Keto Baked Ziti
Published April 16, 2024 • Updated July 20, 2026
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My keto baked ziti is a low carb take on Pioneer Woman's famous comfort food, loaded with zesty beef and sausage marinara, creamy cheese layers, and real lupin pasta that holds its shape (no cauliflower noodles here).
One of Ree Drummond’s (aka The Pioneer Woman) most popular recipes is her Baked Ziti Pasta. I made it on several occasions back in my carb-loving days, and I always thought of it as what happens when spaghetti and lasagna have a baby. It’s comfort food at its core: meat, cheese, layers, more cheese. When I went keto, this was one of the first recipes I set out to recreate because I knew the magic wasn’t in the pasta itself.
Why does this version work?
I’ve been asked this a lot, and my answer is always the same: the magic isn’t in the noodles. It never was. The original uses plain boxed pasta. What makes it addictive is the zesty, meaty marinara layered with a creamy cottage cheese and mozzarella blend, baked until the edges get that caramelized cheese crust. One of my readers told me her daughter scraped those edges clean before she even got the dish to the table. I get it. My kids fight for those corner pieces every time.
The white sauce is what separates this from a regular meat-and-pasta bake. I mix cottage cheese, parmesan, mozzarella, and eggs into a thick blend that coats every noodle before layering. Some people use ricotta here, but cottage cheese gives you that creamy texture with fewer carbs and more protein. I’ve tested both side by side, and the cottage cheese version melts better in the oven.
That’s why most low carb versions that swap in cauliflower miss the point. Cauliflower changes the texture of the whole dish. I use lupin flour pasta because it holds its ziti shape through the entire bake, and that layered structure stays intact the way it should. If you’ve tried a cauliflower version and something felt off, this is the fix. I take the same real-pasta approach in my baked keto spaghetti, and it works just as well.
The anise seed is my quiet weapon in this dish. Most people skip it, but it’s what gives Italian sausage that signature flavor. I add a quarter teaspoon to the sauce on top of what’s already in the sausage, and the difference is noticeable on the first bite. If you love that depth, try my stuffed Italian sausage for the same profile. My family requests this on Friday nights, and nobody ever asks what’s in it.
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Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil -
1/4 medium onion, diced
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3 cloves garlic, minced
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1 pound ground beef
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1 pound ground sausage
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14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
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24-25 oz low-carb marinara sauce
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2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
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3/4 teaspoon salt
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1/2 teaspoon black pepper
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1/4 teaspoon anise seeds
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16 oz keto ziti noodles
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2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
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1 cup cottage cheese
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1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
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2 eggs
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Saute onion & garlic
Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add olive oil and swirl to coat the skillet. Add diced onion and garlic. Saute for 2-3 minutes or until softened.
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
Cook the proteins
Add in ground beef and ground sausage. Break up into crumbles and let cook until browned. Drain off some of the fat, leaving about 2-3 tablespoons behind for moisture.
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 pound ground sausage
Make the red sauce
Stir in diced tomatoes plus the juice from the can. Add the marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and anise seed. Stir and bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
- 24-25 oz jar marinara sauce
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon anise seed
Reserve some sauce
Remove 2 ½ cups of sauce, transfer to a bowl to use later and let cool. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
Cook the pasta
Cook the ziti pasta according to the instructions on the box but only boil for 2 minutes or until al dente. Any longer and the pasta will break. Strain pasta and run cold water over it to keep it from sticking and to cool it down.
- 16 oz low-carb ziti pasta
Prepare the white sauce
In a large bowl, mix together 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese and eggs.
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs
Coat the pasta
Pour the cooked & drained pasta into the bowl with the cheese mixture and stir to coat. Stir in the 2 ½ cups reserved, cooled beef pasta sauce.
Assemble and bake
To assemble, add half of the pasta mixture to a large casserole dish (either a 9×13 or 8×10). Spread in an even layer. Spoon half of the remaining pasta sauce over the top, then top with half of the remaining cheese. Repeat the layers with remaining pasta, sauce and cheese. Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and melted.
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use ground turkey instead of beef and sausage?
I've done this and it works, but ground turkey is leaner so the sauce won't be as rich. I add an extra teaspoon of Italian seasoning and a tablespoon of olive oil to make up for it. A reader named April tried this exact swap and said her family finished the whole pan. If you want other ground turkey ideas, my keto chicken casserole handles the swap well too.
What brand of keto pasta works best in this recipe?
