Baked Spaghetti combines classic spaghetti with a bubbly, saucy casserole for a comforting one-pan dish with lots of cheese. Make it ahead, bake when you’re ready, and enjoy clean slices plus great leftovers all week.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Rich, comforting, and full of tomato flavor, savory meat, and Italian herbs. Topped with melty, golden cheese that makes every bite irresistible.
- Why Make It: One easy bake turns everyday spaghetti into a sliceable casserole that serves 8 and reheats perfectly for quick, satisfying lunches all week long.
- Recommended Tools: All you need is a large pot, a skillet, a 9×13-inch dish, and a colander.
- Serving Suggestions: Serve with garlic bread and a Caesar salad for an easy, cozy meal.
Ingredients Notes
- Spaghetti: Use spaghetti noodles for a classic dish or swap them for any long pasta or whole wheat spaghetti you have on hand.
- Meat: Use ground beef, Italian sausage, or a combination of the two. For a leaner option, ground turkey or turkey sausage can be used. Remember to drain the meat well, or the sauce will be watery.
- Sauce: Use your favorite pasta sauce or a homemade marinara, and add diced tomatoes and Italian seasoning for extra flavor. Simmer the sauce until it thickens. It should be thick, not soupy.
- Cheese: Mozzarella melts the best and is wonderfully gooey. Preshredded can be used, but it has an anticaking agent, which means it doesn’t melt as well.
How To Make Baked Spaghetti
- Cook spaghetti until al dente and drain (full recipe below).
- Brown the meat with onion, garlic, seasoning, and bell pepper.
- Stir in the rest of the sauce ingredients and simmer until thickened.
- Combine with the spaghetti and spread into a casserole dish.
- Top with mozzarella and Parmesan, and bake until hot and bubbly.
Storing and Reheating
- Refrigerate: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Reheat: Warm small portions in the microwave, or for the best texture, cover and bake in the oven at 350°F until hot throughout. Add a splash of marinara if it looks dry.
Freezing Instructions:
- Freeze unbaked: Assemble in a freezer-safe dish, cover well, and freeze. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then bake 35–40 minutes, adding cheese after 20 minutes for a melty, golden top.
- Freeze after baking: Cool completely, portion, wrap with foil, then tightly with plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 3 months for the best texture.
Cozy Pasta Night Favorites
Did you love this Baked Spaghetti? Leave a rating and comment below.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 16 ounces spaghetti
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley or 2 tablespoons dried
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ⅓ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Sauce
- 1 pound lean ground beef or Italian sausage
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 32 ounces pasta sauce or marinara sauce
- 1 (14.5 ounces) can diced tomatoes with juices
- 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- In a large pot of salted water, cook the spaghetti al dente according to package directions.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef, green pepper, onion, garlic, and salt while breaking up the meat. Drain fat if needed.
- Stir in the pasta sauce, tomatoes, and Italian seasoning. Simmer uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes or until thickened. Stir in the cooked spaghetti and parsley.
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared dish, top with cheeses, and bake for 25-30 minutes or until hot and the cheese is browned and bubbly. Cut into squares to serve.
Video
Notes
If preparing ahead of time, increase the baking time
This casserole can be covered with foil and frozen (before baking). Thaw in the fridge overnight and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, adding the cheese after 20 minutes.
Leftovers can be covered with plastic wrap and stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven or in the microwave until heated through.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 413 | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 55mg | Sodium: 1054mg | Potassium: 864mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 945IU | Vitamin C: 28mg | Calcium: 216mg | Iron: 4mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole, Dinner, Entree, Pasta
Cuisine American, Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I want to make this soon but need clarification about the 14.5 oz diced tomatoes. Do I use the whole can with juice? Or do I need to drain it?
You can add the juices too John. Enjoy the recipe!
Very good basic recipe ! Simple and quick and can be made without meat .
Our family loves this!! I double everything so we can have it two nights!!
This was great. I’ve made it before so was looking for a guideline but I followed this in all ways except adding green peppers. I would make it again. I also like using mild Italian sausage with it and that way I don’t have to add the seasonings. But I used ground beef many times. It works either way.
Is there anyway I could make this vegetarian? Should I simply remove the meat or would that affect the texure too much?
I’d suggest trying ground round or something like that as a replacement. Enjoy!
You could use a squash mushrooms or impossible meat to mimic the texture of meat
Use the fake meats you like and drain it well.
Instead of regular diced tomatoes I added a can of mild Rotel, the family loved it!!
Looking forward to making this! Has anyone tried doing a combo of italian sausage and meat?
A combination of Italian sausage and ground beef is always a good choice, AJ! :)
We loved the casserole tonight! I would love to split a recipe and freeze to keep on hand for a busy day or to give a friend. How should you freeze this (baked or uncooked)?
