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    You are here: Home | Recipes | Italian

    Easy Vegan Baked Ziti (Dairy-Free!)

    Jan 11, 2023 by Faith VanderMolen

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Full of melty, vegan cheese, protein-packed tofu ricotta and flavorful marinara sauce, this Vegan Baked Ziti is a family approved recipe! It takes about 25 minutes of hands-on time and then your oven does the rest of the work, making it the perfect meal for any night of the week!

    vegan and dairy-free baked ziti being scooped up with a wooden spoon

    These cooler, fall months have me craving all the hearty, comforting vegan pasta dishes!

    Especially pasta dishes that are full of melty, vegan cheese and rich marinara sauce!

    Seriously, who doesn't love a heaping bowl of pasta?

    Just like my One-Pot Creamy Marinara Pasta recipe, this easy to prepare vegan baked ziti is a super simple recipe that you can throw together any night of the week.

    The reason this baked ziti is so easy to make is because, other than some easy vegan tofu ricotta, all of the ingredients are store-bought. While I love to make my own marinara sauce, sometimes you just need to go the convenience route!

    Below I'll walk you through how to make the vegan tofu ricotta.

    How to Make Vegan Tofu Ricotta

    1. Sauté onion and garlic in a little olive oil until the onion is translucent.
    2. Add the sautéed onion and garlic to a food processor and add in the remaining ingredients: firm tofu, nutritional yeast, miso paste, lemon juice, sea salt and frozen spinach, if desired.
    3. Process all of the ingredients together until a fairly smooth "ricotta cheese" forms.
    the ingredients for vegan tofu ricotta in a food processor

    Vegan Baked Ziti Ingredients

    Like I mentioned above, this recipe mostly calls for store-bought ingredients. While in an ideal world I'm sure we'd all be eating homemade pasta and marinara sauce on a weeknight, that's just not practical.

    Below are the ingredients you'll need to make this easy vegan baked ziti:

    • 1 pound of pasta (I love using whole wheat pasta!)
    • 4 cups marinara sauce (about two 500 gram jars)
    • Vegan mozzarella cheese (I love the Violife Mozzarella!)
    • Tofu Ricotta:
      • Olive oil
      • Onion
      • Garlic
      • Firm tofu
      • Nutritional yeast
      • Lemon juice
      • White or yellow miso paste
      • Sea salt
      • Optional: frozen spinach
    • Optional: Vegan Parmesan (you can use homemade cashew parmesan cheese or store-bought)
    Easy vegan baked ziti with tofu ricotta piled high on a wooden spoon

    How to Make Vegan Baked Ziti

    Step 1: Preheat your oven to 350°F / 190°C and grease a 9x13 inch baking dish.

    Step 2: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. I love to use my electric tea kettle to speed up this processes! Boil your pasta until al dente, which is usually about 1-2 minutes less than the suggested cooking time. Drain and rinse.

    Step 3: While the pasta is boiling, prepare the vegan tofu ricotta. Heat a little olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the chopped onion and garlic until the onion is soft and translucent. Place the sautéed onion and garlic into your food processor and add in the remaining ricotta ingredients. Process the ingredients together until a fairly smooth "cheese" forms. Set it aside.

    Step 4: Once your pasta is cooked and your tofu ricotta is made, combine the two together in a large mixing bowl. Add in 3 cups of marinara sauce and 2 cups of vegan mozzarella. Stir well to combine.

    all the ingredients for vegan baked ziti in a large mixing bowl

    Step 5: Pour the pasta mixture into your greased baking dish and spread it out until fairly level. Top the pasta with the remaining 1 cup of marinara sauce, 1 cup of vegan mozzarella and the vegan parmesan, if using.

    baked ziti being topped with more marinara sauce

    Step 6: Bake the pasta uncovered for about 30 minutes or until it's heated through the vegan cheese is all melty and gooey.

