Healthy Baked Ziti is a lighter twist on a classic Italian dish. Baked Ziti Pasta is made with ground turkey for a delicious, simple dinner that anyone will love! Easily made gluten free + simple to prepare!
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I’m not sure whose idea it was to take pasta and bake it with cheese + meat until it got all melty and delicious, but wow I love them for it.
This healthy baked ziti is one of my favorite comfort meals and tastes just as good as the regular version!
Reasons why we love this Healthy Baked Ziti:
- extremely simple to make
- high in protein
- uhm hello, melty cheese and carbs?!!
If you’re looking for a new weeknight meal – you will love this recipe too!
What is baked ziti?
Baked ziti is a yummy Italian-American pasta dish. It’s loaded with cheese, pasta, sauce, and ground meat that get mixed together and baked until ooey-gooey and delicious!
Ingredients for Healthy Baked Ziti:
Making baked ziti pasta is not difficult at all. You’ll need a few basic ingredients like:
- olive oil
- ground turkey
- garlic
- whole wheat ziti
- tomato sauce
- shredded mozzarella, ricotta cheese, and parmesan cheese
- fresh basil
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded substitutions box.
Is ziti the same as penne?
Ziti and penne are not the same. Ziti is flat on the edges and penne is angled at the edges.
How to Make Healthy Baked Ziti with Ground Turkey
- You’ll want to cook your pasta until al dente (I recommend cooking it by 1/2 the time recommended on the box)
- Brown your meat ahead of time.
- Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl
- Press into a glass baking dish, and bake in the oven until cheese is melted.
How long does it take to cook baked ziti?
It takes about 30 minutes to an hour to cook baked ziti.
What makes this baked ziti healthy?
- Turkey for protein – This recipe uses turkey for the meat instead of beef or sausage. You can definitely use those, but turkey is a much leaner meat which leaves this dish higher in protein and lower in fat.
- Whole wheat pasta – Whole wheat pasta is always a better choice when possible! The whole grains are much better for you and will help to keep you feeling full.
- Less cheese – this healthy baked ziti pasta recipe doesn’t have nearly as much cheese as many other recipes do. I promise you won’t miss it though – it’s perfectly cheesy as is!
Substitutions for This Baked Ziti Ground Turkey
Olive Oil: You can substitute olive oil with avocado oil or melted butter
Meat: You could make this with ground chicken, ground beef, or ground sausage.
Pasta: If you can’t find ziti, rigatoni or penne will work.
Can you use gluten free pasta? Yes! You can use gluten free or regular white flour pasta in this recipe. Just make sure not to overcook the pasta!
Tomato Sauce: You can use homemade tomato sauce or jarred tomato sauce.
Mozzarella/Ricotta: I wouldn’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 spinach? Yes, I have made this with chopped spinach added in and it is delicious.
Can you make this baked ziti with cottage cheese? I haven’t tried this but I think you can swap 1/2 of the ricotta for cottage cheese if you’re looking for a higher protein, lower fat dinner
Can you make baked ziti without meat? If you’d like to, sure! It will not have as much protein, but it will still be yummy!
Making Ahead, Storing & Freezing Baked Ziti
Make Ahead: You can assemble this baked ziti ahead of time. Keep it in the refrigerator and before baking let it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes (You don’t want to put a cold dish in the refrigerator because it may crack)
Storing: This baked ziti will last in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freezing: We do not recommend freezing this baked ziti. It will get watery when you defrost it
Serving Baked Ziti
Baked Ziti is a complete meal in itself so you don’t need to serve it with anything else.
We like to serve it with some garlic bread or extra veggies on the side. Here are some veggie side dishes we like:
- Parmesan Roasted Asparagus
- Green Beans Almondine
- Spinach Strawberry Salad
- Garlic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Baked Ziti FAQ
Baked ziti should be baked covered at first to keep it moist and not dry it out. At the end of cooking, the cover should be removed.
Baked ziti is very different from lasagna. Lasagna is made with long flat noodles that are layered with ground meat, cheese and sauce. Baked ziti is cooked pasta tossed with meat cheese and sauce and baked. If you want a low carb lasagna, we love this Zucchini Lasagna!
Ziti is a medium sized, tubular pasta.
Yes, you can use rigatoni or penne to make baked ziti.
Yes, you can add vegetables to baked ziti. We’d recommend chopped spinach or finely diced carrots.
If you love ground turkey, check out these Healthy Ground Turkey Recipes!
Other healthy pasta dishes:
Looking for other easy 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:
Healthy Baked Ziti with Ground Turkey
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 lb ground turkey or ground beef
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 lb whole wheat ziti
- 2.5 cups tomato sauce 23.5 oz jar – low or no salt added
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella separated
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Boil ziti until al dente- approximately 8 minutes. Check your pasta box and I would suggest to cook 3-4 minutes less than the time they recommend. Remember, the pasta will continue to cook in the oven!
- 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.
- 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.
Video
Notes
- Meat: You could make this with sausage or any other type of meat you like. Ground beef or chicken would work.
- Can you make this baked ziti with spinach? Yes, I have made this with chopped spinach added in and it is delicious.
- Can you make this baked ziti with cottage cheese? I haven’t tried this but I think you can swap 1/2 of the ricotta for cottage cheese if you’re looking for a higher protein, lower fat dinner
- Can you make baked ziti without meat? If you’d like to, sure! It will not have as much protein, but it will still be yummy!
- Can you use gluten free pasta? Yes! You can use gluten free or regular white flour pasta in this recipe. Just make sure not to overcook the pasta!
- Can you use low fat ricotta? I would not recommend doing this. I think that low fat ricotta is significantly less creamy and does not have nearly as much flavor.
Ellie M. says
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
The Clean Eating Couple says
I’m so glad you liked it, Ellie! We love baked ziti as much as our dog ziti 🙂
Logan says
This is so delicious and easy to make! My entire family enjoyed this meal! Super great for left overs as well!
Peggy Ramer says
Made this last week. It was delicious! Can I freeze it?I have lots of leftover s. Thanks!
Peggy
The Clean Eating Couple says
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 🙁
Madi Shtrahman says
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!
The Clean Eating Couple says
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!!
Carli says
So easy and tasty!! Lasted all week, great meal prep dish?
The Clean Eating Couple says
Love hearing that, Carli!! I’m glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Gina says
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.
The Clean Eating Couple says
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!
Taylor says
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.
The Clean Eating Couple says
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!!
Nikki says
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.
The Clean Eating Couple says
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!
Amanda says
I recently made this for my friend who had a baby. Her and husband loved it! I added in some spinach for extra nutrition
The Clean Eating Couple says
That’s so nice of you!! Glad they enjoyed it and love the addition of the spinach!
Laurie says
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.
The Clean Eating Couple says
I’m so glad you liked it, Laurie! Thank you so much! The pasta should be somewhat cooked before going in the oven
Andrea P. says
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?
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thanks Andrea! Yes you can!
Dawn Wilson says
I made the Baked Ziti Sunday! It was great. Recipe was very easy to follow.
The Clean Eating Couple says
So happy you liked it, Dawn!
Ashley says
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!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Yay! Love to hear that!
An says
Made tonight and added chopped spinach. So good!!