This easy, cheesy Red Lentil Pasta Baked Ziti is a hearty, delicious, meatless and gluten-free Italian meal featuring three kinds of cheese and red lentil penne pasta.
Warning: From this point on, only serious cheese lovers welcome...
We're talking three kinds of cheese here people - ricotta, mozzarella and Pecorino Romano (see the recipe card notes below for substituting the Romano with a vegetarian-friendly cheese).
There's even cheese in the sauce! Why? A better question would be: why not?
In my professional "cheeseivore" opinion, when there's cheese involved, go big or GO BIGGER! 😉
And as I mentioned in my post for Chickpea Flour Homemade Manicotti, our Christmas dinner is always an Italian meal. Sometimes it's manicotti and sometimes it's ziti.
Either way, I always use my Ricotta Cheese Mixture for both dishes. The only difference between my ziti of the past and my ziti of the present is...the pasta.
As the name of this dish suggests, I now use red lentil pasta to make my ziti instead of traditional wheat-based ziti noodles. What I love about red lentil pasta is that it's a great source of protein.
This is especially awesome since I don't use any meat in my ziti. If you haven't tried red lentil pasta before, it is a delicious gluten-free alternative that is not only protein-rich, but also holds its own in a baked dish.
To put it simply, it doesn't turn into a mushy mess. Now if you overcook it, you will end up with a mushy mess but that's true about pasta in general, so moving on...
I've compiled a list of sorts of my favorite red lentil penne pastas that would be amazing in baked ziti for your convenience.
Red Lentil Penne Pasta by Brand
We'll start with the one I used for this dish - Explore Cuisine Organic Red Lentil Penne.
This penne combines organic red lentil flour with organic brown rice flour. Each 2-oz. serving contains 11 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber. According to the package, it also has 15% of one's daily recommended intake of iron based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Next up is Modern Table's penne.
This pasta is made from red lentil flour, white rice and pea protein. Like Explore, Modern Table also contains 11 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber per 2-oz. serving as well as 15% of a day's worth of iron based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Another pasta I love is Chickapea.
The Chickapea brand combines organic red lentil flour with organic chickpea flour. Not only is it full of protein (15 grams per 2 oz. serving), it also packs in 8 grams of fiber for the same serving size. Chickapea also boasts 20% of daily iron based on a 2,000-calorie diet in addition to 25% thiamin, 15% vitamin B6, 35% folate and more.
Last but not least is Barilla's red lentil penne.
This pasta is made with just red lentil flour. It has 13 grams of protein per 2-oz. serving. The package breaks down the fiber into soluble and insoluble with 3 grams of each for a total of 6 grams per 2-oz. serving. Iron is listed at 15% of a day's value based on a 2,000-calorie diet.
Now you can choose the one that suits you best. 🙂
While you're deciding...
How to Make This Baked Ziti with Red Lentil Pasta
Start by preparing the ricotta cheese mixture and refrigerate until ready to use. Next, preheat your oven to 375°F. Add crushed tomatoes with basil (I used my favorite brand, Tuttorosso), garlic, grated cheese and parsley to a saucepan.
Stir to combine. Cover and cook over medium to medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the sauce is done, remove from heat.
While the sauce is cooking, prepare the pasta according to package directions except cook molto al dente, which is slightly undercooked. It should be slightly firm but not too hard.
For example, the pasta I used had a cooking time of 8-10 minutes, and I cooked it for 6 minutes. I'd recommend starting with 2 minutes less than suggested to ensure it does not become overcooked, which will result in the pasta falling apart when it is baked.
After draining the pasta, return to pot.
Carefully add the sauce as it will still be hot.
Stir in ricotta cheese mixture.
Scoop evenly into a 13 x 9 inch baking dish. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes until cheese is melted and ziti is bubbly.
For a veganized baked ziti, check out our vegan baked ziti recipe.
Easy Baked Ziti with Red Lentil Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 Ricotta Cheese Mixture (click for the recipe)
- 56 oz. crushed tomatoes with basil (I used Tuttorosso brand)
- 2 cloves garlic (peeled and chopped)
- 2 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano cheese *see notes below regarding vegetarian-friendly cheese options
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley (chopped)
- 16 oz red lentil penne pasta (I used Explore Cuisine)
- 8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese *see notes below regarding vegetarian-friendly cheese options
Instructions
- Prepare ricotta cheese mixture according to recipe and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Preheat your oven to 375°F.
