Baked Ziti with Ricotta and Ground Turkey

Baked Ziti with Ricotta is a lighter version of the classic dish. We make this healthy, high protein comfort food recipe with ground turkey!

Prep Time10

Cook Time45

Total Time55

Servings: 2-cup servings

Calories: 590kcal

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9-x-13-inch baking dish with olive oil.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the ziti for 3 minutes less than the al dente directions on the package. The ziti will continue to cook in the oven, so it’s important to undercook it.
While the ziti is cooking, heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Brown the turkey, garlic, and pepper for 10 minutes or until no longer pink. Set aside.
Drain the pasta and return to the large pot. In the pot, add the turkey, marinara, 1 cup of the mozzarella, ricotta, Parmesan, and basil.
Pour the mixture into the prepared 9-x-13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella on top.
Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes until the mozzarella is melted.

Substitutions for this recipe:

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!