This vegan baked ziti is more than just a pasta bake! It’s loaded up with a tomato based vegan ground ‘beef’ sauce, topped with a rich nut-free vegan cheese sauce and baked to perfection in the oven.
This vegan baked ziti is the best comfort food around!
It’s fancy enough for special occasions or holiday dinners but simple enough for weekdays too.
It keeps extremely well and it’s also freezer friendly so even though this makes a fair amount of food, it’s also perfect for when you want to cook once and have dinner sorted for the next few days.
And it tastes so good no one will be complaining.
What Is Baked Ziti?
Baked ziti is an Italian-American pasta bake. It can be made lots of different ways, but it’s usually made with a tomato based meat sauce and ziti noodles, topped with cheese and baked.
Ziti noodles are a type of pasta very similar to penne. While penne has a ridged surface, ziti noodles are smooth. However, since ziti can be a little hard to get hold of, it’s totally fine to use penne instead or any other tubular pasta like macaroni.
For our vegan version of baked ziti we decided to make a vegan ground ‘beef’ using textured vegetable protein, and to that add chopped tomatoes and crushed tomatoes for a tomato based sauce.
Topped with our seriously delicious vegan cheese sauce, this vegan baked ziti is a recipe you’ll come back to many times over!
And of course if you love a good pasta recipe then check out our baked vegan mac and cheese and our vegan lasagna too. And for more Italian-inspired recipes check out our vegan eggplant parmesan.
What Goes Into Baked Ziti:
Ingredient Notes
- Pasta – you can use ziti or penne or macaroni or any similar type of tubular pasta. We actually used a large ridged macaroni (as you can see in the photo above) that worked great. It’s very similar to ziti except it has ridges whereas ziti is smooth.
- Textured vegetable protein – this is also known as TVP. We decided to go with this as the base of our ‘meat’ sauce since it’s very widely available and easy to get hold of. It’s also high in protein.
- Vegan beef stock – we added vegan beef stock to our textured vegetable protein. You could also use vegetable stock or broth.
What Goes Into The Vegan Cheese Sauce:
Vegan Cheese Sauce Ingredient Notes
- Nutritional yeast – creates heaps of cheesy flavor in this sauce. However, you can omit it if you prefer to. The sauce works great with or without nutritional yeast.
- Dijon mustard – can be replaced with any prepared yellow mustard. Adding mustard to ths sauce really brings out the cheesy flavor!
- Soy milk – can be replaced with any other creamy non-dairy milk.
How To Make Vegan Baked Ziti
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
The Vegan Ground ‘Beef’:
- Add textured vegetable protein (TVP) to a mixing bowl.
- Pour boiling hot vegan beef stock (or vegetable stock) over the top.
- Stir it in well with a fork.
- Leave it to sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Add chopped onions and olive oil to a pot on medium heat. Sauté until the onions are softened.
- Add crushed garlic, oregano, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper and sauté for a minute to toast the spices.
- Add the prepared textured vegetable protein (TVP), liquid smoke, soy sauce and tomato paste and sauté for 8-10 minutes until browned.
- Add crushed tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, light brown sugar, salt and ground black pepper and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Turn off heat and set aside.
The Vegan Cheese Sauce:
- Add olive oil to a pot or saucepan and turn the heat to medium high.
- When the oil begins to heat up, add the flour, stirring briskly all the time.
- Fry the flour in the oil for a bit, stirring vigorously and then add the soy milk all at once and keep stirring vigorously.
- Continue to stir until the sauce reaches a boil and then keep stirring until it thickens. It will usually start to thicken a few minutes after it has reached boiling point.
- When the sauce has thickened noticeably, turn off the heat and add dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, salt, ground black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.
- Leave it to cool down (it will thicken more as it cools) while you prepare your pasta.
The Pasta:
- Put your pasta on to cook according to package instructions.
- When it’s cooked, drain and rinse.
Assemble and Bake:
- Add the cooked pasta to the vegan ground ‘beef’ sauce and gently mix it in.
- Add 1 cup of vegan cheese sauce to the pasta and sauce mix and gently mix it in.
- Transfer the pasta and sauce mix to a 9×13 oven-safe dish and smooth down.
- Pour all the remaining vegan cheese sauce over the top and spread it evenly across the top of the dish.
- Place into the oven to bake at 400°F for 25 minutes until lightly browned on top.
- Top with fresh chopped parsley and a sprinkle of ground black pepper and serve!
Recipe FAQ
If you want some sides to serve with baked ziti then vegan garlic bread is a clear winner! A side salad like a vegan Greek salad or vegan Caesar salad would be great too. And red wine, of course!
Our vegan baked ziti should be baked uncovered, this is what makes that delicious vegan cheese sauce get all browned and beautiful on top.
You can make this vegan baked ziti gluten-free by using a gluten-free all purpose flour blend to make the cheese sauce and using a gluten-free pasta.
Make Ahead, Storing and Freezing
Make Ahead. To make this ahead of time, simply cook your vegan ground ‘beef’ sauce, your pasta and your vegan cheese sauce. Assemble in the dish, allow to cool and then cover it and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. Bake it up when you’re ready to serve! Allow an extra 5 minutes baking time since it’s baking from cold.
Storing. Leftover ziti keeps very well in the fridge (covered) for up to 5 days.
Freezing. You can freeze the baked or unbaked ziti for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge and then bake as usual, allowing an extra 5 minutes baking time since it’s baking from cold.