- Add crushed tomatoes, garlic, grated cheese and parsley to a 4-quart saucepan. Stir to combine. Cover and cook over medium to medium-low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the sauce is done, remove from heat.
- While sauce is cooking, prepare the pasta according to package directions except cook molto al dente, which is slightly undercooked. It should be slightly firm but not too hard. For example, the pasta I used had a cooking time of 8-10 minutes, and I cooked it for 6 minutes. I'd recommend starting with 2 minutes less than suggested to ensure it does not become overcooked which will result in the pasta falling apart when it is baked.
- After draining the pasta, return to pot.
- Carefully add the sauce to the pasta as it will still be hot.
- Stir in ricotta cheese mixture.
- Scoop evenly into a deep 13" x 9" baking dish
- Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and ziti is bubbly.
(Please refer to the post above for instructional photographs for this recipe)
Notes
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Sri Mallya
Drooling over pics. Looks so cheesy and delicious. My comfort food!
Sherri Hall
Thank you Sri! Yay cheese! 🙂
Jessica (Swanky Recipes)
The cooler weather outside has had me craving pasta all week in which I've been indulging. I like red lentils and I'm eager to give this a try in my next pasta dish this week. I think this will taste amazing even with a cup of red wine, too!
Sherri Hall
Ah, yes, Jessica! Can't go wrong with red wine! 😉 Hope you enjoy the red lentil pasta! 🙂
Marisa Franca
I've never heard of pasta made with red lentils -- but I know lentils are high in protein. What a great mealtime alternative. Wow!! But we are serious cheese lovers so this pasta dish makes us wish we were digging in right now. Forget the spoon just hand me a ladle. I'm pinning the recipe.
Sherri Hall
Thank you so much, Marisa! Hope you enjoy it! Yes, the red lentil pasta is a great way to add protein to this meatless dish. 🙂
Michelle
This is my kind of pasta dish! I can't get enough of cheesy pasta bakes right now and I love that red lentil penne, will have to find that asap.
Sherri Hall
Thanks Michelle! You can never get enough cheese, right?! 🙂
Dominique | Perchance to Cook
What a great idea to use lentil pasta here! I bet you can barley even tell but you get the added bonus of extra protein. This looks so creamy and delicious. I can't wait to try it!
Sherri Hall
Thanks Dominique! Hope you enjoy! 🙂
Kiki Johnson
I actually tried those red lentil noodles and loved them! This looks like a wonderful weeknight dinner and with all that yummy cheese, I could even imagine kids eating this without even noticing that the pasta is different! LOVE
Sherri Hall
Thanks Kiki! I can tell you that my girls loved it, which is awesome! And the best part is that we had leftovers they actually liked! 🙂
Gloria
Lentils are such a great meat alternative. This looks so delicious. Even meat lovers would have a hard time not liking this delicious recipe.
Sherri Hall
Thank you Gloria! It's definitely still hearty without the meat. 🙂
Emily
So much cheese! This recipe looks amazing!
Sherri Hall
Thanks Emily! 🙂
Jessica Formicola
I am loving all of that cheese! The perfect weeknight meal!
Sherri Hall
Thank you Jessica! Yay cheese! 🙂
Danielle Wolter
You have no idea how badly i want to be eating this right now. It looks incredible. All that cheese, so YUM! this is the ultimate comfort food.
Sherri Hall
Thanks Danielle! It sure is super cheesy! 🙂
Morgan Eisenberg
My mom always used to make baked ziti for Christmas, but my brother doesn't eat gluten anymore. This is the perfect solution. And the ziti looks amazing. Gonna try it for sure!
Sherri Hall
Thanks Morgan! Hope you all enjoy! 🙂
Catherine Brown
Mmmm, I love the chickpea pastas! I've never tried them as a baked pasta dish yet, so this will be perfect to try!
Sherri Hall
Thank you Catherine! They are so good! Hope you enjoy! 🙂