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This high protein baked ziti is hearty, cheesy, and packed with protein for a delicious dinner your whole family will love. It has over 40 grams of protein per serving from lean meat, chicken sausage and a cottage cheese mozzarella filling.
Comfort Food Made Healthier
Comforting pasta, a protein-packed meat sauce and tons of melty cheese. Is there anything better? This healthy baked ziti is so filling, perfect for busy weeknights and family-friendly too. Here’s why you’ll love this one!
- High-protein. This classic dish is absolutely packed with protein and has 41 grams per serving from lean meat and sausage, cottage cheese and mozzarella.
- Family-friendly. This hearty baked ziti will impress even your pickiest eaters. It has it all- pasta, meat sauce and plenty of cheese!
- Easy. It’s super easy to throw together, making it perfect for both busy weeknights and leisurely weekends too.
- Perfect for leftovers! This is one of my favorite recipes to make because it makes a lot and reheats well. It’s perfect to make as a weeknight dinner and then enjoy for lunch leftovers all week.
If you love comfort food bakes like this you have to try my Dump and Bake Meatball Casserole, Cheesy Taco Potato Casserole or Philly Cheesesteak Casserole next.
Ingredients
For full recipe instructions and complete list of ingredients, scroll down to the recipe card at the bottom of this page.
- Ziti: You’ll need 1 lb of your favorite ziti pasta. Any type of pasta will work but penne, rigatoni, cavatappi or fusilli are the best.
- Lean beef + sausage: Lean ground beef (93% or higher) adds tons of iron and flavor but you can also use lean ground turkey or chicken. For sausage, you can use raw Italian style sausage with casings removed or fully cooked chicken or turkey sausages chopped small.
- Onion, garlic + fresh basil: To add even more flavor to the sauce.
- Marinara sauce: Use your favorite jarred pasta sauce. I like to use Rao’s marinara or tomato basil sauce, or my Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce.
- Mozzarella cheese + parmesan cheese: Mozzarella plus parmesan cheese is used in the cheese layer and topping.
- Cottage cheese: A sneaky high protein ricotta swap! Full fat is best.
- Seasonings: Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper.
Variations
- High fiber pasta swap. Swap out regular pasta high-protein pasta like Barilla Protein+, chickpea pasta or red lentil pasta. Whole wheat pasta is a great way to boost fiber too.
- Add veggies. Stir 3 cups of baby spinach or chopped kale into the sauce for a veggie boost. You can also add 1-2 chopped bell peppers when you sauté the onions and garlic. Or use my Hidden Veggie Pasta Sauce!
- Use ricotta. If you’re not feeling the cottage cheese, swap it out for equal parts ricotta cheese instead.
- Skip the sausage. Instead of sausage you can also just double the meat.
How To Make High Protein Baked Ziti
- Sauté. While pasta is cooking according to package directions, sauteé onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat. Add ground beef and sausage and continue cooking until cooked through.
- Reduce heat. Add tomato sauce, water, basil and seasonings to the cooked meat. Simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
- Mix the cheese layer. In a small bowl mix all cheese layer ingredients, reserving 1 cup of mozzarella cheese for topping.
- Combine. Add drained pasta to the meat sauce, stirring until combined.
- Layer. In a deep 9×13″ baking dish layer half the pasta and sauce mixture. Next dollop with cheese mixture and spread evenly with a rubber spatula.
- Top it off. Add the other half of the pasta and sauce mixture and top with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25 minutes until cheese is melted and golden brown.
How To Store
- Fridge: Store cooled leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: Freeze in a freezer-safe container (preferably oven safe for easy reheating) for up to 2 months. To reheat, bake in oven at 350 degrees until cooked through and bubbly, about an hour.
jamie’s tips
Recipe Tips
- Al dente pasta. Don’t overcook the pasta and follow package instructions for al dente. The pasta will continue to soften a bit in the oven, so you don’t want mushy pasta!
- Use a deep dish. The key to baked ziti is layers, so make sure your baking dish is deep enough! I use this one.
- Full fat cottage cheese. I highly recommend using a whole milk or full fat cottage cheese. Low fat will still work but won’t be melt down as creamy.
- Make ahead. Prep this dish ahead and refrigerate until you’re ready to bake. If baking from cold reduce baking temp to 375 degrees and bake 40-45 minutes until heated through and cheese is melted.
More Healthier Pasta Recipes
If you’ve made and loved these High Protein Baked Ziti or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and comments below!
High Protein Baked Ziti
A healthy twist on a classic comfort food with lots of protein from lean ground beef, sausage and a cottage cheese mozzarella filling
Ingredients
- 16 oz ziti
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lb lean ground beef, or ground turkey/ground chicken
- 1/2 lb Italian ground turkey/chicken sausage, raw with casing removed or chopped fully cooked sausage
- 1 yellow onion, medium size, diced small
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 cups marinara sauce, I like Rao's marinara or tomato basil sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup basil, chopped small, more for topping
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- salt + black pepper to taste
Cheese Layer
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
- 16 oz cottage cheese, full fat
- 1/2 cup parmesan, shredded or grated
- 1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- pinch of black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
- In a large deep skillet, heat oil on medium heat. Add garlic and onion and cook for 2 minutes until garlic is fragrant and onion begins to soften.
- Add ground meat and ground sausage. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Continue cooking until meat is just cooked through.
- Reduce heat to low and add sauce, water, basil and seasonings. Simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add additional salt and pepper to taste.
- While the sauce is cooking, make the cheese layer. Add cottage cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella, parmesan cheese and seasonings to a small bowl. Mix until combined.
- Add pasta to the ground meat sauce and mix until combined.
- Add half of the pasta mixture to the bottom of a deep 9×13" baking dish. Next, add the cheese layer by adding dollops of cheese mixture evenly and smooth to mostly cover the pasta. Add the rest of the pasta and then top with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese (or more to preference).
- Bake for 25 minutes until cheese is melted and golden brown.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 559kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 41g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 86mg | Sodium: 1486mg | Potassium: 957mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1078IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 319mg | Iron: 7mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an estimate.
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Food photography by Marie-Catherine Dubé.
