Cauliflower Baked Ziti

When my family gets a craving for pasta, this low carb twist on baked ziti always does the trick! We swapped the pasta for cauliflower, and loaded everything with a hearty meat sauce and plenty of creamy cheese.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Keyword pasta

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 45

Total Time 1

Servings

Calories 448kcal

Author Karly Campbell

Ingredients

For the cauliflower:

2 small heads of cauliflower
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt

For the meat sauce:

1 pound ground beef
1 clove garlic minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups sugar free marinara

For layering:

1 ½ cups ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded Parmesan
1 large egg
2 tablespoons minced parsley
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups shredded mozzarella

Instructions

To make the cauliflower:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Chop the cauliflower into small florets and add to a large bowl.
Drizzle the cauliflower with oil and sprinkle with the Italian seasoning and salt. Stir to coat.
Spread cauliflower in an even layer onto a rimmed baking sheet. You will likely need two baking sheets to fit it all.
Roast for 25-30 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking, until cauliflower is browned around the edges.

To make the meat sauce:

Add the beef to a large skillet over medium heat and cook, crumblin the beef as it cooks. Drain grease.
Add the garlic and red pepper flakes to the beef and cook for 1 minute.
Stir in the marinara and let cook over low heat until warmed through.

To assemble:

Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees.
Add half of the roasted cauliflower to the bottom of a 9x13 baking dish.
Top with half of the meat sauce.
Add the ricotta, Parmesan, egg, parsley, and garlic to a small bowl and stir to combine.
Dollop spoonfuls of the ricotta mixture over the meat sauce. Spread to cover the sauce. Top with half of the mozzarella.
Add another layer of cauliflower and marinara sauce. Sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella.
Bake for 15 minutes or until cheese has melted.
Sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving, if desired.

Notes

We divided this dish into 8 equal sized servings, but did not measure each serving by volume.

We use Rao's marinara. It has no added sugar and is the best tasting jar of sauce we've found. Use what you like, but keep an eye out for added sugars.

Serve with a green salad and our garlic bread chaffle for a tasty Italian inspired meal.

Nutrition