The Baked Ziti That Will Change Your Life | Vegan, Cheap, Meat Eater Approved

Last week I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Washington DC for a plant based dietitian job interview at the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine.  They had me stay at their guest house, The Baker House, with interns who are occupants there for the summer.  If you haven’t already heard of the PCRM, it is an organization whose mission is ultimately to provide evidence based expertise to save the world. You can imagine how nervous/excited this wanna-be superhero was for this interview!!!

Back to the ziti- The ladies residing at The Baker House, Sofie and Catherine, are two brilliant, friendly, open minded vegans that became my close friends insanely quickly.  Catherine has made this dish a bunch of times and raved how it is always a win. Girl- you got that right!  Pool money to make dinner and eat it together!? Of course!!! Which lead me to enjoy the dish that I am sure will get anyone to give more vegan meals a try. Thank you ladies!

Baked Ziti That Will Change Your Life

Adapted from One Green Planet’s Recipe

Ingredients (total cost at Whole Foods: $21)

• 1 lb ziti pasta
• 1 24oz jar marinara sauce (we used an organic fat-free option plus some that was already open in the fridge)
• 1 1/2 cups vegan mozzarella shreds (we used 1 bag of daiya shredded mozzarella)
• 1 lb firm tofu, drained
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast or vegan grated parmesan
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 cup vegan cream cheese (we used 1/2 of a container of tofutti)

Steps

1. Boil water and cook ziti to manufacturer’s instructions and preheat oven to 425*F
2. For ‘ricotta’: crumble tofu in a large bowl and add in nutritional yeast (or parmesan), salt, pepper, oregano, garlic powder, and cream cheese. Mix fully with a fork or large spoon.
3. Mix the cooked pasta, most of the marinara sauce, and ricotta in a large bowl
4. In a large baking pan, add some marinara to line the bottom, transfer the mixture in, and spread it out evenly.
5. Top with the rest of the marinara and finally the layer of mozzarella shreds
6. Cover the dish with foil and bake ~20 minutes, uncover, and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
7. Eat with a side of greens and those people who actually get you and still like you! 😉 xo

Catherine, Sofie, and I eating takeout from ‘Hip City Veg’ on the Smithsonian Steps

 

 

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