Baked ziti is one of my favorite dishes, its just so comforting. You can’t go wrong with that much gooey cheese, am I right? This green ziti is a riff on the traditional version, but it replaces the red sauce with pesto. Typically, I layer my ziti, but in this version, I mix the pesto with the ricotta to make a super creamy sauce. I also use green lentil pasta in this version – double the green! But any pasta you have will work perfectly, just cook according to package instructions. Make sure you are cooking the pasta to JUST al-dente, it will cook a bit more when its baking in the oven and no one wants overcooked pasta.
While the pasta is cooking, you will make your pesto in a food processor. If you want to make this dish even easier, you can also use your favorite store bought pesto! To make your pesto, just combine the spinach, basil, oregano (optional), Pecorino, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil, lemon and salt and pepper to taste. The pesto will be pretty sharp from the garlic, but you want that flavor to come through because the ricotta will tone it all down. Once the pesto is made, mix it with all of the ricotta and toss with the cooked pasta.
Once you have tossed the pasta with the sauce, transfer it to a 9.5inch round baking dish (or another dish of a similar size). Top it with more Pecorino and the mozzarella. You can also use shredded mozzarella, but I love the fresh mozzarella. It can have a bit more moisture than the packaged kind, so it’s up to personal preference!
Bake the green ziti in the oven at 350F for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is melty and starting to bubble. I like to broil it for the last minute or so to get the cheese super melty. Slice and serve! Squeeze a bit more lemon on top and enjoy!
Love alternative pasta dishes? Check out this chickpea pasta recipe here!
Green Ziti
Equipment
- Food processor
Ingredients
- 1 8 oz box green lentil penne
- 1/2 cup spinach
- 1/2 cup fresh basil
- 1/4 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus more for topping
- 1 tsp fresh oregano leaves (optional)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 tbsp pine nuts
- Juice of half a lemon
- Salt and ground pepper to taste
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 4 oz fresh mozzarella sliced (can sub shredded)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- Cook the pasta according to package instructions until it is JUST al-dente. It will cook a bit more as it bakes in the oven.
- While the pasta is cooking, make your ziti by adding the spinach, basil, Pecorino cheese, oregano (optional), garlic, pine nuts, olive oil, and lemon juice to a food processor. Pulse until fully combined. You want this to be thicker than a traditional pesto, because you are going to mix it into your ricotta. Season to taste. (Note: if you don't have a food processor, or just don't feel like making your own, you can sub store bought pesto).
- In a large bowl, combine the pesto with the ricotta cheese. Stir to combine.
- Once the pasta is cooked, strain the pasta and add it to your ricotta and pesto mixture.
- Spray a oven-safe baking dish – I use a 9.5 inch round baking dish for this (so you can use anything that is a similar size) – and add the pasta mixture to the dish.
- Top with the sliced mozzarella and additional grated Pecorino.
- Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the top begins to brown. I like to broil for the last minute to really get the cheese gooey.
- Slice and serve! It’s great topped with a squeeze of extra lemon!
