Description
Want the classic baked ziti without the price tag? This vegan baked ziti is so tasty, adds no extra time, and saves you money!
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 454g ziti or penne noodles
- 650ml marinara Sauce (or up to 32oz for extra saucy)
For The Mushrooms
- 3 cups mushrooms (300g)*
- 1/2 medium onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 1/2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
- optional: 1 1/2 tsp cumin
- optional: 1 tsp smoked paprika
For The Bechamel
- 3 tbsp vegan butter
- 1/2 shallot or 1/4 small onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tbsp all purpose white flour
- 2 cups soy milk
- 2–3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1/4 tsp salt
- optional: pinch nutmeg
*Fresh ingredients you need that are not part of our pantry and freezer tips.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silicone mat.
- Finely chop by hand or pulse your mushrooms in smaller batches in your food processor. Processing the mushrooms in smaller batches ensures a more even size.
- Transfer chopped mushrooms to a bowl. Combine with chopped onion, garlic, tamari, cumin, and smoked paprika. Alternatively, use Italian seasonings. Stir to combine and spread in a single layer on your baking sheet.
- Bake for 30 minutes, stirring after the 20 minute mark to encourage even browning. *If after 30 minutes you are still working on the other elements, I like to keep the mushrooms in for 40 minutes to dry out even more.
- While your mushrooms are in the oven, boil the water for your pasta, cook according to the package, and make the bechamel (10-15 minutes).
- For the bechamel, melt the vegan butter on low heat in a small saucepan.
- When the butter is melted, add the chopped onion and garlic and stir for 1-2 minutes until softened and fragrant.
- Whisk the flour into the butter mixture 1 tbsp at a time, making sure to fully combine. Allow the flour to cook for 1 minute.
- Add the milk, ¼ cup at a time, whisking vigorously so the milk and flour don’t get clumpy. After the first cup of milk is added your sauce should be quite smooth, other than the onion and garlic pieces.
- Whisk in the nutritional yeast, salt, and nutmeg if using. Allow to thicken, stirring, for 5-10 minutes. You can raise the heat to medium low to encourage this process to speed up a bit. Remove from heat when noticeably thick.
- With all your elements done: pour your marinara sauce over your cooked noodles, stir in half the baked mushrooms. Pour half your saucy noodles with the ½ mushrooms into a large casserole dish. Spoon half your bechamel over this layer. Top with the remaining noodles, then bechamel, then sprinkle with remaining mushrooms.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and the top is golden. Garnish with breadcrumbs and fresh parsley. Dig in!
- Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. To freeze, skip the final bake. Compile all the elements, then freeze, and bake to serve.
Notes
*Approximate Cost: CAD $11.61 (1.94/serving) vs. at least CAD $17.56 using 300g ground beef, 1 cup ricotta, 1 cup shredded parmesan, 2 cups shredded mozzarella. At the very least, that’s a savings of CAD $5.95!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Main
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian