High Protein Baked Ziti

5 from 9 votes

A healthy twist on a classic comfort food with lots of protein from lean ground beef, sausage and a cottage cheese mozzarella filling

Prep Time5

Cook Time35

Bake Time25

Course: dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings:

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

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 9x13" 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.