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 Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Servings: 2-cup servings

Calories: 590kcal

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 (13x9 or 11x7) 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!

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!