Baked Ziti

9PersonalPoints™ per servingTotal Time50 minPrep10 minCook40 minServes12DifficultyEasyHere’s a tasty, healthy version of the Italian classic. You’ll love how easy it is to put together, and you only need seven ingredients to make it. Using store-bought marinara sauce significantly cuts down on the prep time and cleanup, but feel free to use a homemade batch if you have any on hand. The combination of three types of cheese, ricotta, Parmesan, and mozzarella, is simply irresistible.

Ingredients

Cooking spray

3 spray(s)

Uncooked pasta

1 pound(s), rigatoni or penne

Part-skim ricotta cheese

¾ pound(s)

Crushed red pepper flakes

¼ tsp, or more to taste

Grated Parmesan cheese

¼ cup(s), divided

Store-bought marinara sauce

4 cup(s), divided

Shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

½ pound(s)

Basil

¼ cup(s), cut into ribbons, for garnish

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat bottom and sides of a lasagna pan with cooking spray. 
2. Cook pasta according to package directions; rinse with cool water and drain.
3. While pasta is cooking, in a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, red pepper flakes, 3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese and 1/3 cup marinara sauce. 
   1. To assemble ziti, spoon 1/2 cup sauce on bottom of prepared pan; top with half of pasta in an even layer. Evenly spread pasta with ricotta mixture; cover with half of remaining sauce. Top with remaining pasta and spoon remaining sauce over top; sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining tablespoon Parmesan. Bake until cheese melts and is browned, about 20 to 30 minutes. Allow ziti to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing into 12 pieces. Yields 1 piece per serving.