We love these baked ziti with spinach and artichokes! It’s easy and has a wonderful creamy topping made with sour cream, pesto, and mozzarella cheese. Very nice!
Our baked ziti with spinach and artichokes is a combination between the classic baked ziti and spinach artichoke dip. It’s so easy to make, and thanks to that creamy layer of pesto and sour cream, it’s so delicious too!
I’m always game for baked pasta, and this ziti is definitely one of my favorites. It’s also really pretty on the table, so it works great for entertaining and holidays! Many pasta recipes have the same tone as this veggie pasta bake, our easy lasagna, and my spinach mushroom lasagna.
Key Ingredients
- Pasta: Choose your favorite tube-shaped pasta, such as ziti, penne, or rigatoni. The sauce gets stuck inside each piece. I cook it in salted water a little slower than the recommended time. We cook the pasta a little so that it doesn’t cook and becomes mushy when we bake it in the oven.
- Sauce: Use your favorite store-bought or homemade sauce. For homemade, I like this simple marinara sauce or this red pasta sauce.
- Spinach and artichokes: I use fresh spinach and jarred artichokes. I really like artichokes marinated in oil as they have more flavor, but artichokes sold in water will do the trick.
- Pesto and Sour Cream: You will mix these together to make our creamy pesto layer. Store-bought pesto is fine, but I love this homemade basil pesto if you’re up for it. I use the same creamy pesto sauce with my baked spaghetti!
- Mozzarella: You can’t bake ziti without cheese. Mozzarella is perfect, but any melty Italian cheese is fine!
How to Make Spinach Artichoke Baked Ziti
This easy-to-entertain baked spinach comes together quickly. Start cooking your pasta, but cook it slowly for 1 to 2 minutes. This way, the pasta won’t be mushy when we toss it with marinara sauce and bake it.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain it, but save some of the hot pasta water for later. The starchy pasta water helps make the sauce stick to the pasta as it bakes in the oven.
From there, toss the pasta in a large bowl with the marinara sauce, fresh spinach, and artichokes. As you toss, you will notice that the spinach will begin to wilt due to the heat of the pasta. It will seem like a lot of spinach at first, but it makes sense as it wilts.
When everything is tossed together, spoon about half of the pasta, spinach, and artichokes into a baking dish, then add a layer of creamy pesto.
The creamy pesto layer is my favorite part of this baked ziti recipe. It’s delicious and easy to make by mixing sour cream with pesto. On top of the pesto layer, I add mozzarella cheese, then top it with pasta, spinach, and artichokes.
To make the baked pasta more cheesy, I add mozzarella on top, then bake until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese melts. It’s really fun!
Spinach Artichoke Baked Ziti
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PREP
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COOK
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TOTAL
Our baked ziti with spinach and artichokes only requires 15 minutes of work at a time. A layer of sour cream, pesto, and cheese is added to the center of the ziti, making it extra delicious. If you don’t have sour cream, substitute cream cheese, cottage cheese, or ricotta cheese.
8 Services
You will need it
1 pound (450g) dry pasta such as ziti, penne, or rigatoni
Salt, to taste
1 (28oz) jar of marinara or spaghetti sauce, about 3 cups
1/4 cup (55g) basil pesto
3/4 cup (170g) sour cream
10 ounces (280g) fresh baby spinach
6 ounces (170g) artichoke hearts soaked in water, drained, chopped
1 ½ cups (170g) mozzarella cheese, chopped
Directions
1Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Lightly butter or oil a three-quart baking dish or spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, and follow the package directions, but cook for 1 to 2 minutes less than the package calls. Reserve 1/4 cup of the pasta water, then drain.
3While the pasta is cooking, heat the marinara sauce in a pan over medium heat.
4In a small bowl, stir the basil pesto and sour cream until well combined.
5Add the cooked pasta to a large bowl with the spinach, warm artichokes marinara, and reserved pasta water. Mix until the spinach is wilted and everything is well combined.
6Place half of the pasta in a baking dish. Spread the sour cream and pesto mixture over the pasta and scatter with half of the mozzarella cheese.
7Top with the remaining pasta, lightly press everything down into the baking dish, then spread the remaining mozzarella cheese on top.
8Place the baking dish on the baking sheet (in case any sauce drips down the sides of the baking dish). Bake until cheese is melted and sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Tips from Adam and Joanne
- To save: Baked ziti will keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Or, wrap it well with foil (we use two layers) and freeze it for up to 3 months. Defrost the frozen pasta overnight in the refrigerator and bake at 400°F for about 1 hour.
- Head on: You can refrigerate raw vegetables. Cover and refrigerate the assembled but unbaked pasta for up to 2 days. When covering, use parchment paper between the pasta and aluminum foil. Aluminum foil can react with tomatoes.
- The nutrition facts given below are estimates.
Food Per Serving
Serving Size
1/8 of the recipe
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Calories
457
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Perfect Oils
13.3g
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Saturated Fats
4.9g
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Cholesterol
23.3mg
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Sodium
893 mg
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Carbohydrate
62.1g
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Dietary fiber
9.6g
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Total Sugar
8g
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Proteins
25.2g
