I just love cheesy pasta dishes, and making a single-serving version is one of my favorite things to do for lunch.  Baked Ziti is so simple to do. 

For the pasta, you can make it a couple of ways.  For baked ziti, usually I go with penne pasta, but you can use rotini or even elbow pasta.  Usually, I just use the 60-second Barilla pastas to make a single-serving.  Personally, they aren’t my favorites because they tend to come out a little harder than I like, but they are super convenient. 

Pasta for One Serving

If you aren’t a fan of them either, I recommend making pasta in the microwave like I did in this recipe. I recommend using 1 cup of pasta and using enough water to cover it and then following the directions I gave in that post. 

When your pasta is ready, then it’s time to make your ziti.  For the “cheesy” part, you can use sour cream, cottage cheese, or ricotta.  I always have cottage cheese in the fridge, so that’s what I used.  But, I’ve made this with sour cream and ricotta as well, and it always comes out delicious. 

Single Serving Baked Ziti 

In a microwave-safe cereal bowl, layer the ingredients: 

• pasta
• mozzarella cheese
• cottage cheese
• sauce

Mix it all up and add a second layer of sauce over the top to prevent any pasta from drying out during the cooking process.  Then, microwave it for about 2-3 minutes to melt everything together.  

After it comes out of the microwave, add some mozzarella cheese over the top.  I have found if you add the mozzarella before cooking it, it can burn and get hard on top of the pasta when you cook it for 2-3 minutes.  So, it’s best to wait until it comes out to add it.

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Yield: 1 serving

Microwave Single Serving Baked Ziti

Prep Time: 2 minutes

Cook Time: 11 minutes

Total Time: 13 minutes

This Microwave Single Serving Baked Ziti is an easy dish for both lunch and dinner.

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Ingredients

• 1 cup of penne pasta
• 1 cup of pasta sauce or crushed tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese
• 1/3 cup of cottage cheese

Instructions

1. Make the pasta in the microwave per these instructions.
2. Layer the pasta, 2 tablespoons of mozzarella cheese, cottage cheese, and 1/2 the sauce.
3. Mix it all up.
4. Layer the rest of the sauce over the top and smooth out.
5. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
6. Remove it from the microwave and top with the rest of the mozzarella cheese.
7. Allow to cool for a few minutes before enjoying.

Notes

You can substitute the Barilla 60-second pastas instead of making your own.

You can also use rotini, elbow pasta, or even farfalle instead of penne pasta.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

1

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 497Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 34mgSodium: 1773mgCarbohydrates: 69gFiber: 9gSugar: 21gProtein: 25g

Any nutritional information on justmicrowaveit.com should only be used as a general guideline. This information is provided as a courtesy and there is no guarantee that the information will be completely accurate.

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