I use Kaizen lupin flour pasta for this recipe. It's the one that holds its shape best through the bake without getting mushy or falling apart. I've also tried Great Low Carb Bread Company penne, which has a texture closer to regular wheat pasta but is slightly higher in carbs. If you go with shirataki noodles, rinse them well and expect a different texture. For this specific dish, lupin pasta is my top pick because it actually looks and feels like ziti when you scoop it out.
My pasta broke into pieces or turned to mush. What went wrong?
You overcooked the pasta. Lupin noodles only need about 2 minutes in boiling water before you pull them. They feel way too firm at that point, but trust me, they finish cooking in the oven during the bake. I made this mistake my first time and ended up with a casserole of mush. Run cold water over them right after draining to stop the cooking completely.
Is lupin pasta safe for people with peanut allergies?
Lupin is in the legume family, same as peanuts, so if you have a peanut allergy, I'd avoid lupin pasta entirely. I'd go with shirataki noodles or hearts of palm pasta instead. They won't have the exact same texture, but they're both safe and still give you a noodle you can layer with. I've made this with shirataki and it holds up fine, just rinse them really well first.
Can I assemble this the night before and bake the next day?
I do this all the time. Assemble everything in the casserole dish, cover tightly with foil, and refrigerate. When you're ready, bake straight from the fridge at 375 for about 25-30 minutes instead of 20 (the extra time accounts for the cold start). The flavors actually meld better overnight. I use the same make-ahead approach with my keto shepherd's pie and it works just as well.
How do I reheat leftovers without drying them out?
I cover the portion with a damp paper towel and microwave for 90 seconds, then check. The paper towel traps steam so the cheese doesn't dry out and turn rubbery. If you're reheating a bigger batch, I'd go with the oven at 350 covered with foil for about 15 minutes. I add a splash of marinara on top before covering, which keeps everything moist.
Can I make this dairy-free?
The cottage cheese, mozzarella, and parmesan are central to this dish, so going fully dairy-free changes it quite a bit. I've experimented with cashew-based mozzarella shreds and they melt OK but don't get that same stretchy pull. For the cottage cheese layer, I've blended silken tofu with nutritional yeast as a swap and it actually worked better than I expected. The parmesan is the hardest to replace. My honest take: it'll still be good, but it'll taste different from the original version.
Pull the pasta at two minutes, not when it looks done. It finishes in the oven and you want chew left, not mush. I went keto after my doctor flagged my A1C. Pasta was what I missed most. This is the first dish I've made on keto that didn't taste like a consolation prize.
The A1C comment hit me. My mom went keto for the same reason, and the hardest part for her wasn't the sugar, it was finding food that felt worth eating. Two minutes is exactly right on the pasta. It feels underdone when you pull it, almost wrong, but that's when you want it because the oven does the rest. Consolation prize food is what I was most afraid of making when I started this site.
Four batches in. The lupin pasta step is the only thing you really have to watch. I drain it, let it sit in the colander a few minutes, and blot it with a paper towel before folding it into the sauce. Lupin holds way more water than regular pasta and dumps it in the oven, so skip that step and the bottom comes out wet. I also pull it from the boil a minute early since it keeps cooking in the covered bake.nn8.8 net carbs is what got me to try it in the first place. Knowing it works reliably makes it an easy repeat. Four stars because of the pasta fussiness, but that's the only variable.
Courtney, the blot step is the one I do every time and honestly should have written into the recipe. Pulling it a minute early from the boil is exactly right, the covered bake takes it the rest of the way.
I swapped ground lamb in and it's richer, in a good way
Nobody guessed it was keto. Clean pan.
Clean pan is the only review that matters. People always think the lupin pasta is going to be the giveaway and it never is.
Bloomed the Italian seasoning in hot oil, about 30 seconds before the meat, and the sauce tasted way deeper. That step matters more than I expected. Thanks for a solid base to work from, Annie.
30 seconds in hot oil does something the same time in the meat never would. I do this with the anise seeds too, Crystal - get them in the oil before the meat and they actually show up in the sauce instead of disappearing.
Signed up to bring a hot dish before I really thought through scaling it for twelve people. Doubled everything. Spent the whole oven time waiting for the lupin pasta to go soft, but it held up. Someone asked what brand of ziti I got because the texture was off from regular pasta, like they noticed but couldn't place it. Ended up explaining lupin to four people at the table. Still kind of gets me.
