Baked Ziti with Sausage & Swiss Chard

Low FODMAP Baked Ziti That Everyone Loves!

This one-pan Baked Ziti with Sausage & Swiss Chard has so much going for it. It is super easy to make, feeds a crowd, is perfect for bringing to potlucks, is always welcomed on a buffet, and it is low FODMAP! Did I mention that it is gooey with cheese?

Yeah, look at that picture. It even tastes better than it looks. Seriously.

How Do You Make Baked Ziti?

I have an admission. Growing up I never had baked ziti. This is mostly because my Dad was interested in classic and authentic Italian cuisine, so it was more likely that we had a traditional Amatriciana or carbonara.

Baked ziti is very much an Italian-American creation at least in the forms it typically takes these days. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of historically correct baked pastas even dating back to the Middle Ages.

But we are talking about the kind of baked ziti that you will find at church suppers and in cafeterias, although our version is guest-worthy!

So how do you make baked ziti? So easy! You cook pasta and stir everything in a bowl before piling it into a casserole dish.

We are using FODY pasta sauce and you could choose between the Tomato & Basil or their Marinara. Then, you need some low FODMAP ziti, penne or penne rigate (your choice), which are tubular pastas that holds their shape well when double cooked (boiled, then baked) and the tubes catch the sauce, sausage and all the yummy goodness.

And we threw in some greens for added nutrition.

Swiss Chard Nutrition

We have made this with kale and spinach as well but we like Swiss chard the best. It adds color, flavor, moisture as well as vitamins A, C and K, fiber and iron, magnesium and potassium.

Is Sausage Low FODMAP?

Yes, no and maybe. You have to read labels. Sausage is by its very definition a combination of ground meats and spices. You have to know what is in your sausage.

We have had good luck buying sausage out of the butcher case where we can talk to the butcher about the contents. You are particularly looking out for garlic or garlic powder or garlic of any kind, which can very often be included.

Same for onion and onion powder, but you won’t find these as often.

You also want to check for any starchy fillers that might be high FODMAP, such as wheat breadcrumbs, and steer clear of sausages that broadcast their high FODMAP contents like ones containing apple or leeks or what-have-you.

You want sausage without any of those. Otherwise, you should be good to go.

We use sweet, hot or a blend of Italian style sausage that is pork based and has spices such as paprika, fennel, black pepper, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, cayenne, sugar or brown sugar, parsley, thyme or any combination of the above as examples of what are fine.

Ooey, Gooey Cheese!

I remember how excited I was when I found out I could eat many cheeses while on the low FODMAP diet. I had eaten dairy free for years, thinking I had to – and I didn’t! You can read more about lactose and dairy in our article, Lactose, Dairy and the Low FODMAP Diet.

Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, both used here, are low FODMAP and can safely be incorporated into your low FODMAP diet, in proper serving sizes, regardless of where you are in the process, unless lactose is a huge trigger in particular.

You might also enjoy our article, Is Cheese Low FODMAP?

Let’s make some ziti! Get ready for this tomato-y, cheesy, baked pasta comfort food!

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4.72 from 7 votes

Baked Ziti with Sausage & Swiss Chard

Baked ziti feeds a crowd and is super easy to make with fabulous low FODMAP tomato sauces like this from FODY Foods!

Makes: 12 Servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Author: Dédé Wilson

Ingredients:

• 1 pound (455 g) low FODMAP gluten-free ziti or penne, such as Jovial brand
• Kosher salt
• 8 ounces (170 g) Swiss chard, washed
• 1 pound (455 g) low FODMAP Italian sausage, pork based, sweet, hot or a blend of both
• 2 (19.4 ounce/550 g) jars each FODY Marinara or Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce
• 1 pound (455 g) mozzarella cheese, low fat or regular, half cut into small cubes and half shredded
• 1/2 cup (50 g) grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup (50 g) grated Pecorino Romano cheese, divided

Preparation:

1. Position rack in middle of oven. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Coat the inside of a 13 x 9 inch (33 cm x 23 cm) or 3 quart (2.8 L) casserole with nonstick spray; set aside.
2. Set a large pot of well-salted water to boil over high heat. Add pasta, stirring occasionally and begin prepping the Swiss chard.
3. While pasta is cooking, trim the chard of the largest, thickest part of the stems, which extend beyond the leaf and save for another use, like a stir-fry. Chop the rest of the Swiss chard leaves crosswise into broad ribbons. Add the chopped chard to the boiling pasta water. Drain when pasta is very al dente and still firm and holding its shape; remember it will be baked and therefore subject to further cooking. The chard will have cooked as well.
4. Heat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and crumble remove sausage from its casings and crumble into pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked through. Drain away any fat.
5. Place drained pasta, with the cooked chard, in large mixing bowl and add cooked, crumbled sausage, FODY tomato sauce, the cubed mozzarella, Parmigiano and Romano cheeses and fold together well. (The cubed shape of the mozzarella is going to give you extra-gooey pockets of melted cheese within the baked ziti).
6. Scrape pasta mixture into the prepared casserole dish, leveling the top. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese on top along with the Romano and Parmigiano cheeses.
7. Bake for about 40 minutes or until hot and the cheese it melted. Crank the oven up to 375°F/190°C and bake for about 10 more minutes to create crispy bits here and there and ensure that all of the cheese is melted. Serve immediately. Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to a month a re-heated in the microwave or a 350°F/180°C oven.

Notes:

If You Can Tolerate

Fructans: 

• If you have passed the wheat fructan Challenge you can use conventional wheat based pasta.

 

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American & Italian

Tags: Low FODMAP Back to School Recipes, Low FODMAP Recipes for a Super Bowl Party

Nutrition

Calories: 464kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 168mg | Potassium: 72mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1155IU | Vitamin C: 5.7mg | Calcium: 10mg | Iron: 0.3mg

All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more. For a more detailed explanation, please read our article Understanding The Nutrition Panel Within Our Recipes.