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Weight Watchers Recipe of the Day: Lightened Up Baked Ziti
For some reason “easy baked ziti” popped into my head today as I was peering into the fridge this afternoon. A favorite growing up, I haven’t made it for years.
But as I was contemplating what to make for dinner, I saw staring back at me a everything I needed to put together a pan of baked ziti – cooked pasta, cottage cheese and a package of ground turkey.
How Many Calories and WW Points in Mom’s Easy Baked Ziti?
According to my calculations, each serving has about 364 calories.
To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)
9 SmartPoints (Green plan)
8 SmartPoints (Blue plan)
7 SmartPoints (Purple plan)
9 PointsPlus (Old plan)
Recipe Notes
Now there are dozens of ways to make an easy baked ziti from simple to complex.
You can use sausage or ground beef or turkey or make it vegetarian. And whatever variety and combination of cheese you prefer. In some recipes everything is stirred together and in others the pasta and sauce are layered like in lasagna.
I’m sure everyone has their favorite, but this simple easy version is based on what was available today in my kitchen.
This is an easy versatile recipe. Feel free to substitute sausage for the ground beef or turkey (or leave it out for a vegetarian option.) You also can add extra vegetables, cooked chopped mushrooms, zucchini, peppers and spinach all would be good.
Recipe Variations
Meat – Ground beef, ground turkey, or sausage would work, as would sliced meatballs.
Cheese – Ricotta or cottage cheese for creaminess. A layer of fresh slice mozzarella or provolone would be delicious.
Veg it Up – Add chopped cooked mushrooms, zucchini, peppers or spinach.
If you like this Easy Baked Ziti Made Lighter, be sure to check out some of my other Weight Watchers friendly recipes including Healthy 4-Ingredient Pasta with Pesto and Tomatoes, Creamy Slow Cooker Bacon Ranch Chicken Pasta, Sausage Pasta with Vegetables, Light & Creamy Slow Cooker Pasta Primavera and Slow Cooker Chicken Pasta Fagioli
If you’ve made this Oven-Baked Pasta, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.
Easy Baked Ziti Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces ziti or other short cut pasta, uncooked (about 2 cups)
- 1/2 pound extra lean ground beef or ground turkey
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 3 cups spaghetti sauce
- 2 cups non-fat cottage cheese (pureed in a blender (affiliate link) for a creamier result, if desired)
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Cook ziti according to package directions. Drain, and set aside.
- Meanwhile, crumble meat in a large skillet (affiliate link) coated with non-stick cooking spray. Add onions. Saute, breaking up the meat into crumbles, until it is fully cooked, about 10 minutes.
- Stir the spaghetti sauce into the meat.
- In large bowl, combine cottage cheese, Parmesan cheese, egg, parsley, and garlic powder. Mix thoroughly. Add cooked ziti and mix well.
- Spread about 1/3 of the meat, onion, and spaghetti sauce mixture in bottom of prepared pan.
- Spoon ziti and cheese mixture into pan.
- Pour the remaining sauce mixture over the top. Sprinkle with a little more grated Parmesan if desired.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for about 30 minutes.
Notes
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.) 9 SmartPoints (Green plan) 8 SmartPoints (Blue plan) 7 SmartPoints (Purple plan) 8 PointsPlus (Old plan) Variations:
- Meat – Ground beef, ground turkey, or sausage would work, as would sliced meatballs
- Cheese – Ricotta or cottage cheese for creaminess. A layer of fresh slice mozzarella or provolone would be nice
- Veg it Up – Add chopped cooked mushrooms, zucchini, peppers or spinach
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Lighter version of a pasta and cheese meal.
I had a pound of thawed ground turkey, so I doubled the recipe. It filled both a 3 quart container and a 2 quart container. Makes lots! I used Kirkland Marinara sauce (which has no sugar), and 2 cups of lowfat cottage cheese mixed with 2 cups lowfat ricotta. I will freeze one of the containers to save for another day. After we’ve eaten this dish, I’ll update this comment, but so far so good. I enjoy your healthy recipes.
Hey Martha! This looks delicious and I can’t wait to try it. I was wondering what kind of spaghetti sauce you used (prego, ragu…)?
Hi Kip, I like Classico Tomato Basil sauce because it has less sugar than some of the others but I would say use whatever you like best. – Martha
I am new to Weight Watchers and I made this recipe. I put it in the recipe builder and it came out to be 11 points. Do you know why this would be?
Hi Barbara, There can be variations with ingredients selected from the recipe builder. The only things I can think of that would increase the points is a different fat content of ground beef or ricotta cheese. Hope this helps.
I don’t really know why, but i followed this recipe exactly and it looks nothing at all like the picture. WAY too much sauce for 1/2 pound of meat, and way too much sauce for the amount of required pasta. Not really sure how to fix this??
I’d love to make your recipes, but they do not have the smart points counted, so it is hard to make them.
Hi Andrea, many of my recipes do have SmartPoints. Unfortunately, I haven’t had time to update some of my older recipes that were made back when WW was using PointsPlus.
I made this last night. I sauteed spinach, mushrooms, squash and red bell pepper and added it to the sauce. It was delicious! My husband even asked for seconds not knowing he was getting vegetables which I have a hard time getting him to eat.
Today I am going to make your Southwest Breakfast casserole in the slow cooker. My husband likes having dishes like that for breakfast.
At a swim meet this weekend I bought a Yeti cup. I am good about drinking water but think this will make it easier. The shop selling them was from Arizona. They were talking about how cold the water stays in them even out there.
Your Black Bean Nachos, spinach and artichoke pasta and Mediterrean Chicken are on the upcoming menu. We are back in Baseball season and I need to stay away from the food at the stadium.
I really enjoy your recipes. They have helped me stay on track.
What is the serving size for this recipe? I wish you would put the serving size on all of your recipes please.
I too am looking for the size of the serving
Hi Stacy,
Often when I make casseroles, I just cut it into 6 equal size pieces and scoop it out without measuring. This is what I did here so I can’t provide you with an ounce or cup amount. Sorry about that. 1/6th of the entire amount is one serving. Hope this helps. – Martha
Sounds great and easy, but wondering if pan size was mentioned. I’m thinking 9×13 dividing 6 ways would be a nice portion… I guess that’s what I will try?
Hi Becky, I used a smaller pan – 9×9 so it was thicker but I think a 9 x 13 will work.
These look so delicious! I HAVE to try them.
I will try cook with this recipe, thank you for sharing!