That 'couldn't place it' reaction is what I always hope for. Not 'this is weird,' just 'wait, what IS this?' Four people at one table leaving with lupin in their vocabulary is a good night.
I kept second-guessing the reserved sauce step. Pulling out two and a half cups before assembly felt like sabotage, and I almost combined everything into one pot and hoped for the best. But I followed it exactly. The top layer sets up different from the bottom, almost like a thin crust where it bakes down, and the whole thing holds when you scoop. Made this on a weeknight with zero casserole experience and it came out looking like I'd been making baked ziti for years. 35 grams of protein per serving. In something that tastes like pasta. If you're new to keto and think this means boring food forever, start here.
Almost combining it is so tempting. The reserved sauce is what creates that top layer, fold it all in and it just bakes flat. Glad you held out.
On my fourth batch I finally stopped measuring the marinara and just eyeballed it heavy on the sauce side, and the cheese layers stayed creamy all the way through instead of drying out in the middle. The lupin pasta holds up better than anything else I've tried in baked pasta dishes. Leftovers reheated with a splash of water in the microwave, covered, came out just as good as day one.
The extra marinara is what saves that middle layer from drying out. The splash of water is the same idea, might be easier actually.
I've been on keto for about three weeks and this was my first time making anything more ambitious than a sheet pan dinner. I kept second-guessing the lupin pasta (kept checking the box to make sure I hadn't grabbed regular ziti by mistake), but it held together completely and the layers looked like actual baked ziti when I pulled it out of the oven. The beef and sausage combination gives the sauce way more depth than I expected. One question: can I assemble this the night before and bake it the next day, or does the pasta get soggy overnight?
I do this all the time. Assemble the whole dish, cover tight with foil, refrigerate overnight, and bake straight from the fridge at 375 for 25-30 minutes instead of 20 (the cold dish just needs the extra time to heat through). The lupin pasta doesn't absorb liquid the way regular pasta does, so you won't get that waterlogged bottom layer people worry about with make-ahead pasta bakes. If anything it's better the next day after the sauce settles into the layers. I assembled mine Sunday, baked it Monday, and it was genuinely better than when I made it fresh.
The lupin pasta held up better than I expected in the oven. One note: the canned tomatoes made the sauce a bit acidic, so I added a small amount of sweetener at the end to balance it. Worth keeping in mind if your marinara runs tangy.
Canned diced tomatoes vary so much on acidity. A pinch of erythritol at the end helps.
Third time making this, just switched to hot Italian sausage instead of regular and it shifted the whole sauce in a way I wasn't expecting. The heat kind of blooms into the marinara as it bakes, so by the time it comes out of the oven it's got this slow warmth that the original didn't have. Lupin pasta still holds its shape fine, which was my main question after the first batch. Regular rotation from here.
Hot Italian with the anise seeds already in the sauce is a lot of fennel in one dish. Glad it's landing instead of tipping over. I might try it with the anise pulled back and see what happens.
The lupin pasta actually surprised me. I have tried a few keto pasta swaps and they have all let me down, but this held its shape in the sauce and had real bite to it. My one note: the marinara I used ran a little acidic, so next time I would add a small pinch of sweetener to balance it out. Four stars because it is genuinely worth making again, just with that small tweak.
Acid in jarred marinara is unpredictable. I keep erythritol next to the stove just for that.
Batch six or seven in and it still comes out of the oven smelling freaking incredible. I'd completely written off keto pasta before this. The lupin ziti changed that. Started swapping in Rao's for the marinara two batches ago and that's the version I'm keeping now. Leftovers the next day are somehow even better than fresh.
Rao's is the right call. The sauce is thicker so it doesn't water down the casserole overnight, which is probably why the leftovers hit differently.
Third time making this and the lupin pasta still gets me. I kept waiting for it to turn mushy the way every other keto noodle I've tried does, but it holds its shape through the whole bake. The leftovers on day two are freaking unreal, somehow even better than the first night. Going on the regular dinner rotation.
Day two is better, the sauce has time to soak into the pasta and it just comes together. Mine never makes it that long.
I've tried enough low-carb pasta bakes to know they usually turn to mush straight out of the oven, so I was skeptical. The lupin ziti held its shape through the full bake and even the next day. Did you undercook it slightly before it went in, or just follow the box?
Two minutes in boiling water, then into the bake. It's going to feel way too firm when you pull it out of the pot. That's correct. I went longer my first time because I didn't trust it, and the whole dish turned to mush. Trust the two minutes.