Dairy-Free Baked Ziti! This recipe will AMAZE you. The cashew cream sauce sets up just like ricotta – but totally dairy-free!
You also might like this dairy-free lasagna!
I feel like I’ve been holding out on you with this recipe. I’ve made this Dairy-Free Baked Ziti many times now and have perfected the recipe.
Just like this dairy-free mac and cheese, dairy-free spinach artichoke dip and dairy-free potato soup, believe me when I say it – this recipe will amaze you and fool anyone who tastes it!
I love hearty, cheesy pasta dishes and have really missed them since cutting out most dairy. Instead of a classic ricotta cheese mixture, this dish uses a dairy-free cashew and egg based “cheese”.
Serve it with this gluten-free garlic bread that includes a dairy-free option!
And before you get all confused about the eggs let’s remember – eggs are not dairy! People with food allergies will know the difference.
Eggs are often mistaken for dairy because of the 90s food pyramid and the “dairy” section of the grocery store. However, eggs are from chickens and dairy is from cows. It’s a totally different animal and protein.
I personally can eat eggs but can’t eat much dairy. Many people do better on gluten-free/casein-free diets. Eggs have no casein so this recipe is meant for people with dairy allergies or intolerances – not for vegans.
My dairy-eating family absolutely loves this pasta. Every time I make it my husband asks me if I used real cheese. You have to taste it to believe it! The cashew sauce will look liquidy and runny when you first make it, but will set up perfectly in the oven thanks to the eggs. So don’t be alarmed with it looks nothing like ricotta initially!
My favorite gluten-free pasta to use is the Jovial Brown Rice Penne. It’s my favorite gluten-free pasta and I always have it on hand. Not sponsored – just my favorite. That pasta is also delicious with this gluten-free spaghetti sauce.
I hope you enjoy this dairy-free dish as much as we do! If you’re dairy-free but can eat eggs you should also try this:
Dairy-Free Buffalo Chicken Dip
Dairy-Free Baked Ziti (Gluten-Free)
Ingredients
For the Creamy Sauce:
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 1 cup water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
For the Baked Ziti:
- 1 lb gluten-free tubular pasta I use Jovial Foods Penne
- olive oil
- 1 lb Italian sausage or ground beef
- 1/2 large onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 26 oz jar marinara sauce I like Trader Joe's Tomato Basil Marinara
- 1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
Instructions
- Place the raw cashews in a bowl. Cover with boiling water (the 1 cup of water will be used later, just use enough boiling water to cover the cashews) and let sit for 30 minutes. You can make the pasta and tomato-meat sauce in the meantime.
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Cook the pasta according to package instructions - but subtract a minute or so from the boil time so the pasta is al dente.
- In a large skillet, add 1 tablespoon olive oil along with the Italian sausage and onion. Cook, breaking up into small pieces until browned and cooked through, about 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, marinara sauce and diced tomatoes. Cook until heated through for another 5 minutes or so. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Drain the cashews and place in a high-speed blender. Add 1 cup of fresh water along with the olive oil, lemon juice, and salt. Blend until completely smooth. Add the eggs and blend until smooth. (The sauce will look very liquidy and runny but will set up in the oven.)
- Add a scoop of the tomato-meat sauce to the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Spread out evenly. Mix the pasta with 1/3 of the remaining tomato-meat sauce. Pour half of the pasta into the pan. Drizzle over half of the cashew sauce followed by another 1/3 of the sauce mixture. Add the remaining pasta followed by the rest of the cashew sauce and tomato-meat sauce.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbly. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
This was so delicious! I made it vegan by subbing Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer for the eggs and Gardein crumbles for the meat. It turned out perfectly. This made a lot more than 6 Servings. We have a family of 8 and had lots of leftovers, which were just as good as the day I made it. Thanks for a great recipe!!
That was SO good!! I needed to find something to make GF and DF for an event with kids coming up so I decided to test your recipe out. Yummerz! My family and I, who do not eat GF or DF foods, loved it! Just printed it out to save in my favorite recipes book and sending to my friends and family who are GF and DF. Thank you!!
Delicious!! My 3 year olds favorite! Can you freeze the cashew ricotta cheese in its raw form after blending everything in it?
This looks so yummy! Do you know if you can sub anything for the eggs? I’m egg free too. Looks delicious!
We made this tonight and even the skeptics agreed that it was creamy and didn’t taste like fake cheese. It was very good!!
Thanks for the comment! I’m so glad you liked it!
Could this be prepared ahead of time, refrigerated and then baked later?
I think it could be prepared up to 2 hours in advance. Any more than that and the noodles might start to get mushy!
Could you use the “ricotta” recipe for lasagna as well?
Yes you can! It gets a bit tricky layer everything and doesn’t work with no-boil noodles. It works great with fresh pasta sheets though!
I made this last night! OH WOW was it good! I can’t have any dairy or gluten and it is a challenge to find recipes that everyone likes that I can eat! This is definitely going into our meal repertoire for sure! The cashew cream was delicious and was just like ricotta cheese! I also use Jovial Foods Penne on a regular basis. It just seems to hold up well. Thanks for sharing this really yummy recipe!
Yay! I’m so glad it turned out for you. The cashew “ricotta” really is amazing!
I just made this tonight and was so happy with how it turned out! Although I don’t require dairy free I like to play around with recipes and enjoy how versatile this is. The cashew sauce setup perfectly.
Super yummy!
My family is very picky when it comes to eating gluten free and dairy free foods, but this one blew us all away! Unbelievably good. Thank you for a new go to recipe.
I love this recipe! I made it yesterday and it was hit with the whole family. Thank you for sharing!
Yay! I’m so glad you like it! 🙂
I just made this and it is absolutely delicious
Great! So glad you liked it 🙂
I do wonder if it was freeze dry well?
This looks delicious! Do you think leftovers will freeze well?
Unfortunately gluten-free pasta doesn’t hold up well with freezing. I wish it did!