Cheesy Baked Ziti. Also known as the pasta dish that my brother “wishes he could pay me to make again.”. You’re in for a real treat, friends. Italian food! It was the highlight of my life when I was younger. Maybe you’ve heard it before on the blog, but Italian food was my favourite growing up. Going to Italy renewed my love of Italian food, and now I realise that I want to recreate all the favourites I used to enjoy, into a vegan format! That includes all the pastas and pasta bakes. That’s not only so that I can enjoy my carbs when I want to, but because Italian food reminds me of family. My mom made lasagna all the time growing up. When I became vegetarian she always prepared a vegetarian lasagna for me for family dinners. Italian food for me, for that reason, has a special place in my heart. Also, my stomach.
This Cheesy Baked Ziti is like lasagna, but easier. Incredibly easier. It’s lasagna’s laid back cousin. It happens to be incredibly delicious and something you can totally prepare on a weeknight, a date night, a family night, a friends night, or any night. To keep it even easier, I wanted to give you the perfect tomato sauce that you won’t need to add a drop of anything to: Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce. I’m so excited that Rao’s Homemade is partnering with me on this blog post!! I actually have a fun story about Rao’s Homemade that I want to share. A while back, I began to follow a fitness blogger who became one of my favourites to follow, and she was obsessed with using Rao’s Homemade sauces since they are not only delicious but also pretty low carb. Intrigued, I gave it a try and immediately fell in love. One taste was like heaven. I said to myself wow, I would love to work with Rao’s Homemade one day!
I kid you not, fast forward some months and Rao’s reached out to me! So, the fact that I’m sharing this post today with their divine sauce and this Cheesy Baked Ziti feels very meant to be. Rao’s Homemade uses incredibly simple, premium ingredients in their sauces that you could pick from a garden yourself. It contains no tomato blends, paste, water, starches, colours or added sugar. Needless to say it makes me super proud to be sharing with you since you guys know how careful I am about sharing only the very best with you.
We didn’t need to add anything – it was perfectly seasoned. When I shared that I was using Rao’s Homemade, I got a ton of comments from you guys that it was your favourite tomato sauce. So if you’ve never tried it, now is definitely the time. Definitely give this Cheesy Baked Ziti a chance. I know you’ll love it and it’ll love you right back. Eat up and enjoy friends!
P.S. – I made the vegan ricotta and the vegan mozzarella from scratch. Please know that you can definitely purchase your favourite store bought brand!
