Gluten Free Baked Ziti calls for just 5 ingredients. This easy, cheesy, gluten free pasta dinner recipe is a hit with kids and adults alike!
Raise your hand if your teen years consisted of living on mall food court food? Hand raised and waving wildly here.
Well, if you were a fan of Sbarro’s baked ziti — tender pasta baked with ricotta cheese then topped with marinara sauce and MORE cheese — then you are going to delight in my Gluten Free Baked Ziti.
Calling for just five ingredients, this easy pasta dinner contains all the cheesy, savory goodness of the original — made gluten free!
Gluten Free Baked Ziti hits the spot in the way that only cheese, really good marinara sauce, pasta, and well, more cheese and marinara sauce can. It is SO darn good, and reheats really well, too.
Hearty, cozy, unfussy, and tastes just like the Baked Ziti of my mall food court days. I know you will love this easy dish!
How to Make Gluten Free Baked Ziti
Start by boiling 12oz gluten free ziti-type noodles in a large pot of salted, boiling water until al dente then drain. Don’t overcook as the noodles will continue to soften in the oven.
I say “ziti-type” noodles because I haven’t found gluten free ziti in stores. Full Circle Organic has a rigatoni pasta which has the long, classic ziti shape plus some very small ridges, a la traditional rigatoni. This particular brand of gluten free pasta holds up very well to being boiled then baked – I recommend!
While the pasta is cooking, add 2-1/2 cups marinara sauce, 1 heaping cup ricotta cheese, and 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese to a large bowl then stir to combine.
I like BelGioioso’s Whole Milk Ricotta which is gluten free and HEAVENLY (and way too easy to eat spoonful after spoonful of!)
One of my biggest tips for making this dish taste like the “real thing” is to use the highest quality marinara or spaghetti sauce you can find – homemade would be amazing!
We are Gino’s mega fans — Rao’s is really good too!
Last steps are to add the drained pasta into the sauce then stir to combine. Pour into a medium-sized baking dish then sprinkle on 1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, which is 3/4 of a bag of shredded mozzarella – just eyeball it.
Cover the baking dish with foil then bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the sauce is slightly bubbling, then uncover and bake for another 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese has fully melted.
One of the things I adored about Sbarro’s Baked Ziti was that it was served smothered in their house red sauce, which is what I recommend doing with this homemade version also.
That said, scoop the Gluten Free Baked Ziti onto plates then douse with warm marinara sauce and dig in. Oh man, it is so special. I hope you love this comforting, cozy, classic gone gluten free! Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 12 oz gluten free ziti or penne pasta
- 4 cups gluten free marinara or spaghetti sauce, divided
- 1 heaping cup ricotta cheese
- 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil then add a couple Tablespoons salt and pasta and cook until pasta is al dente (do not overcook as the pasta will continue to cook in the oven.) Drain then set aside.
- Meanwhile, add 2-1/2 cups marinara sauce, ricotta cheese, and parmesan cheese to a large bowl then stir to combine. Add drained pasta then mix to combine.
- Pour mixture into a medium-sized baking dish then top with mozzarella cheese, cover with foil, and bake for 15-20 minutes or until sauce is bubbly. Uncover then bake for an additional 5-7 minutes to fully melt cheese (cheese does not need to brown - just melt.) Warm remaining marinara sauce then scoop Baked Ziti onto plates, spoon warm marinara sauce over top, and serve.
Notes
- Use the highest quality marinara or spaghetti sauce you can find in this dish - it REALLY makes a difference in making it taste like the “real thing”! I use Gino’s, or Rao's.
Nutrition
Nutritional values are estimates only. Please read our full nutrition information disclaimer.
Made this and the whole family loved it! Could this be frozen? This pregnant mama would love to have it as a freezer meal for after baby.
I’m so glad to hear that, Hannah – and congrats after baby!! Typically gluten free pasta doesn’t hold up well to thawing after being frozen, unfortunately!! :(
Hi! Can this be frozen? Thanks :)
Hi! Would love to make this but quick question – do you have any tips so I could make this ahead of time or how well it keeps? I would like to make it on Thursday and serve it on Saturday. Thanks so much!!
This was SOOO good and Easy. Thank you :)
Looking forward to trying this. I was searching for gluten free kid friendly recipes to try while quarantined since I’m cooking way more than usual and my go to meals are getting old. We needed something new and this will replace the boring spaghetti I usually make.
We LOVED this!
I used 1 pound of barilla pasta and here are the measurements I used for the sauce:
3.5 cups of Gino’s spaghetti sauce, mixed with 1 and 1/3 C Ricotta cheese, 1/3 C plus 2 TBS (I rounded up from 1.75 TBS) of Parmesan cheese.
I bought 2- 24 oz. jars of Gino’s spaghetti sauce, and after mixing the ingredients above, I just warmed the rest of the 2nd jar in a small pot. It worked out great.
I did have to increase baking time by about 6 minutes. I used close to 2 cups of mozarella on top.
Legit cannot see/hear the word ziti without thinking of Sbarro. Ate my weight in that stuff in the 90s. I, however, tended to wash mine down with a Gloria Jeans Mocha Chiller.
This looks incredible! Do you think it would work if you added meat to the recipe, like ground beef or italian sausage? If so, how would you recommend adding that?
Oh sure, I think that’d be fine! I’d brown 3/4lb of whatever meat you like then maybe add an extra splash of marinara sauce to the filling too. :)
This looks and sounds excellent and fondly reminds me of the many times my mom would make baked ziti on a cold, Winter night! So comforting and tastes incredible!
I make baked ziti too but swirl little dabs of ricotta mixed with an egg and shredded romano into the pasta and gravy in the baking dish. Work it around a bit and top it with shredded mozzarella. That’s the way my Italian m-i-l made baked ziti. I learned from the best!
That sounds delicious, JoAnn!!
Looks delicious and easy! On this week’s menu!
Hope you love it, Shirls! :D
Oh mannnnn, baked ziti always reminds me of growing up(I’m from North Jersey)and eating Sunday dinner at my grandmother’s. So good!!
Love to hear that sweet memory! And love that dishes like this can take us back to that moment in time. :)
This looks amazing! I can’t wait to try that pasta!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com
I hope you love it, Paige! :)