weekly meal plan. It was AMAZING! The only thing different I will do next time is cut back on the pepper and add a little salt. For those of you with little ones, our 11 month old DEVOURED his.
So glad you liked it, Nikki! The salt content definitely varies with the cheese you use so yes it might need a little more to your taste 🙂 So glad your little one enjoyed it too!
This was great! I did end up using skim milk/lower fat ricotta and mozzarella. To make up for the flavor, I sautéed chopped onions before the ground turkey then minced two cloves of garlic with the cooked meat. This might be overkill for some on garlic with the garlic powder but we love garlic so it was perfect! So yum!!! Looking forward to following more of your recipes.
I’m so glad you liked it, Taylor! We usually do the same with the garlic – I personally feel like the more garlic, the better 🙂 It’s so delicious!!
What spices are used in this? Step 4 says to add the spices. I noticed the ingredients do not call for anything like garlic powder, onion powder, Italian seasoning, no salt (just pepper), etc.
Hi Gina – the last ingredients in the recipe are basil, garlic powder and pepper. Those are the spices. Feel free to add others if you’d like. Thanks!
So easy and tasty!! Lasted all week, great meal prep dish?
Love hearing that, Carli!! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
This turned out AMAZING! I’m obsessed with pasta and cheese (of course it’s amazing), and this recipe just makes me feel more at ease because I can still enjoy both while being healthier and lighter. It came out so creamy and full of flavor. I made it for my roommates and I and we destroyed the entire thing. HIGHLY recommend!
I’m SO glad you liked it, Madi!! I mean.. there is really nothing better than pasta and cheese, but making it a little lighter makes it even more enjoyable to your point!!
Made this last week. It was delicious! Can I freeze it?I have lots of leftover s. Thanks!
Peggy
Hi Peggy – I haven’t tried freezing it, but I’m sure it would be ok. However – if you made it a week ago, I probably wouldn’t eat it. After more than 5 days I would be worried about the meat going bad 🙁
This is so delicious and easy to make! My entire family enjoyed this meal! Super great for left overs as well!
Been a follower of yours for 2 years now and this may be my favorite meal yet! PS I wonder if this recipe is inspired by your dog Ziti LOL
I’m so glad you liked it, Ellie! We love baked ziti as much as our dog ziti 🙂