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This easy recipe for gluten-free baked ziti uses plenty of store-bought shortcuts, but doesn't skimp on rich, cheesy flavor. It's a perfect freezer meal, too!
my take
Nicole's Recipe Notes
The ultimate Italian comfort food, this gluten free baked ziti recipe has only a few ingredients, most of which you probably already have in your kitchen. You can make it ahead of time and freeze it for at least a month, and it even holds up really well as leftovers.
We use store-bought tomato sauce and thicken it with tomato paste for plenty of flavor that sticks to the pasta. We make sure it's more than just pasta with sauce and cheese by layering the ingredients like a gluten free lasagna. But this ziti's even easier than that!
My favorite gluten free pasta shape to use here is rigatoni, but penne and even fusilli would work. Boil your pasta 2 minutes less than the package says, and it will keep its texture for way longer than you expect!
What's in it
Recipe ingredients
- Gluten free pasta: I like Rummo brand gluten free rigatoni pasta best for this recipe. You need something that's similar in size and shape to ziti, and rigatoni comes very close. Also try penne.
- Tomato sauce & tomato paste: I use a 24 ounce jar of Rao's brand tomato herb or marinara pasta with 4 to 6 ounces of tomato paste for extra richness and depth.
- Egg: Helps bind the ricotta cheese mixture together.
- Ricotta cheese: Adds a creamy richness, so the dish is more than just pasta with sauce and shredded cheese. Try draining some cottage cheese until it's as thick as ricotta as an alternative.
- Mozzarella cheese: Adds a mild, cheesy texture and melts so easily.
- Parmesan cheese: Adds tons of depth of flavor.
- Basil: The slightly peppery, fresh flavor cuts the creamy richness.
- Salt/pepper: To brighten the flavor of the ricotta filling.
How to make gluten free baked ziti
- Whisk together a jar of tomato sauce with some tomato paste to thicken it
- Boil your pasta to an al dente texture and add about 1/4 of the tomato sauce to it
- Whisk together one egg, ricotta cheese, salt, pepper, about 4 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese, 1 tablespoon of grated Parmesan, and chopped fresh basil.
- Start with some sauce, then layer half of the boiled pasta with its sauce;
- Top with half of the ricotta cheese mixture;
- Add a layer of sauce, then a layer of mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses;
- Repeat the layers, ending with about half of the total mozzarella and Parmesan;
- Bake at 375°F for about 35 minutes, or until the cheese is golden brown on top in spot;
- Let sit for about 15 minutes before serving warm.
My Pro Tip
Expert tips
Undercook the pasta
The pasta is boiled first, and then baked in sauce and cheese. We begin by undercooking it to a very al dente texture during boiling, reducing the boiling time on the package by 2 minutes. If there's a range, take 2 minutes off the lower end of the range. Even the very best gluten free pasta has a tendency to fall apart when overcooked. Plus, we want to be able to have delicious leftovers, too!
Bake uncovered
A lot of baked ziti recipes recommend covering the baking dish at the start of baking. But we add enough sauce that our baked ziti won't dry out. And leaving the dish uncovered means you get that beautiful golden brown cheesy top.
substitutions
Ingredient substitutions
Egg free
There's only one egg in this recipe in the ricotta cheese mixture. If you can't have eggs, just leave it out. I don't generally advocate eliminating an ingredient in a recipe without replacing it, but it only helps to bind together the ricotta mixture a bit. If you're not using an egg, use pre-shredded mozzarella cheese so it absorbs more of the moisture in the ricotta.
Dairy free
There is a lot of cheese in this recipe, and to make the dish dairy free, we'll need to replace each kind. Luckily, there are so many excellent dairy free cheeses on the market today! For Parmesan cheese, I love Follow Your Heart vegan grated Parmesan. Violife also sells a vegan Parm block. For mozzarella cheese, I can recommend Daiya, Miyoko's Creamery, Violife and Whole Foods 365 brands. For ricotta cheese, the only one I've tried is Kite Hill. It's a bit nutty, but it works well. Miyoko's Creamery has a dairy free cottage cheese that you can probably use, too.
Gluten free pasta shapes
There are so many good brands of dried gluten free pasta available today. My hands-down favorite brand is Rummo's gluten free line. They have a gluten free rigatoni shape that is similar in size to ziti, and has ridges to hold sauce that ziti doesn't have. It's my favorite for this recipe. I linked to Amazon's Rummo gluten free “store,” but you can usually find better prices in grocery stores and other places online, so shop around. You can also try:
- Giadzy brand gluten free ziti corti
- Bionaturae brand gluten free rigatoni pasta
- Barilla brand gluten free penne pasta
- Colavita brand gluten free penne pasta
Gluten Free Baked Ziti Recipe
Equipment
- Pasta pot for boiling the pasta
- Casserole dish 9-inch x 13-inch x 2-inch oven safe dish
Ingredients
- 1 egg, any size, at room temperature
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese, at room temperature
- 16 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese, plus more, as needed
- ¼ cup (1 ounce) finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more, as needed
- ⅓ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- ⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 24 ounces jarred gluten free tomato sauce, at room temperature; I love Rao's brand tomato herb and marinara varieties
- 4 ounces pure tomato paste, you can use up to 6 ounces for a thicker sauce
- 12 ounces dried gluten free rigatoni pasta, or other ziti-style pasta (See Recipe Notes)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375°F. Grease a 9-inch x 13-inch x 2-inch (or similar size) baking dish and set it aside.
