We love this baked ziti with spinach and artichokes! It’s easy and has the most amazing creamy layer made with sour cream, pesto, and mozzarella cheese. It is so good!
Our baked ziti with spinach and artichokes is a mashup between classic baked ziti and spinach artichoke dip. It’s super simple to make, and thanks to that creamy layer of pesto and sour cream, it’s super delicious, too!
I’m always game for baked pasta, and this ziti is truly one of my favorites. It’s also really pretty on the table, so it works well for entertaining and the holidays! More pasta recipes that hit the same tone are this veggie pasta bake, our easy lasagna, and my spinach mushroom lasagna.
Key Ingredients
- Pasta: Choose your favorite tube-shaped pasta, such as ziti, penne, or rigatoni. The sauce gets trapped inside each piece. I cook it in salted water for slightly less than the recommended time. We partially cook the pasta so it doesn’t overcook and become mushy when baking in the oven.
- Sauce: Use your favorite store-bought jarred sauce or homemade. For homemade, I love this lighter marinara sauce or this red pasta sauce.
- Spinach and Artichokes: I use fresh baby spinach and jarred artichokes. I especially love the artichokes packed in oil since they have a bit more flavor, but artichokes sold in water will do the trick.
- Pesto and Sour Cream: You’ll stir these together to make our creamy pesto layer. Store-bought pesto is fine, but I love this homemade basil pesto if you are up for making it. I use the same creamy pesto sauce for my baked spaghetti!
- Mozzarella: You can’t have baked ziti without some cheese. Mozzarella is perfect, but any melty Italian cheese is fine!
How to Make Spinach Artichoke Baked Ziti
This entertaining-worthy spinach baked ziti comes together fast. Start cooking your pasta, but undercook it by 1 to 2 minutes. This way, the pasta won’t become mushy when we toss it with the marinara sauce and bake.
When the pasta is cooked, drain it, but save some of the hot pasta water for later. The starchy pasta water helps to make the sauce stick to the pasta when it bakes in the oven.
From there, toss the pasta into a big bowl with marinara sauce, fresh spinach, and the artichokes. As you toss, you will notice that the spinach will begin to wilt from the heat of the pasta. It will seem like a lot of spinach at first, but it becomes more reasonable as it wilts.
When everything is tossed together, spoon about half of the pasta, spinach, and artichokes into a baking dish, then add a layer of creamy pesto.
The creamy pesto layer is my favorite part of this baked ziti recipe. It’s a treat and simple to make by stirring sour cream and pesto together. In addition to the pesto layer, I add some mozzarella cheese, then top it with the rest of the pasta, spinach, and artichokes.
So that the baked pasta is extra cheesy, I add more mozzarella on top, then bake until the sauce is bubbling and the cheese has melted. It’s utterly delicious!
Spinach Artichoke Baked Ziti
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Our baked ziti with spinach and artichokes only requires about 15 minutes of hands-on time. A layer of sour cream, pesto, and cheese is sandwiched in the middle of the ziti, making it extra delicious. If you do not have sour cream, substitute it with cream cheese, cottage cheese, or ricotta cheese.
You Will Need
1 pound (450g) dry pasta like ziti, penne, or rigatoni
Salt, to taste
1 (28oz) jar of marinara or spaghetti sauce, about 3 cups
¼ cup (55g) basil pesto
¾ cup (170g) sour cream
10 ounces (280g) fresh baby spinach
6 ounces (170g) jarred artichoke hearts, drained, chopped
1 ½ cups (170g) mozzarella cheese, shredded
Directions
1Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Butter or lightly oil a 3-quart baking dish or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the pasta, and then follow package directions, but cook for 1 to 2 minutes less than the package calls for. Reserve ¼ cup of the pasta water, then drain.
3While the pasta cooks, warm the marinara sauce in a saucepan over medium heat.
4In a small bowl, stir the basil pesto and the sour cream until well blended.
5Add the cooked pasta to a large bowl with the spinach, artichokes warmed marinara, and the reserved pasta water. Toss until the spinach has wilted and everything is well combined.
