Description
Baked ziti is carb loaded pasta dish with hearty meat sauce and ziti noodles coated in 3 different kinds of cheese. Who knew this dish could be points friendly for Weight Watchers?
Ingredients
Scale
- 2 tablespoons light butter
- 3 cloves Garlic, Minced
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 93% lean 1 can (28 Ounce Can) Whole Tomatoes, With Juice (or Petite Diced Tomatoes)
- 2 cups Marinara Sauce
- 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
- Salt And Pepper, to taste
- 16 ounces, weight Ziti Noodles
- 1 tub (15 Ounce) Part Skim Milk Ricotta Cheese
- 8 oz part skim Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 whole Egg Fresh Minced Parsley
Instructions
- Heat butter in a pot over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and saute for several minutes, or until starting to soften. Add ground beef and cook until browned. Drain off fat, leaving a bit behind for flavor and moisture.
- Add tomatoes, marinara sauce, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Stir and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. After that time, remove 3 to 4 cups of the sauce to a different bowl to cool down.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, 1 1/2 cups of the grated mozzarella, Parmesan, egg, and salt and pepper. Stir together just a couple of times (do not mix completely).
- Drain the pasta and rinse under cool water to stop the cooking and cool it down. Pour it into the bowl with the cheese mixture and toss to slightly combine (there should still be large lumps.) Add the cooled meat sauce and toss to combine.
- Add half the coated pasta to a large casserole dish or lasagna dish. Spoon half of the remaining sauce over the top. Repeat with another layer of the coated pasta, the sauce, and top it off with remaining mozzarella.
- Bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbling. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes before serving.
- Cut into 12 equal portions or use 1 cup for serving size.
Notes
myWW points: Blue 8; Green 14; Purple 8
WW points are calculated using the recipe builder and not the nutrition info calculator.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 384
- Sugar: 7.2g
- Sodium: 500mg
- Fat: 13.5g
- Saturated Fat: 6.6g
- Carbohydrates: 39.5g
- Fiber: 3.5g
- Protein: 25.9g