Skip to content
  • by

Vegetarian Baked Ziti

Vegetarian Baked ZitiIf you do not have time to prepare the sauce in this recipe, just substitute 2 cups of your favorite bottled pasta sauce. This dish may be prepared a day ahead, tightly sealed with foil and refrigerated, and baked the next day.

Serves 8.

Ingredients:

Sauce:

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
  • 1/3 c water
  • 1 Tbsp minced fresh basil
  • 1 Tbsp minced fresh thyme
  • 1 Tbsp minced fresh oregano

Pasta and Other Ingredients:

  • 1 lb dry ziti pasta
  • 1 (14 oz) bottle marinated artichoke hearts
  • 8 oz bottled roasted red peppers (half a bottle)
  • 1 c sour cream
  • 6-8 oz vegetarian burger or beef-like crumbles
  • 6 oz shredded pepper jack cheese (divided use)
  • 6 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese (divided use)

Directions:

  1. To make the sauce: Heat oil in a heavy saucepan over medium low heat. Add onions and celery and saute 5 minutes. Add garlic and saute another minute. Add tomato sauce, water, basil, thyme, and oregano. Bring to simmer and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
  2. Cook ziti in plenty of salted water until al dente. Rinse under cold water and drain well. Place in large bowl.
  3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and brush a 13 x 9 x 2 inch baking dish with olive oil.
  4. Rinse and drain artichokes and place in food processor with drained roasted peppers. Pulse until minced (or mince them by hand). Add to bowl of pasta.
  5. To the pasta-vegetable mixture, add sauce, sour cream, uncooked beef crumbles, 2/3 of the jack cheese, and 4 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese. Toss all together until well-combined.
  6. Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared pan and level the top. Sprinkle with remaining pepper jack cheese and Parmesan.
  7. Cover baking dish with foil, and bake covered 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 15 minutes. If desired, place under broiler a minute or two to brown top. Allow to stand 15 minutes before serving.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *