This Vegan Baked Ziti recipe is creamy, cheesy, and bubbling with tomato sauce. Although this recipe requires a few different steps, it’s actually easy to make and tastes delicious.
This Vegan Baked Ziti will bring you back to the good ol’ days when mom would make her cheesy pasta bake and the whole family would enjoy it together around the dinner table.
The best part about this, is that it’s great for reheating in the oven or microwave. Or, if you’re lazy or weird like me, you can eat this pasta goodness right out of the fridge cold!
There are four main components to make this Vegan Baked Ziti a hit:
Ziti: this type of pasta is tube-shaped and smooth. Unlike penne, the ends are cut straight and the diameter of the tube is a little bit wider. This helps catch all the cheesy, gooey, creamy, saucy goodness. You may substitute the ziti for penne, mostaccioli, or another type of tube-shaped pasta if you’d like.
Vegan Fresh Ricotta: we skipped the cashews in this ricotta and kept the ingredients simple using tofu and a few others. It tastes so fresh and provides the perfect creamy texture.
Vegan Mozzarella: we use our traditional easy vegan mozzarella cheese but you can substitute for your favorite store-bought mozzarella cheese shreds.
Marinara Sauce: we use our homemade tomato sauce recipe but sometimes we’re feeling lazy and we just buy the jar. Use a good jar sauce (not Prego, please!)–we recommend Rao’s or Mezzetta.
We hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do. You can garnish with garlicky toasted breadcrumbs, seasoned hemp seeds, fresh parsley, basil, red pepper flakes, or vegan parmesan!
If you make this recipe, tag us on Instagram @pastabased or leave a comment below.
One Pinterest user, Donna, said “Delish! I used black bean penne…love how the mozzarella came out so stretchy”.
Our easy to make Vegan Baked Ziti loaded with fresh vegan tofu ricotta, vegan cashew mozzarella, and savory marinara sauce. Perfect for a family dinner any night of the week.
- 1 pound dry ziti pasta
- 5 cups marinara sauce
- 14 ounces firm tofu
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
- 10 fresh basil leaves
- 3 cloves garlic peeled
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk or other unsweetened plant milk
- 1/2 cup raw cashews
- 1.25 cups water
- 1/4 cup tapioca starch
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
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Add all fresh vegan ricotta ingredients to a food processor. Process on high until well-combined and creamy.
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In a small saucepan, add raw cashews. Cover with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, remove from heat and cover. Let sit for 15 minutes to soak. Drain.
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In a blender, add soaked and drained cashews. Add the remaining vegan mozzarella cheese ingredients. Blend until smooth.
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Add mixture back to the small saucepan and heat on medium. Stir constantly until the mixture starts to thicken. Keep stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and set aside.
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Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C). Bring a large pot of generously salted water to a boil. Add dry ziti pasta and cook 2 minutes less the package says. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
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In a large bowl, add ricotta cheese, half of the mozzarella cheese, and 3 cups of marinara sauce. Stir to combine. Add cooked ziti and mix.
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Spread 1 cup of marinara sauce on the bottom of a 13×9″ baking dish. Add ziti mixture into the baking dish on top of the sauce. Spread the last cup of marinara sauce on top. Dollop the remaining mozzarella cheese on top.
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Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes, removing the foil in the last 10 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Matt
I made this recipe tonight and it came out great. Can’t wait to make it again with some vegan sausage. Thanks for sharing.
Marna
I just made your tofu feta and it is out of this world. I am making Greek Salad with it tonight! So I was browsing and saw this recipe, which I will definitely try. I was wondering what it is that is sprinkled on the top. Is it vegan parmesan and if so is there a recipe?
pasta-based
So glad to hear you liked the tofu feta! It’s one of our favorites, too 🙂 The garnish on the baked ziti is a mix of Manitoba Harvest garlic hemp seeds (https://www.amazon.com/Manitoba-Harvest-Toppers-Rosemary-protein/dp/B01JUAY1Y6) and grated Violife parmesan (https://www.amazon.com/Violife-Wedge-Just-Parmesan-Ounce/dp/B07FYYCCY2)