Baked Penne-Ziti Pasta #pastabake #Penne-zitipastarecipe

ricotta cheese

🥗Healthier: cottage cheese

💰Cheaper: cream cheese

Cottage cheese is lower in fat and calories.

mozzarella cheese

🥗Healthier: part-skim mozzarella

💰Cheaper: generic mozzarella

Part-skim mozzarella reduces calories while maintaining flavor.

ground beef

🥗Healthier: ground turkey

💰Cheaper: ground pork

Ground turkey is leaner, while ground pork is often cheaper.

parmesan cheese

🥗Healthier: nutritional yeast

💰Cheaper: grated pecorino

Nutritional yeast is dairy-free and lower in calories.

Start with leftover ground beef chuck from a previous meal.

Place meatballs in the oven to cook.

Brown the ground beef in a skillet.

While the beef is browning, sauté chopped red, green, and yellow bell peppers and half an onion in a separate pan.

Add fresh garlic towards the end of sautéing to prevent burning.

Season the browning meat with half a teaspoon of black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, basil, and sea salt.

Check on the sautéed vegetables and mix them with the browned meat.

Add a tablespoon of Italian seasoning, one teaspoon of onion powder, one teaspoon of garlic powder, and half a teaspoon of black pepper to the garden pasta sauce, along with a sprinkle of sugar to cut acidity.

Drain the ground meat and add it to the pasta sauce.

Squeeze in some tomato paste for added flavor.

Ensure the sauce is saucy enough to prevent the noodles from drying out in the oven by adding more pasta sauce if necessary.

Drain the cooked ziti and penne pasta and place them in cold water to stop cooking.

Prepare a baking dish by adding sauce to the bottom to prevent drying.

Sprinkle some parmesan cheese on the bottom of the baking dish.

Mix ziti pasta with penne pasta for the dish.

Slice the cooked meatballs in half and add them to the pasta mixture.

Pour the meat sauce over the pasta, ensuring all noodles are covered.

Layer the remaining noodles and top with more meat sauce, making sure to cover all noodles.

If sauce runs low, add a little water to the jar sauce and pour it over any bare noodles.

Top with mozzarella cheese before baking.

Bake uncovered at 375°F for 15 to 20 minutes.

Check for cheese pull after baking to ensure it's ready.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens