Raise your hand if your teen years consisted of living on mall food court food? Hand raised and waving wildly here. Well, if you were a fan of Sbarro’s baked ziti — tender pasta baked with ricotta cheese then topped with marinara sauce and MORE cheese — then you are going to delight in my Gluten Free Baked Ziti. Calling for just five ingredients, this easy pasta dinner contains all the cheesy, savory goodness of the original — made gluten free!
Gluten Free Baked Ziti hits the spot in the way that only cheese, really good marinara sauce, pasta, and well, more cheese and marinara sauce can. It is SO darn good, and reheats really well, too. Hearty, cozy, unfussy, and tastes just like the Baked Ziti of my mall food court days. I know you will love this easy dish!
How to Make Gluten Free Baked Ziti
Start by boiling 12oz gluten free ziti-type noodles in a large pot of salted, boiling water until al dente then drain. Don’t overcook as the noodles will continue to soften in the oven.
I say “ziti-type” noodles because I haven’t found gluten free ziti in stores. Full Circle Organic has a rigatoni pasta which has the long, classic ziti shape plus some very small ridges, a la traditional rigatoni. This particular brand of gluten free pasta holds up very well to being boiled then baked – I recommend!
While the pasta is cooking, add 2-1/2 cups marinara sauce, 1 heaping cup ricotta cheese, and 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese to a large bowl then stir to combine.
I like BelGioioso’s Whole Milk Ricotta which is gluten free and HEAVENLY (and way too easy to eat spoonful after spoonful of!)
One of my biggest tips for making this dish taste like the “real thing” is to use the highest quality marinara or spaghetti sauce you can find – homemade would be amazing! We are Gino’s mega fans — Rao’s is really good too!
Last steps are to add the drained pasta into the sauce then stir to combine. Pour into a medium-sized baking dish then sprinkle on 1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, which is 3/4 of a bag of shredded mozzarella – just eyeball it. Cover the baking dish with foil then bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the sauce is slightly bubbling, then uncover and bake for another 5-7 minutes, or until the cheese has fully melted.
One of the things I adored about Sbarro’s Baked Ziti was that it was served smothered in their house red sauce, which is what I recommend doing with this homemade version also. That said, scoop the Gluten Free Baked Ziti onto plates then douse with warm marinara sauce and dig in. Oh man, it is so special. I hope you love this comforting, cozy, classic gone gluten free! Enjoy!
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