- Set a large stockpot of water to boil on the stovetop. You can salt the water if you like.
Make the cheese filling
- In a medium-size mixing bowl, place the egg, and beat well.
- Add all 15 ounces of the ricotta cheese, 1 tablespoon of the Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper, and whisk well to combine. If the ricotta cheese is cold, you may need to mix with a spoon rather than using a whisk.
- Add the chopped basil leaves and about 1/4 of the total grated mozzarella cheese (4 ounces) to the ricotta mixture, and mix to combine. Set the bowl aside.
Finish the sauce
- In a separate medium-size bowl, place the tomato sauce. Add 4 to 6 ounces of tomato paste, and whisk to combine well. Set the bowl aside.
Cook the pasta
- Place the dried pasta in the boiling water and boil, stirring occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
- Boil the pasta for about 2 minutes less than whatever cooking time is recommended on the package. If there is a range of cooking time, boil for 2 minutes less than the low end of the range.
- Drain the cooked pasta, return it to the pot, and toss it with one quarter (about 7 ounces) of the total marinara sauce mixture. Set the pasta and sauce mixture aside.
Layer the baked ziti ingredients
- In the prepared casserole dish, place about one third of the remaining tomato sauce mixture (about 7 ounces) in a single layer and spread into an even layer.
- Top with an even layer of half of the pasta with sauce.
- Dollop about half of the ricotta cheese mixture evenly across the top, and spread it gently into an even layer.
- Drizzle about half of the remaining pasta sauce (7 ounces) evenly across the top of the ricotta mixture.
- Sprinkle about half of the remaining mozzarella cheese (4 ounces) and 1 tablespoon of Parmesan cheese evenly on top.
- Layer on top all the sauce that remains (7 ounces).
- Dollop the remaining half of the ricotta cheese mixture evenly across the top, and spread it gently into an even layer.
- Add the second half of the pasta with sauce mixture in an even layer on top of the ricotta mixture.
- End with the remaining mozzarella cheese (8 ounces) in a single layer, then sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese on top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until the cheese on top is golden brown in spots.
- Remove the dish from the oven and run a thin silicone or nylon spatula or knife around the perimeter to unstick the edges.
- Let stand for 10 to 15 minutes before serving warm.
Notes
- Giadzy brand gluten free ziti corti
- Bionaturae brand gluten free rigatoni pasta
- Barilla brand gluten free penne pasta
- Colavita brand gluten free penne pasta
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Make ahead/leftovers
Storage instructions
Because we undercook the pasta and then bake it in plenty of sauce and cheese, this dish holds up really well as leftovers. Store leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 5 days. Warm up in a 300°F toaster oven or in the microwave.
For longer storage, place baked leftovers in a sealed freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost in the refrigerator, and then let come to room temperature before warming up in a 300°F oven or microwave.
You can cook the pasta al dente, and follow all of the instructions for layering the ingredients ahead of time, and then store it covered tightly in the refrigerator for at least 3 days, unbaked. You can also store it in the same manner in the freezer for up to a month, then defrost in the refrigerator. Let it come to room temperature, and then bake as directed.
FAQs
Yes! Brown up to 1/2 pound of ground beef or bulk sausage (out of the casing) first, then add it to the cooked and drained pasta or as its own layer after the ricotta cheese mixture.
I think it would work! I think that chickpea pasta and lentil pasta hold up really well in sauce and baked dishes. Banza even has a rigatoni shape.
This is a recipe for gluten free baked ziti, but if you don't have to be gluten free, you can make it with regular wheat based ziti or rigatoni pasta.
Great job Nicole!
Best GF baked ziti that my girlfriend and I have gotten in restaurants, or have made ourselves.
The only thing that we’d do different next time is to leave the noodles a little more al dente when boiling them, as they seem to cook and soften quite a bit more then regular noodles in the oven.
So glad you enjoyed the baked ziti, David! Have you tried Rummo gluten free pasta? If you are willing to mail order it, I think it’s worth a try. It holds its shape and texture better than any other gf dried pasta I’ve ever had.
No I haven’t, but I will be now! Thanks Nicole!
It’s honestly the best, David. I often get it on Vitacost.com for the best price and sometimes on a site called “Alma Gourmet.” The price varies a lot, so shop around, but it’s worth it!
Can’t wait to try this. Sadly, I can’t find g-f ziti that doesn’t have corn flour in it, and I’m allergic to corn. I think Penne is the closest I can get to ziti!
Hi, Barbara, have you tried Banza’s chickpea pasta? They have a gluten free rigatoni shape. I haven’t tried it in baked form, but I have tried the pasta plain and it holds up really well in general. Might that be an option? Unfortunately, Rummo does contain corn. Bionaturae and Jovial gluten free pastas (both owned by Jovial) don’t contain corn, and one of them (Bionaturae) has penne, but that’s it.