Baked Spaghetti is the ultimate comfort food with a hearty meat sauce and loads of gooey melted cheese baked until bubbly and golden! It’s an easy make-ahead favorite that tastes even better with a big slice of garlic bread on the side.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Baked Spaghetti
Flavor: Every bite is rich, savory, and cheesy with zesty tomato sauce, tender pasta, and plenty of cozy Italian-inspired flavor.
Recommended Tools: A large pot, skillet, and a 9×13-inch baking dish are all that’s needed to make this family favorite.
Serving Suggestions: I love serving baked spaghetti with warm garlic bread for soaking up every bit of sauce and a simple crisp green salad on the side to round out the meal.
Freezing: Baked spaghetti is perfect for making ahead just assemble it before baking and freeze for an easy meal that’s ready whenever needed.
Total Time: 55 Minutes Serves: 8 Cooking Method: Baked
Ingredient Notes
- Spaghetti: Use spaghetti noodles for a classic dish or swap them for any long pasta.
- Meat: Lean ground beef is classic and hearty. For extra flavor swap it for Italian sausage or use a delicious 50/50 blend of both.
- Veggies: Green bell pepper adds savory flavor and a bit of texture to the sauce. Red bell pepper, mushrooms, or zucchini can easily be swapped in for a different twist.
- Pasta Sauce: Pasta sauce or marinara does most of the heavy lifting here, so use one you really enjoy.
- Tomatoes: Diced tomatoes add extra texture and keep the casserole nice and saucy. Be sure not to drain them since the juices help coat the pasta and bring everything together.
- Cheese: For the best gooey melt, shred mozzarella from a block instead of using pre-shredded cheese. Swap the mozzarella for provolone or Monterey Jack.
- Variations: For a meatless version, skip the beef and add extra vegetables. For a creamier twist, spread a thin layer of ricotta cheese or cottage cheese over the pasta before topping with mozzarella.
How to Make Baked Spaghetti
- Cook the spaghetti (full recipe below).
- Brown the beef or sausage with the bell pepper, onion, garlic, and salt.
- Stir in the pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, and Italian seasoning, then simmer.
- Toss the cooked spaghetti and parsley with the sauce.
- Spread it in a greased baking dish, top with mozzarella and Parmesan, and bake.
Bake it uncovered! If the cheese gets too brown before the center is hot, loosely tent it with foil near the end.
Spread a thin layer of ricotta or cottage cheese directly over the saucy pasta before adding the final mozzarella topping.
Yes. Assemble the casserole completely, cover it tightly, and keep it in the fridge for up to 2 days before baking. (Add a few extra minutes to the bake time since it’s starting from cold!)
Storing Baked Spaghetti
- Next Day Leftovers: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezing Leftovers: Portion cooled baked spaghetti into airtight containers. Freeze for up to 3 months for the best quality.
- Freezing Before Baking: Assemble the casserole without the cheese and without the final bake, then cover tightly, and freeze. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, then bake for 35 to 40 minutes, adding the cheese after about 20 minutes.
- Reheating: Reheat individual portions in the microwave until hot. For larger portions, cover with foil and reheat in a 350°F oven until warmed through.
Cozy Pasta Bakes
Did you enjoy this Baked Spaghetti Recipe? Leave a comment and rating 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
Nutrition Information
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