Baked Spaghetti

Baked Spaghetti is total comfort food with it’s 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.

1. Cook noodles according to package instructions, keeping in mind that you want the boiling time to be at the low end of the range.
2. While the noodles cook, make the meat sauce by cooking ground beef, onion, and garlic together.
3. Drain the grease from the beef, stir in tomatoes and seasoning and allow it to simmer.
4. Drain and rinse the cooked noodles and stir in parmesan cheese and whisked eggs.
5. Pour a little of the meat sauce into the bottom of a baking dish.
6. Add in the spaghetti and top with remaining meat sauce.
7. Cover with shredded mozzarella and bake.

MAKING BEFORE

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.

• ARUGULA SIDE SALAD
• ROASTED CAULIFLOWER
• OVEN ROASTED ASPARAGUS

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.

• BAKED ZITI
• ONE POT CREAMY SHRIMP PASTA
• CAJUN CHICKEN PASTA

If you make this recipe or any of my other recipes, please leave me a comment and let me know what you think!

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Baked Spaghetti

Baked Spaghetti is total comfort food with it's homemade meat sauce and cheesy goodness. Make it ahead of time and throw it in the oven for the best warm dinner.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Baking Time1 hr

Total Time1 hr 30 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: meat sauce, pasta bake

Servings: 8 servings

Calories: 489kcal

Author: Lisa Longley

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

Because this recipe will be baked, you want to make sure that you don’t over cook your pasta. To be on the safe side, cook it for the shorter length of time suggested on the box. For example, if it says 8 to 10 minutes, drain after 8 minutes of boiling the noodles.

Nutrition

Calories: 489kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 112mg | Sodium: 674mg | Potassium: 301mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 81IU | Vitamin C: 16mg | Calcium: 140mg | Iron: 20mg