Creamy, cheesy baked ziti has always been a family favorite around here. With the flavors of lasagna, but much easier to make, this is a favorite casserole for me to make too. This meal is so filling and the leftovers reheat well for lunch or dinner the next day. When adapting it to gluten-free, I also took the opportunity to make my recipe a little healthier and lower fat.
I reduced the fat in this recipe by swapping the usual pork Italian sausage for a leaner meat, using part-skim ricotta cheese, and part-skim mozzarella cheese. To bump up the nutrition, I chopped 2 handfuls of spinach and cooked it in with the turkey. The kids didn’t even notice it in there! Win!!
I love this little food chopper!
While you can make this with pork Italian sausage, I usually opt for turkey Italian sausage or chicken Italian sausage because they are much leaner. Recently, I found that nitrates are a migraine trigger for me, so instead of using any type of sausage in this recipe, I have switched to using plain ground turkey. If you do choose a pork, turkey, or chicken sausage, be sure to double-check the ingredients lists to watch for gluten.
Some gluten-free turkey or chicken sausages I found are:
- Jennie-O – I’ve used their turkey sausage and now their ground turkey. All are labeled gluten-free.
- Isernio’s – certified gluten-free, and now I see that they are nitrate free too!
- al Fresco – 100% of al fresco’s all natural products are wheat free and gluten free.
- Miller – I bet their cheese sausage would be yummy in this!
- Bilinski’s – Our products are all gluten-free.
I used penne noodles from one of my favorite brands of pasta, Jovial. This rice pasta still has a great texture after cooking and baking it. I buy it directly from the Jovial website, Amazon
Serve this yummy baked ziti with a side salad and gluten-free breadsticks, French Bread, or garlic bread, and you’ve got a delicious family meal that everyone will enjoy!
- 12 oz. box of gluten-free penne noodles (I used Jovial)
- 2 handfuls baby spinach (fresh, not frozen)
- 1 lb. ground turkey or chicken, gluten-free turkey sausage or chicken sausage
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 15 oz. part-skim Ricotta cheese
- ½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 large egg
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- ¼ tsp. garlic powder
- 1 23.5 oz. jar* Prego pasta sauce (or your favorite gluten-free sauce)
- 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray a 9″x13″ baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Cook the gluten-free pasta according to instructions for al dente. Drain and set aside.
- While the pasta is cooking, use a food processor, food chopper or knife to chop up two handfuls of fresh spinach.
- In a skillet, brown the ground turkey or sausage, adding in the clove of minced garlic and the chopped spinach about halfway through cooking sausage. When completely cooked, set aside.
- In a bowl, combine the Ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, and large egg. Stir in the salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Set bowl aside.
- To assemble the baked ziti, place half of the drained pasta in the bottom of the 9″x13″ pan. Top with half of the marinara sauce. Spoon half of the ricotta mixture over the sauce and try to spread fairly evenly. Spoon half of the meat mixture for the next layer. Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese over the meat.
- Repeat the layers once more in the same order.
- Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the edges are lightly browned and mozzarella is melted.
- Serve immediately.
Note: Some links in this post are my referral links. Read my disclosure policy here. If you do decide to purchase something at Amazon after following my link, I receive a small commission, which I use to pay for web hosting and services for this blog.
{ 3 comments }
. They even have a 
!
