Easy Baked Spaghetti is a simple meal that’s perfect for busy weeknights. With no need to boil the spaghetti and an easy meat sauce that’s full of flavor, this hearty dish is the perfect comfort food!
Easy Baked Spaghetti
This comforting baked spaghetti casserole with plenty of melted mozzarella is the perfect dish for family gatherings or a week-night quick dinner.
This recipe involves a quick meat sauce which is combined with your favorite pasta sauce and spaghetti, then everything is topped generously with delicious cheese. And lastly, it’s baked in the oven until hot & bubbly.
How to make Easy Baked Spaghetti
This baked spaghetti casserole is so easy to make, simply prepare the meat sauce, toss with spaghetti, add the cheese and bake until bubbly. You can even prepare this dish the night before and then bake it before serving.
- First, you need to brown the meat and onions. Then add the spices and the pasta sauce and simmer.
- Stir in the spaghetti and place in a baking dish.
- Top generously with cheese and bake until the cheese on top gets golden and crusty.
Tips and Variations for making this Spaghetti Casserole
You can use your favorite pasta sauce. Think tomato and basil sauce, classic marinara and so on.For a leaner option, opt for ground chicken or ground turkey.
For more flavor, you can even use crumbled Italian sausage.
Make sure your spaghetti is cooked al dente, as the pasta tends to cook a little bit more in the oven and you don’t want them to get mushy.
You can also add veggies to this pasta bake, like mushrooms, green bell peppers, diced zucchini or whatever you feel like it.
Can you freeze Baked Spaghetti?
Yes, you totally can! One of the things that I love about this baked spaghetti is how well it freezes. You can either make this dish in square foil pans and freeze it for a ready-made dinner on a busy weeknight. Or you can freeze any leftovers for later. Just warm it up in the oven or microwave when you’re ready for it.
What to serve with Baked Spaghetti?
You can serve this recipe with a nice fresh, crisp leafy green salad or with these nice Caprese Bites.
You can also indulge a little bit and make this easy Cheesy Garlic Bread which will go amazing with the pasta dish. Or you can eat it on its own with lots of grated parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
Looking for more delicious pasta recipes? I’ve got you covered!
- Pepperoni Pizza Hamburger Helper
- Garlic Parmesan Pasta with Spinach and Mushrooms
- Chili with Pasta
- Basil Pesto Pasta with Broccoli and Mushrooms
- Lasagna Rolls
Easy Baked Spaghetti
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 jar (24 ounce) spaghetti sauce any kind
- 1½ cups water divided
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 8 ounces uncooked spaghetti noodles
- ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook and crumble ground beef and onion over medium heat until beef is no longer pink. Drain and return to skillet. Wipe skillet if needed.
- To the ground beef, add spaghetti sauce, 1 cup water, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Stir and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- While meat sauce is simmering, preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Break spaghetti noodles into thirds and place onto bottom of dish. Pour remaining ½ cup water over noodles.
- Spread meat mixture over noodles. Tightly cover dish with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover dish, sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and bake for an additional 10 minutes, uncovered, until cheese as melted.
- Remove from oven and toss before serving. Garnish with additional cheese, if desired.
Notes
- The meat sauce may seem too watered down, but it should be like that, as it will need the extra liquid to cook the noodles once in the oven.
- See my tips and tricks for making this Easy Baked Spaghetti above the recipe box.
Nutrition
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