This Baked Spaghetti recipe has can be made with ground beef, sausage, or meatballs! Top it with lots of mozzarella cheese and bake it right away or save it for a busy weeknight dinner. You can even freeze the assembled casserole for another week!
Don’t forget a side of Garlic Bread with Cheese!
Baked Spaghetti
This cheesy baked spaghetti recipe truly is a life saver. It’s so easy to throw together and it makes a great make-ahead recipe and freezer food.
It’s the perfect comfort food to serve with my Garlic Bread with Cheese! Read on and see how easy it is to make, what ingredients you need, and how you can easily make it ahead of time and pop it in the oven on busy weeknight.
How to Make it
See recipe card below this post for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
Boil salted water for spaghetti and cook according to package instructions. Meanwhile, brown ground beef in a skillet and drain if needed. Add onions and peppers, cook until softened. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add marinara sauce and stir to combine. I prefer to use my homemade marinara or Rao’s.
Add Ricotta and Parmesan and stir until combined and heated through. Add a dab of cream cheese if desired, then mix in the cooked spaghetti.
Transfer half of the spaghetti to a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Top with 2 cups of mozzarella. Add remaining spaghetti.
Add 2 more cups mozzarella cheese. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is hot and melted. Let sit 5 minutes prior to serving.
Baked Spaghetti with Meatballs
If your family loves the classic spaghetti and meatball combo, you could also make Bobby Flay’s Meatball recipe or my Slow Cooker Meatballs.
Just mix the cooked meatballs into the sauce, combine it with the spaghetti, top with cheese, and bake!
Make Ahead Method
Option 1: Assemble and Refrigerate:
- Cover and refrigerate for up to two days.
- Bake refrigerated casserole at 375° for 30 minutes covered, then for 10 minutes uncovered.
Option 2: Assemble and Freeze:
- Cover with 2 layers of foil and freeze for up to 3 months. These disposable aluminum baking pans are great for the freezer.
- Let frozen casserole thaw in the fridge overnight and bake at 375° for 30 minutes covered, then for 10 minutes uncovered.
- You can also bake from a frozen state and add an additional 1 hour of baking time, covered.
Pro Tip:
If your 9 x 13 casserole dish is filled to the brim, place it on a baking sheet in the oven to catch any overflow, just in case. Alternatively, you can use an 11 x 15 inch baking dish.
Storage
Refrigerator
- Baked spaghetti should be refrigerated and is best if used within three days.
Freezer
- Baked spaghetti makes a great freezer food after it’s been baked. It’s best to wrap portion sizes in foil and place them in a labeled freezer bag.
- To reheat from a frozen state, leave it in the foil and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or more, depending on the serving size.
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Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
- ¾ lb. spaghetti
- 1 pound ground beef, can also use ground sausage or turkey
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasonings
- 32 oz. marinara sauce
- 8 oz. Ricotta cheese, equal to 1 cup.
- 2 Tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
- Parsley, to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions, while waiting for the water to reach a boil, proceed with the below.
- Cook the ground beef in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned and cooked through. Drain excess grease.
- Add the seasonings, diced onions, and peppers. Sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and heat for 1 minute.
- Add the marinara, ricotta, Parmesan, and cream cheese. Reduce heat to low and allow it to heat through.
- Add the drained spaghetti, use kitchen tongs to gently toss until well-combined. Note: It will be very saucy but the pasta is going to continue to absorb it as it bakes.
- Add half of the spaghetti to a lightly greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish and top with half (2 cups), of the mozzarella.
- Top with remaining spaghetti, then with the rest of the mozzarella.
- If serving immediately, bake uncovered for 15 minutes, or until the cheese is hot and melted. Let sit for 5 minutes prior to serving. Serve with a side of Garlic Bread with Cheese.
- See notes for instructions on baking and serving on another date.
Notes
Make Ahead Method
Option 1: Assemble and Refrigerate:
• Cover and refrigerate for up to two days.• Bake refrigerated casserole at 375° for 30 minutes covered, then for 10 minutes uncovered.
