Easy ‘Cheesy’ Baked Ziti
This Easy ‘Cheesy’ Baked Ziti is made with gluten-free noodles, homemade cashew ricotta ‘cheese’, and classic baked ziti flavors. It’s a delicious and easy dinner recipe. The whole family will love this baked casserole!
A classic baked ziti casserole gets a make-over
Sometimes you just crave a childhood classic dinner. I’ve given the classic baked ziti a little makeover. Easy ‘Cheesy’ Baked Ziti gets an update to some ingredients to make it gluten-free and dairy-free. Making this dish gluten-free is a very easy swap. Grab a box of gluten-free noodles instead of regular noodles and you’re there! As for making this dish dairy-free, read on….
Creating a dairy-free version
Making this dish dairy-free is a little trickier. Because the ricotta cheese is a key ingredient, eliminating it completely made this dish taste like a pizza casserole. Which isn’t bad, just not what I wanted. I had to create a homemade dairy-free ricotta ‘cheese’. I chose to go with a cashew base with nutritional yeast and a few other ingredients. It was the key ingredient that made this dish come alive!
A healthy dinner for any weeknight meal
A delicious, cheesy, and healthy dinner; this baked ziti is truly one dinner you’ll want to keep in your menu rotation. This is also a great dish to bring to a friend. I love sharing meals with friends after they’ve had a newborn, had surgery, or have been going through a rough time. It’s easy to make and reheat!
How to make this Baked Ziti recipe
In a small saucepan add the raw cashews and enough water to cover the cashews. Bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Let them boil for 5 minutes. Drain the cashews through a colander in the sink. Place the softened cashews in a food processor. Add the water, nutritional yeast, freshly squeezed lemon juice, minced garlic, onion powder, and sea salt. Pulse a few times, scrape down the sides, then process for 20-30 seconds until the ricotta is nice and smooth. Place in the fridge.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large saucepan bring enough water for the noodles to a boil. Add the two boxes of gluten-free noodles. Cook until al dente, drain in the sink with a colander.
While the noodles are cooking, brown the ground turkey. In a large skillet, place the ground turkey, sea salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano. Begin to brown the meat over medium-high heat, breaking the turkey up to bite-size pieces with a spatula/turner while also mixing the seasoning into the meat. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until the ground turkey is cooked through.
In an 8×13 glass/porcelain baking dish add the cooked and drained noodles, the browned turkey, spaghetti sauce, half a cup of dairy-free mozzarella cheese, and one cup of ricotta ‘cheese’. Stir together. Evenly spread into the baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the remaining one cup of dairy-free mozzarella cheese.
Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese on top has melted.
Remove from the oven and serve.
- 1 1/2 lbs ground turkey (ground beef or chicken would also work)
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 2 8 oz boxes gluten-free noodles of your choice
- 1 12 oz jar spaghetti sauce
- 1 1/2 cups dairy-free mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 cup dairy-free ricotta 'cheese' (see below for recipe)
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/2 lemon, squeezed (about 1 Tbsp of juice)
- 1/2 tsp minced garlic
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup water
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In a small saucepan add the raw cashews and enough water to cover the cashews. Bring them to a boil over medium-high heat. Let them boil for 5 minutes. Drain cashews through a colander in the sink.
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Place the softened cashews in a food processor. Add the nutritional yeast, freshly squeezed lemon juice, minced garlic, onion powder, sea salt, and water. Pulse a few times, scrape down the sides, then process for 20-30 seconds until the ricotta is nice and smooth. Place in the fridge.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
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In a large saucepan bring enough water for the noodles to a boil. Add the two boxes of gluten-free noodles. Cook until al dente, drain in the sink with a colander.
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While the noodles are cooking, brown the ground turkey. In a large skillet, place the ground turkey, sea salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano. Begin to brown the meat over medium-high heat, breaking the turkey up to bite-size pieces with a spatula/turner while also mixing the seasoning into the meat. Cook for 10-12 minutes or until the ground turkey is cooked through.
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In an 8×13 glass/porcelain baking dish add the cooked and drained noodles, the browned turkey, spaghetti sauce, half a cup of dairy-free mozzarella cheese, and one cup of ricotta 'cheese'. Stir together. Evenly spread into the baking dish. Sprinkle the top with the remaining one cup of dairy-free mozzarella cheese.
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Place in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese on top has melted. Remove from the oven and serve.
Store leftovers in a covered container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
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