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Baked Ziti

Name: Baked Ziti
Prep time: 20

(12 votes, average: 4.17 out of 5)

20 min prep

8 servings

Carrot Icon for Number of Ingredients Size

8 ingredients

Our founder Ann Ogden Gaffney didn’t grow up eating baked ziti. In her words “Baked ziti was a revelation when I came to the US. We never ate pasta like this at home. How...

12 kale leaves, stems discarded
8 ounces whole wheat ziti, penne, or rigatoni
Salt, to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 pound Italian chicken sausage
12 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into ¼-inch dice
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3 cups marinara sauce or Quick Tomato Sauce

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Nutrition Facts

Calories

450 cals

Fat

24 g

Saturated Fat

11 g

Polyunsaturated Fat

3 g

Monounsaturated Fat

8 g

Carbohydrates

32 g

Sugar

6 g

Fiber

4 g

Protein

27 g

Sodium

1307 mg

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Bring a pot of salted water to boil. Drop in the kale leaves, cook for 3 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon and run under cold water, squeeze out the water and roughly chop. Place into a large bowl.
Bring the water back up to a boil and cook the pasta 3 minutes less than package instructions. Drain and toss with 1 teaspoon of olive oil and transfer to the large bowl with kale.
Meanwhile, in a skillet heat 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Add the chicken sausage and cook over medium heat, turning occasionally, until well browned. Place on a cutting board, and cut into ½-inch dice. Add to the pasta mixture.
Toss the pasta, kale, and sausage with fresh mozzarella, Parmesan cheese and Quick Tomato Sauce. Taste for salt, then pour into a 9- by 12-inch baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes covered with foil, then another 5 to 10 uncovered or until well browned. Serve.

Chef Tips

If you’re vegetarian, just leave out the sausage!

If you’re gluten free, sub the rigatoni out for some gluten-free penne.

Registered Dietitian Approved

All our recipes are created by chefs and reviewed by our Registered Dietitian Kate Ueland, MS, RD, CSO, a board-certified specialist in oncology nutrition, to ensure that each is backed with scientific evidence and follows the guidelines set by the Oncology Nutrition for Clinical Practice, 2nd Ed., published by the Oncology Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group, a professional interest group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.