6Spoon half of the pasta into the baking dish. Spread the sour cream and pesto mixture over the pasta and scatter with half of the mozzarella cheese.
7Top with the remaining pasta, lightly press everything down into the baking dish, and then scatter the remaining mozzarella cheese over the top.
8Place the baking dish onto a baking sheet (just in case any sauce drips over the sides of the baking dish). Bake until the cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Baked ziti lasts in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Or, wrap it well with foil (we use two layers) and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost the frozen pasta overnight in the refrigerator and then bake at 400°F for about 1 hour.
- Make ahead: You can refrigerate unbaked ziti. Cover and refrigerate the assembled but unbaked pasta for up to 2 days. When you cover, use parchment paper between the pasta and aluminum foil. Aluminum foil can react with the tomatoes.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
This was an absolutely wonderful recipe – so flavourful and easy to make – 15 minutes flat. My family raved about it. This will be in my dinner repertoire from hence forth. Highly recommend.
This was very good and would make a great potluck and/or company dish – especially with the tip for making it ahead.
We are so happy you loved the recipe!
Can’t wait to try this one. Love your great recipes, keep them coming.
Looks like a delicious pasta recipe. Love spinach and artichokes.
I’ve made several dishes from Adam and Joanne. This came right in time as we have a few of our kids running the Naples marathon and they want carbs. Can’t wait to make!!
What size pan do you use?
A large baking dish (2 to 3 quarts).
Just new here and saw this recipe. Will definitely be making this one. Thank you.
Could I make this beforehand and reheat it? If so how long to reheat and at what temperature? Thanks
Hi Margie, You can. I’d cover and store the premade ziti in the fridge then bake at the same temperature suggested in the recipe (350F). You may need a little longer than the suggested 30 minutes since you will be starting with a cold dish. Just bake until heated through.
Could I replace all the artichokes with mushrooms?
Yes, that would be great.
In your Easy Baked Ziti with Spinach, are the artichoke hearts marinated or plain?
Hi Nancy, You can use either.
I made this 2 times. We love it. So easy and good. Can the recipe be frozen?
Wondering if you learned if this can be frozen? If so, how to adjust the baking directions?
Hi Donna, Let it cool completely on a rack before freezing, and then wrap it very well with foil (we use two layers). You can freeze for at least 1 month.
This is my new favorite dish. It was magical. The only change I made was sauteeing the artichokes with some mushrooms I had on hand to add some flavor to them and to use up the mushrooms. The basil pesto layer was amazing. The whole dish was. We’re newly vegetarians and regular baked ziti was a staple dish in our home but this was so much better. Will definitely be making again.
Can gluten free pasta be substituted without sacrificing taste? Thanks!
Hi Sonia, The taste should be very similar. We’ve noticed that when using gluten-free pasta, it is usually the texture of the pasta that is different.
I now know how to bake delicious banana bread thanks to you two wonderful, giving people. Thank you for sharing your expertise and thank you for the easy to follow instructions. My family, neighbours and friends enjoy your delicious banana bread and they always look forward to receiving the next loaf. 5 stars! Thank you for making so many people happy, Joanne and Adam!
Someone told me to add an egg if I substitute ricotta cheese. Is that necessary or better?
The egg will make form up the ricotta a bit. It isn’t necessary, but some people prefer the texture with the egg.
I’ve made this dish countless times now and my hubby and I enjoy very much!! The only suggestion I have is to make sure to use marinated artichokes. We used plain ones once and it turned out kind of bland, so the marinated artichokes definitely add flavor to the dish. Love love love!
The only artichokes in a jar available to me are marinated, which seems to be correct per one of the comments, but they do not look like what you have pictured. Unfortunately this looks like my idea of a perfect comfort food, which means I will have to stock up on artichokes and pesto, although I do usually make pesto all summer and freeze for winter use.