    Step 7: Serve warm with a fresh green salad and some crusty whole wheat artisan bread!

    cheesy vegan baked ziti on a fork

    Other Vegan Italian Recipes

    If you love easy, vegan Italian dishes like this baked ziti, then be sure to check out the following recipes!

    • One-Pot Creamy Marinara Pasta
    • Whole Wheat No-Yeast No-Rise Pizza Dough
    • Easy Vegan Pizza Bread
    • 4 Ingredient Italian White Bean Pasta Salad
    • Vegan Pizza Panini

    📖 Recipe

    Vegan Baked Ziti

    Faith VanderMolen
    Packed full of protein-rich vegan ricotta and melty mozzarella cheese, this easy Vegan Baked Ziti is the perfect recipe to enjoy any day of the week!
    5 from 6 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 25 minutes mins
    Cook Time 30 minutes mins
    Total Time 55 minutes mins
    Course Vegan Main Dish Recipes
    Cuisine Italian
    Servings 8 Servings
    Calories 472 kcal

    Ingredients
     
     

    TOFU RICOTTA

    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • ½ onion chopped
    • 2 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 block firm tofu
    • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
    • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
    • 1 tablespoon white/yellow miso
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • Optional: 5-6 cubes frozen spinach drained and rinsed*

    BAKED ZITI

    • 1 pound pasta ~500 grams
    • 4 cups pasta sauce 2 500 gram jars
    • 3 cups shredded vegan mozzarella or as much as desired
    • ½ cup vegan Parmesan

    Instructions 

    • Preheat your oven to 375 °F and grease a 9x13 inch baking dish. Set it aside.
    • Cook your pasta in salted water until al dente (1-2 minutes under the recommended cooking time)
    • While the pasta is cooking, prepare the tofu ricotta. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Sauté the onion until translucent. Add in the minced garlic and cook another minute or two. Transfer the cooked onion and garlic to a food processor and add in the remaining ingredients. Process until fairly smooth, scraping down the sides of the food processor as needed.
    • Once the pasta has finished cooking, drain and rinse it. Return the cooked pasta to the pot and add in the tofu ricotta, 3 cups of pasta sauce and 2-3 cups of vegan mozzarella. The amount of vegan cheese you use really depends on how cheesy you want the baked ziti! Stir everything together until well combined.
    • Pour the mixture into your greased baking dish and spread it out until level. Top it with the remaining 1 cup of pasta sauce, the parmesan cheese and more vegan mozzarella if desired!
    • Bake the pasta uncovered for 30 minutes.
    • Allow the pasta to sit for a few minutes before serving and enjoying!

    Notes

    I love to add in the spinach for an easy way to get in some greens, but it's optional!

    Nutrition

    Calories: 472kcalCarbohydrates: 63gProtein: 18gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 1331mgPotassium: 555mgFiber: 6gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 582IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 199mgIron: 3mg
    Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

    More Italian

    • Vegan Zuppa Toscana
    • 13 Healthy Vegan Italian Recipes
    • Vegan Tempeh Meatballs
    • Vegan Pink Pasta Sauce


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    Comments

    1. Maria says

      February 11, 2023 at 6:39 pm

      5 stars
      Love this recipe! I really wanted a creamy and hearty ziti dish, but didn’t want to use cashew cheese. This was perfect! This will definitely be added to our meal rotation. Made exactly as written, except used coconut aminos instead of miso. No spinach. DELICIOUS!

      Reply
      • Faith VanderMolen says

        February 12, 2023 at 12:38 am

        So happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thanks for commenting and leaving a review!

        Reply
    2. Dee says

      December 23, 2022 at 8:34 am

      Trying this recipe for the holidays. Should the tofu be pressed?
      Thank you!

      Reply
      • Faith VanderMolen says

        February 12, 2023 at 1:42 am

        I don't usually press the tofu for this recipe, but you can squeeze out some of the excess water quickly!

        Reply
    5 from 6 votes (5 ratings without comment)

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