Option 2: Assemble and Freeze:
• Cover with 2 layers of foil and freeze for up to 3 months. These disposable aluminum baking pans are great for the freezer.• Let frozen casserole thaw in the fridge overnight and bake at 375° for 30 minutes covered, then for 10 minutes uncovered.
• You can also bake from a frozen state and add an additional 1 hour of baking time, covered.
Pro Tip: If your 9 x 13 casserole dish is filled to the brim, place it on a baking sheet in the oven to catch any overflow. (This isn't likely but just in case.) Alternatively, you can use an 11 x 15 inch baking dish.
Baked Spaghetti with Meatballs
If your family loves the classic spaghetti and meatball combo, you should make my meatball recipe instead of using ground beef. Just mix the cooked meatballs into the sauce, combine it with the spaghetti, top with cheese, and bake!Ricotta Cheese: The recipe calls for 8 oz. (1 cup) of ricotta. You can use up to 16 oz. if you prefer, you may just need a larger (11 x 15 inch) casserole dish. If necessary, you can substitute cottage cheese.
Nutrition
Note: This recipe was originally posted in 2019 and was since republished. If preferred, you can access the previous version here. (Although I recommend you try the updated version!)
Baked spaghetti is delicious! Does anyone have a good dairy free version?
Hi Diane! I actually did find some good looking dairy free options for you- check these out! They look yummy 🙂 http://www.yummly.com/recipes/dairy-free-baked-spaghetti
Thanks for visiting!
This brings back fond memories of my Mom’s baked spaghetti. I do not have her recipe, so thanks for giving me one 🙂
Oh that’s great! I’m so happy- I hope you get to try it soon! 🙂 Thanks for visiting!
Baked spaghetti?! LOVE! I had it once when in Italy but it was with just butter and cheese, I think that this with all of the amazing looking marinara sounds much better!!! You hear that?! You’re beating out the Italians, my friend! ;D
HEEYYY look at meeeeee!!! Miss Italiano!!! Yeah seeing as I habitually eat spaghetti sauce out of the jar with a spoon… I couldn’t not douse this with sauce! yum yum!!
This looks so lip-smackin’ delish! I love baked pasta, and haven’t made it in ages. I’d love to use these ingredients to make this!
Hi Rosie!! Thank youuuuu! Lip smackin’ is the best way to describe it! 🙂 I hope you get a chance to test it out with this basket of goodies!
OMG. Baked spaghetti is one of my favorite meals on the planet! Soooo comforting! Definitely pinning this for later!
I knowww Justine, it’s SOO stinkin’ good, I can’t believe I hadn’t tried it until now, it’s my favorite thing ever at the moment!!
We eat pasta in some form or another at least once a week. We have probably tried every variety of sauce that you can pick up locally. I would love to try this brand.
We do the same, David! My husband and I both love it. I’m a big fan of trying new sauces as well!! I hope you get to try Uncle Steve’s! 🙂
This food looks great. I want to try the pasta.
Thank you Carla! I hope you get a chance to try it sometime, you’ll be hooked!
Thank you for sharing the recipe. Looks delicious, and easy! Definitely going to try.
Thanks Dave– I hope you try it because after that you’ll definitely keep it in the rotation, I’m a fan for life! 🙂
Dear Steph, please provide me your address so I could fly over or better change my location. You always seduce me with those super delicious recipe of yours – falafel wraps, copycat Texas Roadhouse rolls and many others. I just couldn’t stop thinking of them. But right now, I just want a plate of this mouth-watering pasta. Pretty please??
Love, Jhuls
AHH HAHAHAAHA!!!! Okay welp, I’ll pay for your plane ticket and whatever else you need to get over here because your recipes get ME every time (ahem,hello, those cupcakes… first thing I saw this morning!)… so we can be food trading buddies and live happily ever after! I’m psyched- it’s a PLAN!! *shake!*
Love love love! I liked baked spaghetti because all of those flavors get maried and become one happy gooey family! Throw in a baguette and a bottle (yes the whole bottle!) and I am one fat sassy happy girl!
BAHAHA… I love it!!! Couldn’t have said any of it better myself Julie!