Thank you,
Betsy
Hi Betsy, I would freeze uncooked then when you’re ready to eat it, just thaw completely and bake in the oven for the same time/temp. So glad your family loves this dish!
So good? My partner ate all 8 servings the same night so I didn’t get to have any! Boy, did it smell great, though!
I had a baby 3 weeks ago and our neighbor brought this over for dinner. Oh. My. Goodness. It was the BEST baked spaghetti I’ve ever had & I have tried lots of different recipes myself, & that others have made. My 2 & 5 year old tore it up as well. I had to ask her for the recipe so I could pin it myself.
Congratulation on your new little one Charis. That makes us so happy to hear! Glad the whole family enjoyed this one.
Hi so for “Fresh parmesan cheese ” do you mean grated like you would find in a plastic container aka Kraft or do you mean freshly shredded?
We used a block of fresh parmesan and shredded it, but either one would work just fine!
When my husband asked “what’s for dinner? I answered” Baked Spaghetti”, he responded with “I don’t think I’ll like that.”. He was.right he didn’t like it …..he loved it. He had 2 generous helping and complimented me on how yummy it was. If you think you may not like it, try it , you won’t be disappointed.
Hello,
I don’t usually leave reviews but looking for something to use up a pound of mild Italian sausage (ground), I tried this out. I did not have several ingredients (green peppers, fresh parsley, mozzarella or Parmesan cheese). It still came out great, topped with just a little bit of a Mexican shredded cheese blend. I did also top it with an easy homemade Bechamel sauce. If you’ve ever had the vegetarian lasagna on Carnival Cruise lines, it’s their recipe (I halved it). Fantastic! Thank You For Sharing.
Bechamel Recipe
Ingredients: 1/2 c. butter, 1/2 c. AP flour, 4 c. milk, 1 whole peeled onion, 4 garlic cloves, 1 bay leaf, salt/pepper/ground nutmeg to taste
Procedure: In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat; stir in flour. Cook 4 to 5 minutes; do not allow it to color. Remove from heat. In medium saucepan heat milk, onion, garlic and bay leaf over medium heat. When milk comes to a boil remove onion, garlic and bay leaf. Slowly add hot milk to butter-flour mixture, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until smooth and thickened. Stirring with a wire whisk or wooden spoon. Season to taste with salt, white pepper and nutmeg.
Yield: 4 cups
Glad you enjoyed it Carrie, thanks for sharing!
Do u drain the tomatoes?
The tomatoes are not drained.
I love your recipes!!
Hi Holly,
Let me preface this by saying I rarely leave reviews on recipes because let’s be honest, a lot of them do not turn out like one would hope. This, however, turned out amazing!! I was looking for an inexpensive way to feed a bunch of 17 year old boys (my son has his DnD group over every Friday), work through my pantry staples (I must have 20 cans of tomato sauce to make who knows what) and not end up with a sink full of dishes (ugh, I hate dishes) when I came across your baked spaghetti recipe. I followed your directions using canned tomato sauce, pork sausage, whole grain spaghetti and a little more cheese and garlic, we love our garlic!! Served with garlic, parmesan Texas toast. Every single one of those boys cleaned their plates (even the one that swore he hates onions)! In fact, my dinner guest raved about it as well! I will be making this again, using up the other 17 cans of tomato sauce?!! Huge hit, thank you very much! Looking forward to trying more of your recipes! BTW, this fit perfectly in a foil lasagne pan lightly oiled with olive oil, so hardly any cleanup as well!
So happy to hear this recipe was such a hit Tryn! Definitely a good one to keep in the cooking repertoire when feeding that many hungry teenagers!!
I find most baked spaghetti recipes to be too dry for my own taste so I only added half the spaghetti . I also only added one clove of garlic because I’m not a huge garlic lover. These changes made it absolutely delicious to us and will be our go to baked spaghetti recipe from now on!
I made this last evening, it was soooo good! My husband loved it! I threw in some diced white mushrooms with all the other ingredients. The left-overs were frozen and I cannot wait to make something, else. I am new to the site and I am up early looking for tonight’s main meal! Thank you!
So glad you loved it Rita! Happy Cooking!
Fantastic!! Thank you for such easy delicious recipes. Just one question, is that parsley that you’ve garnished the baked spaghetti with?
Yes, it is Beverly! :)
Trying this today. is the garlic chopped or minced?
I typically use minced, but both will work Cynthia. Enjoy!
This is an awesome recipe. But I didn’t put the can of cut up tomatoes in it just excellent Silver Palate marinara sauce plus 1 tablespoon of sugar made it awesome. I use ground venison also so so good. Also Italian Mozzarella to die for.
Pretty good recipe- easy and filling to boot. My five year old loved it and 83 year old grandmA haha. Thanks