Healthy Baked Ziti

Name: Healthy Baked Ziti
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 50 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 12 oz Ziti (12 oz ziti pasta (or penne if you can’t find ziti)); 1 tbsp Olive Oil (1 tablespoon olive oil); ½ lb Ground Beef (1/2 pound ground beef); ½ lb Italian Sausage (1/2 pound ground Italian sausage); 3 cloves Garlic (3 cloves garlic, minced); ½ piece Yellow Onion (1/2 yellow onion, diced); 1 tsp Italian Seasoning (1 teaspoon Italian seasoning); ¼ tsp Red Pepper Flakes (¼ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)) — optional; 0 pieces Table Salt (salt and pepper to taste); 1 piece Dried Bay Leaf (1 dried bay leaf); 32 oz Marinara Sauce (32 oz marinara sauce); ½ cup Parmesan Cheese (1/2 cup parmesan); 1 ½ cup Mozzarella Cheese (1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese); 0 pieces Basil (fresh basil, for garnish)

Healthy Baked Ziti - Dinner (Italian)

50 minItalian

Servings8

Add to grocery list

Plan it in the app to put it on your week.

Egg Free

Steps

1Preheat an oven to 350 degrees.
2Spray a 9×13 casserole dish lightly with oil.
3Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. When the pot is hot, add the olive oil, and then add the ground beef and Italian sausage. Brown the meat, breaking it up as it cooks.
4When the meat has browned, add in the minced garlic, diced onion, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper. Cook until the onion starts to become tender.
5Next, add the dried bay leaf and marinara sauce to the pot and stir until well combined. Lower the heat to low, cover, and let the sauce simmer while you prepare the pasta.
6To prepare the pasta
7bring a large pot of water with 2 teaspoons of salt to a boil over high heat. Once the water is boiling, add the pasta. Cook according to the package directions for al dente, stirring occasionally. When the pasta is finished cooking, use a colander to drain it and then add to your prepared casserole dish.
8Remove the bay leaf from the sauce and pour over the pasta in the casserole dish. Add the parmesan cheese and stir until the pasta and sauce are well combined.
9Top the pasta with mozzarella cheese. Cover the pasta with foil and bake for 20 minutes until sauce is bubbly around the sides of the casserole dish. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is melty and starting to brown.
10Garnish with fresh basil before serving and enjoy!