Cottage Cheese Baked Ziti

Cottage cheese baked ziti starts with dry pasta tipped straight into the baking dish, so there’s no pot of water to boil and no colander to wash. Five minutes of stirring, one hour in the oven, and the cottage cheese melts into creamy pockets all through the pasta. It feeds eight, which covers a weeknight dinner plus tomorrow’s lunches, or a Sunday crowd.

Key Ingredients and Substitutions

• Ziti or rigatoni: I used rigatoni, which is what you see in the photos. Tube shapes trap sauce and hold up to a long bake. Penne works too. Use regular dried pasta, since it cooks right in the sauce.
• Marinara: This is the main flavor and half the cooking liquid, so use a jar you’d happily eat on plain pasta. Homemade works if you have it.
• Cottage cheese: Use full-fat. Low-fat turns grainy in the oven. Small or large curd both work. Ricotta swaps in 1:1 if that’s what’s in the fridge.
• Mozzarella: Use low-moisture shredded mozzarella. Fresh mozzarella releases water and leaves the bake soupy.
• Parmesan: It adds the salty, nutty depth. Pecorino Romano works too, but it’s saltier, so hold back on added salt.
• Water, oil, salt, and pepper: The water is what cooks the pasta, so don’t cut it down.

How to Make It

1. Heat the oven. Preheat to 400°F (200°C) with the rack in the middle, and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
2. Stir it all together in the dish. Add the uncooked pasta, marinara, water, 2 cups of the mozzarella, half the Parmesan, and the pepper. Push every piece of pasta under the liquid. It will look far too soupy, and that’s right. Taste the sauce and add salt only if it needs it.
3. Dollop the cottage cheese. Spoon it over the top, then stir two or three times. You want big pockets left intact, not a uniform pink sauce.
4. Cover tightly and bake. Sprinkle on the rest of the Parmesan. Seal foil all the way around the rim, then bake for 40 minutes. The trapped steam is what cooks the pasta.
5. Uncover and add the cheese. Bite a piece of pasta. It should be nearly tender with some sauce still loose. If it looks dry, add a splash of hot water. Top with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella and bake uncovered for about 20 minutes, until bubbling at the edges.
6. Broil, if you like. Give it 2 to 3 minutes under the broiler for browned spots. Watch it the whole time.
7. Rest for 10 minutes. The sauce thickens as it sits.

Tips for Getting It Right

Crunchy pasta in a no-boil bake almost always comes down to steam escaping: either a loose foil seal or pasta sticking up above the liquid.

• Press every piece of pasta under the sauce before covering.
• Crimp the foil around the whole rim. If your foil is thin, use two layers.
• If the pasta looks dry at 40 minutes, add a splash of hot water, re-cover, and give it 5 to 10 minutes more.
• Stick with full-fat cottage cheese for smooth, creamy pockets.
• Taste before salting. Between the sauce and three cheeses, it usually needs very little.

Variations

• Spinach: Stir 5 oz baby spinach in with the pasta at step 2. It wilts down in the oven.
• Sausage or beef: Brown 1 lb Italian sausage or ground beef, drain it, and stir it in at step 2.
• Extra saucy: Swap the water for a second jar of marinara for a richer, thicker sauce.

What to Serve With It

• Vegetable: Honey Mustard Green Beans
• Salad: Pickled Beet Salad
• Bread: Garlic bread

How to Store and Reheat

• Fridge: Keep it covered in the dish or in airtight containers for up to 4 days.
• Freezer: Cool it completely. Wrap the whole dish or individual portions well and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
• Reheat: Add a splash of water, cover with foil, and heat at 350°F (175°C) until hot through. That’s about 20 minutes for portions and 30 to 40 for a full dish. For single servings, microwave covered for 1 to 2 minutes. Don’t reheat it uncovered, or the pasta dries out.

FAQ

Cottage Cheese Baked Ziti Recipe

Bethany Galloway

No-boil baked ziti with creamy cottage cheese pockets, stirred together right in the dish.

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 8 Servings

Calories 429 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 1 tbsp olive oil or cooking spray
• 1 lb ziti or rigatoni, uncooked
• 24 oz marinara sauce
• 3 cups water
• 12 oz mozzarella shredded, 3 cups
• 1 oz parmesan finely grated, about ⅓ cup
• ¼ tsp black pepper
• salt to taste
• 16 oz cottage cheese 2 cups

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

• Heat oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease a 9×13-inch dish.
  1 tbsp olive oil
• In the dish, stir together pasta, marinara, water, 2 cups mozzarella, half the Parmesan, and pepper. Push pasta under the liquid. Taste and salt if needed.
  1 lb ziti, 24 oz marinara sauce, 3 cups water, 12 oz mozzarella, 1 oz parmesan, ¼ tsp black pepper, salt
• Dollop cottage cheese on top. Stir 2 or 3 times, leaving pockets of cottage cheese.
  16 oz cottage cheese
• Sprinkle on remaining Parmesan. Cover tightly with foil, sealed all around. Bake 40 minutes.
• Uncover. Top with remaining 1 cup mozzarella. Bake uncovered 20 minutes, until bubbling.
• Optional: broil 2 to 3 minutes until browned in spots.
• Rest 10 minutes before serving.

Notes

• Full-fat cottage cheese works best.
• Seal foil around the entire rim.
• Pasta dry at 40 minutes? Add a splash of hot water, re-cover.
• Taste before salting.

Nutrition

Calories: 429kcalCarbohydrates: 49gProtein: 26gFat: 14gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 38mgSodium: 1037mgPotassium: 463mgFiber: 3gSugar: 7gVitamin A: 707IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 318mgIron: 2mg

Keyword cottage cheese baked ziti

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!