We had a craving for baked ziti, but we had limited ingredients in our pantry – 1 lb uncooked ziti, Rao’s marinara sauce, and some cheese. We tried this simple recipe that doesn’t use ricotta cheese or heavy cream: https://asimplepalate.com/blog/easy-baked-ziti/
Our modifications: first, to manage sodium for the 3 cups of tomato sauce, we combined 15.5 oz Rao’s marinara sauce with 8 oz no-salt tomato sauce. We also added a few shakes of crushed red pepper. Second, for cheese we used 1/4 cup grated parmesan, 2 rectangular snack pieces of Tillamook white cheddar (which we hand-tore into chunks), and 8 oz Tillamook Mexican cheese blend. Third, we cooked the pasta one minute less than directed so that it wouldn’t get soggy in the oven. This was a satisfying and tasty dish. (Aug. 2025)
Cooking Adventures 