We have seen artichokes in cans (usually in water), in jars (usually in oil) and sold in the frozen section. Any of these will work. Hope you love the ziti 🙂
This recipe sounds awesome BUT would I be able to substitute heavy cream for sour cream?
You could certainly try it, it should still taste great. The cream will just be thinner than if you were to use sour cream.
Would it be possibly to put this ziti together in the morning, refrigerate it. and then bake it just before dinner?
Yes, definitely.
I made this last night and it was very easy to prepare and was delicious! I chopped up the artichokes as suggested by another user; I love the flavor they add to the dish. Used a 13×9 pan and there was no need for a foil lined baking sheet underneath. I had all of the ingredients on hand, however, I like that you can easily swap out certain items if you don’t have them, or add others to your liking. Looking forward to trying out other recipes from this site!
My husband and I just made this for dinner – I would say the total cooking time is pretty accurate. While it was baking, I had time to put together salads and prep for packing leftovers for lunch.. and drink some wine! This recipe is delicious – I doubt I would’ve thought to mix pesto with sour cream for the middle layer. *yum*
BUT….We changed some things to make it easier/create less dishes – we did not reserve any pasta water (the water from the uncooked spinach and other ingredients seemed like it would keep the pasta from drying out anyway), we used a large stock pot to boil pasta and returned the pasta back to the pot after it was drained for the spinach+sauce mixing (instead of using a “large bowl”), we did not preheat the sauce in any way (it was poured out of a room temperature jar), and we used a 13×9 glass baking dish and (luckily, because I forgot!) discovered there was no need for an aluminum-lined baking sheet.
Glad you enjoyed the recipe and thanks for your extra tips!
Sounds really good. I was wondering about preparing the night before cooking it. I would not heat sauce but not sure if that would be recommended?
Preparing the night before should work fine.
looks delicious! what kind of pesto sauce do use? Is there a certain brand or kind?
Thanks!
Not really, use your favorite store brand — we do like making our own on occasion. Here’s our recipe: https://signal-ward.live/24114/basil-pesto-recipe/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Made this tonight. Also added asparagus and served with a side of roasted broccolini and heirloom tomatoes. It was a huge hit! Thank you!
Hi!!I just made this for lunch and it was delicious.My husband and I ate almost the whole thing by ourselves,lol!!
I only changed the very top layer,I mixed some parmesan cheese and minced garlic with seasoned panko breadcrumbs and the mozzarella to give it an extra little crunch!
The sauce I used was Amy’s Marinara and it came out fabulous.I served it with a regular lettuce-onion-tomato salad.
The only thing I’m going to change is next time I’m going to use pre marinated artichokes because today I only had plain ones on hand and felt like they were a little bland…my bad.
It was awesome.Thanks for a great recipe!It’s on my bookmarks now! 🙂
Hi
Can you make a suggestion for a sub for artichokes.
you could use asparagus! 🙂
Had leftover tomato sauce, artichokes, pesto and mozzerellla cheese from pizza night. Plugged those ingredients into google and this recipe popped up. Made it and added some pepperoni (which was also left over). It was fast, simple and delicious!
Sounds wonderful! Adding pepperoni is never a bad thing.
What do you think about using an arugula pesto instead of basil pesto?
That would be delicious!
Made this tonight for dinner, awesome, will be making again!!
Just made this for dinner tonight, and it was INCREDIBLE!! I’ll probably chop the artichokes up next time– the big pieces were a little much for our tastes. We also added more cheese because cheese is amazing. This might be my new favorite! Perfect, thanks for sharing 🙂
More cheese is always a good call 😉
This recipe is delicious & so easy to make! I halved the amount of spinach but it still turned out wonderfully.
Going to make this real soon, maybe today…I will let you know how i liked it….
Hi! As a ziti traditionalist I was skeptical of this, but it tastes awesome and definitely make agai with no changes.
Btw I discovered your site this past Friday. It’s Monday and I’ve already made three of your recipes.
thanks so much!!
LOVE your recipies!!!
Thanks! 🙂
Such a delicious looking pasta!
Thanks!