Cheesy, satisfying and completely irresistible. This Baked Ziti is the perfect cozy meal for any weeknight dinner. Enjoy rich tomato sauce, perfectly al dente ziti noodles, and a flavorful cottage cheese filling made with Good Culture cottage cheese.
Ingredients:
Tomato Sauce
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (15 grams)
- ½ red onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 28oz can of crushed tomato
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- Salt
- Fresh black pepper
- 1 large stem fresh basil
Herby Cottage Cheese Filling
- 1 ½ cups Good Culture cottage cheese(330 grams)
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, divided (113 grams)
- 1 egg
- 4-5 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- ¼ cup grated parmesan (20 grams)
- Black pepper
- 8oz of ziti, cooked until not quite al dente
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F
- While the oven preheats make the tomato sauce. Heat the olive oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Add the red onion and minced garlic and cook for a minute or so just until golden and translucent.
- Add the can of crushed tomatoes, red chili flakes, dried Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and the fresh basil.
- Let the sauce simmer on low for 10-15 minutes.
- While the sauce cooks, prepare the herby cottage cheese filling. In a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese, half of the mozzarella, egg, finely chopped basil leaves, Italian seasoning, minced garlic, grated Parmesan, and black pepper. Give everything a good mix until fully combined.
- Once the sauce is done, remove the basil stem from the sauce. Reserve ½ cup of the tomato sauce for topping
- Stir the cooked pasta into the remaining sauce, then fold in the cottage cheese mixture until evenly combined
- Pour the pasta mixture into a round 10 inch circle baking dish or 9×9 square baking dish.
- Spread the reserved ½ cup tomato sauce over the top and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
- Cover the ziti with foil and bake at 350°F for 25–30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 5–10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and slightly golden.
- Let the ziti cool for 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh basil if desired.