Crock Pot Vegetable ZitiPin

I’m still full from an entire day of gobbling up Thanksgiving dishes with seconds and even thirds on my plate, but that doesn’t stop me from wanting to cook for everyone this weekend. Got a crowd? You need a crock pot to make your life easier.

My girlfriend, Staci, always says Baked Ziti is one of her kids’ favorite recipes, so much so that she knows all of the ingredients and measurements by heart, a bonus when you’re at the grocery and forget your shopping list. I played around with making a version of Baked Ziti made with tons of grated veggies and lots of cheese in my Crock Pot Hook Up system which is especially awesome when you’re entertaining a crowd and want to keep all of your food warm. That means Baked Beans, Warm Apple Cider, Pulled Pork Tacos, Four Bean Chili and more! All you do is connect up to 6 crock pots together so when you’re ready everything is right in a row and only uses one electrical plug for the entire system. Pretty cool, efficient and effective!

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Crock Pot Vegetable ZitiPin

Crock Pot Vegetable Ziti

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Author: Catherine McCord
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 3 minutes
Total Time 5 hours 10 minutes

Ingredients  

  • 1 pound ziti pasta, uncooked
  • 1 large zucchini, grated, about 2 cups
  • 1 large carrot, grated, about 1 cup
  • 1 red bell pepper, diced, about 1 cup
  • 1 small onion, finely diced, about 1 cup
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
  • 1 15-ounce can tomato puree (or sauce without seasonings)
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
  • 3 cups grated mozzarella cheese, divided

Instructions 

    Nutrition

    Calories: 430kcal | Carbohydrates: 60g | Protein: 22g | Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 810mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g
    Did you make this recipe?Mention @Weelicious or tag #weelicious!

    About the Author

    Catherine is a mama of three. A Kentucky girl living in California. Here’s what I know: all kids can be great eaters and mealtime must be easy. I create simple, healthy recipes the whole family will love.

    Comments

    1. I’m excited about trying this, but it looks like I’ll have a lesser cooking time so as to avoid the mushy pasta effect I see in the comments below. Looks great, and I can’t wait for my kids to try this.

    2. This was fantastic! I used whole wheat pasta, a mix of zucchini and yellow squash and the pasta was not mushy. I cooked it for three hours on high. My elementary aged kids loved it too!

    3. Has anyone tried freezing this? So good but a weeks worth of food for 2 and a toddler. I would love to have this on hand in the freezer if it will work.

    4. Awesome taste, but no hope for al dente pasta in a crock pot. I suggest making the sauce, and then boiling the pasta stove top at the end to mix in with the 2 cups of shredded cheese. Topping it with cheese in the crockpot, and putting the lid back on for about 10 will melt everything nicely. It’s more steps, but you’ll be saved from overcooked pasta.

    5. This recipe sounds good, but is quite gross. The pasta was nothing but mush. I wasted so much food 🙁

    6. 6 hours on low is way too long. I made this with all organic ingredients and just wasted about $20 with of food 🙁 the entire outer edge is burned black.

    7. Made this today and loved it! I cooked it for about 5 hours on low and it didn’t come out mushy at all which I was worried about after reading some of the comments. Thanks for sharing!

    8. I made this last night and the pasta came out very gummy. I think the flavors were great but I would recommend not using the crock pot. Next time I will cook the pasta and then add all the ingredients to the cooked pasta and put it in the oven until heated through.

    9. You can just leave it out! Or replace it with more of the other veggies.

    10. Is there an alternative to Zucchini? I’m anaphylactic to it and can’t use it.

    11. I made last week in 7 qt crockpot on medium about 1 hr then 2.5 hrs on on high. Was very good but the grated veggies seemed ‘lost’.
      This time I’m trying 1/4″ dices for all vegetables – on high for 3 hours, using rigatoni pasta..

    12. Is the zucchini a must? my husband doesn’t like Zucchini so going to make it tonight without.

    13. Thank you very much for the best blast from the past…..” The real way to make simple pie trust. When I was a kid, I loved spending time with my Grandmother that’s when I learned how to make the perfect pie crust, Some how over time, my perfect pie crust became less and less perfect. So I want to thank you for bring back my very important memory.

    14. Yummy! That crock pot system is awesome. I don’t have any crock pot at the moment, but I can see how they would be fantastic for parties and potlucks!

    15. This turned out really mushy for me and the pasta was gummy. It also took about 4 hours (on low) instead of the recommended 6. I liked having all of the veggies in it and when my youngest starts eating pieces of food it will work well being mushy but I didn’t care for the texture.

    16. Does it matter what size slow cooker is used? And if yes, what size do you recommend?

    17. No, I just put it in and cook it all day. You might want to leave it on high for awhile and it will brown some. If you like it brwenod it is okay to brown it before you put it in.

    18. I’m wondering if you had any luck with this recipe on the stove top? I’m a little worried about the pasta coming out mushy in the crock pot. Thanks!

    19. I am going to make this today but on stove stop since it’s a last minute meal. Have you tried making it on stove top?

    20. How did it the rice noodles turn out? Was thinking of trying it tomorrow. I tried it with trader joe’s corn pasta and it was a very tasty mush.

    21. Just wondering if you’ve tried this using rice noodles? We have some gluten sensitivities in our house.

    22. This looks delicious! How many would you say this feeds? Thinking it may be a good new baby meal

    23. […] Crock Pot Vegetable Ziti  (serves 6 – 8) […]

    24. Wow – this looks awesome! I have a bunch of frozen shredded zucchini left over from the glory days of my zucchini harvest. I am thinking it would work just fine in this recipe if I thaw it first, but do you think I should I drain and press out the water or just throw in the thawed shreds as is?

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