More Vegan Pasta Bake Recipes
- Vegan Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Cannelloni
- Vegan Stuffed Shells
- Vegan Pasta Bake
- The Easiest Vegan Lasagna
- Vegan Goulash (American)
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Vegan Baked Ziti
Ingredients
Vegan Ground 'Beef'
- 1 cup Textured Vegetable Protein (92g) also called TVP
- 1 cup Vegan Beef Stock (240ml) or Vegetable Stock
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 Medium Onion White, Yellow or Brown, Chopped
- 2 Cloves Garlic Crushed
- 1 teaspoon Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Thyme
- 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Cumin
- ½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika
- ¼ teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
- ¼ teaspoon Liquid Smoke
- 2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
- ½ cup Tomato Paste (130g)
- 28 ounces Crushed Tomatoes (800g) or sub Marinara Sauce
- 14 ounces Chopped Tomatoes (400g)
- 1 Tablespoon Light Brown Sugar
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
Vegan Cheese Sauce:
- ½ cup Olive Oil (120ml) Extra Virgin
- ½ cup All Purpose Flour (63g)
- 6 cups Soy Milk (1440ml) or other creamy non-dairy milk
- 2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
- ¾ cup Nutritional Yeast (45g)
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Ground Black Pepper
- 2 teaspoons Onion Powder
- 2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
Pasta:
- 16 ounces Ziti Noodles (450g) or Penne
Serving:
- Fresh Chopped Parsley
- Ground Black Pepper
Instructions
Vegan Ground Beef:
- Add textured vegetable protein (TVP) to a mixing bowl. Pour boiling hot vegan beef stock (or vegetable stock) over the top.
- Stir it in well with a fork. Leave it to sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Add chopped onions and olive oil to a pot on medium heat. Sauté until the onions are softened.
- Add crushed garlic, oregano, thyme, onion powder, garlic powder, cumin, smoked paprika and cayenne pepper and sauté for a minute to toast the spices.
- Add the prepared textured vegetable protein (TVP), liquid smoke, soy sauce and tomato paste and sauté for 8-10 minutes until browned.
- Add crushed tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, light brown sugar, salt and ground black pepper and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Turn off heat and set aside.
Vegan Cheese Sauce:
- Add olive oil to a pot or saucepan and turn the heat to medium high.
- When the oil begins to heat up, add the flour, stirring briskly all the time.
- Fry the flour in the oil for a bit, stirring vigorously and then add the soy milk all at once and keep stirring vigorously.
- Continue to stir until the sauce reaches a boil and then keep stirring until it thickens. It will usually start to thicken a few minutes after it has reached boiling point.
- When the sauce has thickened noticeably, turn off the heat and add dijon mustard, nutritional yeast, salt, ground black pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.
- Leave it to cool down (it will thicken more as it cools) while you prepare your pasta.
Pasta:
- Put your pasta on to cook according to package instructions.
- When it's cooked, drain and rinse.
Assemble and Bake:
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Add the cooked pasta to the vegan ground 'beef' sauce and gently mix it in.
- Add 1 cup of vegan cheese sauce to the pasta and sauce mix and gently mix it in. Transfer the pasta and sauce mix to a 9×13 oven-safe dish and smooth down.
- Pour all the remaining vegan cheese sauce over the top and spread it evenly across the top of the dish.
- Place into the oven to bake (uncovered) for 25 minutes until lightly browned on top.
Serve:
- Top with fresh chopped parsley and a sprinkle of ground black pepper and serve!
Notes
- Dijon mustard – can be replaced with any prepared yellow mustard. Adding mustard to this sauce really brings out the cheesy flavor!
- Nutritional yeast – creates heaps of cheesy flavor in this sauce. However, you can omit it if you prefer to. The sauce works great with or without nutritional yeast.
- Pasta – you can use ziti or penne or macaroni or any similar type of tubular pasta. We actually used a large ridged macaroni that worked great. It’s very similar to ziti except it has ridges whereas ziti is smooth.
- Make it gluten-free: You can make it gluten-free by using a gluten-free all purpose flour blend to make the cheese sauce and using a gluten-free pasta.
- Make Ahead. To make this ahead of time, simply cook your vegan ground ‘beef’ sauce, your pasta and your vegan cheese sauce. Assemble in the dish, allow to cool and then cover it and refrigerate for up to 48 hours. Bake it up when you’re ready to serve! Allow an extra 5 minutes baking time since it’s baking from cold.
- Storing and freezing. Leftover ziti keeps very well in the fridge (covered) for up to 5 days. You can freeze the baked or unbaked ziti for up to 3 months. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge and then bake as usual, allowing an extra 5 minutes baking time since it’s baking from cold.
This is so good! I used tempeh instead of TVP and used marinara sauce. The topping is so creamy and delicious. My kids loved it too which is always a win.
That’s great! Thank you Robert!
Solid baked ziti recipe that avoids using store bought vegan cheeses. This was delicious and the leftovers froze and reheated very well. I made ground beef using tofu instead of TVP just because that’s what I had and had zero issues.
Awesome! So glad it was delicious!
Sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it. I’ve never made a recipe from your site that didn’t become a favorite. TY for sharing these recipes.
Thanks for the awesome comment Kris, so happy you enjoyed it!
Fabulous. I’ll make it once a month.
Yay! Thanks Philip!
At last a baked ziti recipe that you can make from scratch and not have to use store bought ‘ground beef’. Will be making this when we get back to South Africa next month for sure. Thanks for another great recipe that works!
Thanks Maureen, that was what we were aiming for! Hope you really enjoy it! 🙂