Baked Ziti Recipe With Fire Roasted Tomatoes

Baked Ziti Recipe. With Fire Roasted Tomatoes and Ground Beef, this is ultimate comfort food. An easy no fuss recipe. This is an easy cheesy no fuss recipe for baked pasta casserole with fire roasted tomatoes. Simple with cheese, tomatoes, pasta, ground beef and zucchini. Great for make ahead and will freeze well.

I mean who doesn’t love a baked cheesy one pot pasta dish??? This recipe is compliments of Muir Glen Tomato products. It’s an easy, no fuss version of baked ziti. The fire roasted tomatoes add a depth of flavor not available with regular tomatoes, and adding zucchini gives it an extra kick of creaminess.

Since making this baked pasta casserole, I’ve tried more complicated, fussy lasagna type versions of baked ziti with ricotta and mozzarella and I must say, this simpler version is just as tasty.

Before Christmas I received an offer from Muir Glen to purchase a pack of their special reserve harvest tomatoes. It was only 7 bucks so I said “what the heck”.  Plus, the shipment included a nice little cookbook.

Wanting to try the Fire Roasted Tomatoes first, I saw this recipe, it sounded delicious. And it was.   I even made a special trip to Whole Foods for some good quality ziti.  I have a pantry full of whole grain pastas just to stay on the healthier side, but for the first try of this recipe wanted the whole devilishly sinful effect.

I was a little leery that this might taste too tomatoey because it had one can of tomatoes plus one full can of tomato sauce.   I was wrong.  This recipe is delicious and the mild. The sweet flavor of those fire roasted tomatoes mixed in with all that mozzarella cheese, ground beef and zucchini makes this a scrumptious pasta dish.  Just serve with your favorite green salad and you’ve got a wonderful meal that you could even serve to guests at a dinner party.

I made absolutely no changes to this recipe from Muir Glen, except for using my Dutch oven on the stove top, so I could easily transfer the meal to the oven.  So, without any further ado:

Recipe For Baked Ziti with Fire Roasted Tomatoes

I hope you give this easy baked pasta casserole a try and if you do, please come back and let me know how you liked it and give the recipe a star rating. Your feedback is valuable to me for developing future recipes.

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Baked Ziti with Fire Roasted Tomatoes

Prep Time

30 mins

Cook Time

2 hrs 10 mins

Total Time

2 hrs 40 mins

 

Easy no fuss recipe for Baked Ziti with Fire Roasted Tomatoes.

Course: Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 6

Author: Muir Glen

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups uncooked ziti pasta 8 oz
• 1/2 pound extra-lean ground beef at least 90%
• 1 cup large sweet onion chopped
• 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
• 1 medium zucchini cut in half lengthwise, sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1 15 ounce can can Muir Glen® organic tomato sauce
• 1 14.5 ounce can Muir Glen® organic fire roasted diced tomatoes drained
• 2 teaspoons fresh oregano leaves chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt kosher or sea
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese 3 oz

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375°F. Cook and drain pasta as directed on box.
2. Meanwhile, spray 12x8-inch (2 quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In 12-inch nonstick skillet, cook beef, onion and garlic over medium heat, stirring frequently, until beef is thoroughly cooked.
3. Stir zucchini into beef mixture; cook 2 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper. Heat to boiling. Add drained pasta; toss to coat. Spread in baking dish.
4. Cover dish tightly with foil; bake 20 minutes. Remove foil; sprinkle with cheese. Bake uncovered about 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.
5. High Altitude (3500-6500 ft): Increase covered bake time to 30 minutes.

6. Substitution: If you like, use ground turkey or chicken in place of the ground beef.  Substitute 1 teaspoon dried oregano for fresh.

Looking for more Baked Italian Recipe Ideas?  How about:

Recipe Link>>     Baked Italian Meatballs

Baked Ziti Recipe With Fire Roasted Tomatoes …It’s What’s For Dinner.

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