Keto Baked Ziti
Published April 16, 2024 • Updated March 8, 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.
I've made probably four different keto baked ziti recipes over the past two years and most of them either use shirataki or some zucchini situation that falls apart the second you try to serve it. The lupin pasta here is what actually changes the equation. It holds its shape in the sauce, which sounds like a low bar until you've had three versions that didn't. The beef and sausage combination also gives it a depth that straight ground beef recipes never quite reach, and the layered cheese in the middle tastes more like a proper baked pasta than anything I've tried in this category. Four stars because I found the lupin has a slightly firmer bite than I wanted straight out of the oven, but letting it sit for ten minutes before serving fixed that. Still the best version of this I've made.
My son ate the whole bowl, found out it was lupin pasta after, and didn't even care.
Kids never notice. Lupin holds its shape through the bake just like real ziti, so there's nothing to tip them off.
My daughter scraped the caramelized cheese edges clean before I even got the dish to the table.
Ha, those edges are the best part. My kids fight for them every time too.
used ground turkey instead of sausage bc thats what i had and it still worked fine. added extra italian seasoning to make up for it. family ate the whole pan so guess ill be making it again lol
Ground turkey works great here. Smart call on the extra Italian seasoning, the turkey needs that flavor boost.