Baked Spaghetti is total comfort food with homemade meat sauce and cheesy goodness. Make it ahead of time and throw it in the oven for the best warm dinner.
Our family has been watching a family cooking competition show in the evenings after dinner here and there.
I love that it is inspiring my kids to want to cook! Gavin asked if this weekend we could make a full meal with an appetizer, main dish, and dessert.
We are making Holly’s Bruschetta, my grandmother’s meatballs, homemade pasta, my spaghetti sauce, and we are on the quest for a good Italian dessert.
I love my kids cooking with me. They learn how to feel confident in the kitchen as I pass down this tradition of sharing love through food.
My Baked Spaghetti recipe is a GREAT recipe to make with kids. It has moving parts and timing, so it is perfect for teaching those skills, while being a relatively uncomplicated recipe.
This recipe is like a lazy lasagna without the ricotta. It uses my meat sauce recipe which brings the most perfect flavor.
How to Make Baked Spaghetti
This is an easy pasta casserole to make! For the full list of ingredients and more detailed instructions please see the printable recipe card at the bottom.
- Cook noodles according to package instructions, keeping in mind that you want the boiling time to be at the low end of the range.
- While the noodles cook, make the meat sauce by cooking ground beef, onion, and garlic together.
- Drain the grease from the beef, stir in tomatoes and seasoning and allow it to simmer.
- Drain and rinse the cooked noodles and stir in parmesan cheese and whisked eggs.
- Pour a little of the meat sauce into the bottom of a baking dish.
- Add in the spaghetti and top with remaining meat sauce.
- Cover with shredded mozzarella and bake.
Making Ahead
This is a great recipe to make on a Sunday afternoon and then wrap and put in the oven when you get home from work Monday evening.
Make up until putting it in the oven, over with aluminum foil and put in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours.
Freezing
If you would like to make it over a weekend for baking much later, triple wrap it in aluminum foil and store in the freezer for up to three months.
Pro Tip! If you are planning on freezing this, double the recipe and make two for freezing!
As always, I recommend making it in a disposable baking dish so that when you transfer it from the freezer to the oven, you don’t risk breaking a glass dish.
When making this baked spaghetti from frozen, place directly in the oven with the just one layer of aluminum foil over the top.
- Bake for 55 minutes at 350 degrees, covered.
- Uncover and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
Make it Easier
If you are feeling stressed or tight for time, substitute your favorite pasta sauce for my meat sauce.
Cook the beef with the garlic and onion, and where you would add the tomatoes and spices, put in a 24 ounce jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce.
Skip the simmering, just stir in the sauce until it is warmed through.
What to Serve on the Side
I love the delicious flavors in this baked spaghetti casserole, but there aren’t any vegetables, so I would recommend making any of the following sides to round this out.
Other Great Pasta Dishes
I would be lying if I said that I don’t dream about pasta. If you are like me, here are some other recipes I think you’ll like.
If you make this recipe or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!
Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti cooked according to package instructions (see note), drained and rinsed in room temperature water
- 1 pound ground beef (I used 80/20)
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1/2 tablespoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
- 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 eggs beaten
- 1 cup parmesan cheese
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 by 13 inch baking dish and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of water to a roaring boil and cook the spaghetti according to package directions, drain the noodles, and rinse in room temperature water. (Continue to step 3 while the water is coming to a boil.)
- In a large skillet or dutch oven, cook ground beef onion, and garlic over medium heat, until the beef is just cooked through. Drain the grease and return the skillt to the heat.
- Stir in the tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, and sugar. Bring to a simmer and let cook for 10 mintues.
- In a large bowl, toss the cooked spaghetti with the beaten eggs and parmesan cheese.
- Pour just enough of the meat sauce into the bottom of the pan to coat it. Then add the spaghetti. Pour the remaining meat sauce over the spaghetti and top with mozzarella.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additonal 20 minutes.
Notes
Sherrie Mix says
Wow love baked spaghetti
my husband he can’t have it so is there away I can cut it done for 1
I would make the full batch of meat sauce, and then make a small portion of noodles. With a little egg and a little cheese. Make it in a small baking dish and just freeze the left over meat sauce. It won’t be exactly the same and I can’t tell you the amounts without trying it first, it’s something you’d have to play with a little. Let me know if you try it.
Mary says
You can always make the whole batch then portion out into individual servings and freeze them.
Patricia Hunt says
Are you saying make this ahead of time by wrapping in foil and putting it in the oven up to 24 hrs before cooking it?
Oye. Thanks for catching that type-o!
Tanya Shortes says
You did say refrigerator, by the way.
I fixed it after the initial comment :)
Lynda says
We had friends over this weekend and I was looking for a simple meal to fix. This baked spaghetti was just the ticket. Simple to make and everyone loved it. We had a little leftover so the next day I went to get some for lunch and noticed some of it was missing. Hummmm Again the following day I was going to take the last piece to work for lunch….Gone. Apparently my family loved it too as someone kept sneaking the leftovers. Its now on the rotating menu for my family. Thanks for making meals that are simple and good.
This made me laugh so much Lynda! I’m so glad it was a hit. And your family totally sounds like me. I’m notorious for standing in front of the fridge and taking nibbles! My mom was always yelling at me, “Lisa! Just get a bowl!!”
Taylor says
Can you make this with angel hair pasta noodles?
Yes! That should work fine.
Terry says
I’ll age myself here, that’s okay…lol….Remember when Pizza Hut had Baked Spaghetti? Served in what they called “boats”? OMGEE!! Delicious!! I always make my own sauce, have for over 30 years! I never measure, it’s all by looks and of course, taste. Taught to me by my beloved cousin ❤ I’ll follow your recipe, using “our” sauce. If only I could find the “boats”!!! Hahaa…oh the oooey gooey cheese has me drooling….
Gayle says
The spaghetti bake recipe sounded very good and easy. I can not wait to try it.