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.
Yummmm! I used ground turkey & chicken sausage & added mushroom, extra onion, & zucchini (because, well… veggies!). Otherwise followed the recipe as written. The shrooms & zucchs made it a bit softer out of the oven than it should have been, so I will drain liquid out of the sauté pan before adding sauce next time. It was still crazy delicious! We all devoured it. :)
I usually cook lighter meals like fish or chicken but wanted something easy, comforting and that I could use as leftovers. When I started making this I made the mistake of not reading the steps or ingredients thoroughly so when I was ready to assemble the items into the pan, I read that the noodles needed to be cooked before adding. Not a big deal, I should’ve read it through first. When I finally put everything into the recommended pan size I was surprised how much there was, it filled the pan almost to the top. I would estimate that this makes 10-12 servings heavy servings. Outside of the serving size, I really enjoyed the flavors and the different method of baking the spaghetti.
Glad you enjoyed this recipe, Leslie!
Thank you for sharing I made this tonight. ❤ it took almost an hour at 350.
I’m planning on making this next week, and was wondering about the diced tomatoes. Should I drain the liquid out of them before adding to the sauce, or include the liquid with the tomatoes in the sauce?
The liquid in the diced tomato can amounts to over 1/3rd of a cup.
You can add the juices too, Howard. Enjoy!
Added ricotta and layered pasta, cheeses, sauce w/meat and repeat.
I’m trying baked spaghetti tonight can you use the powder parmasean in a jar instead of fresh
Hi Laila, we recommend using shredded fresh parmesan cheese for the best flavor and texture but in a pinch, you can use the powder parmesan.
Made for supper tonight. IT WAS A HIT!!! The men gobbled it up and went back for thirds.
I doubled this recipe and added extra garlic(total garlic lovers) and extra tsp of Italian seasoning. This def. will be a go to meal!!!
Thankyou for sharing.
You’re welcome, so happy to hear how much you love this baked spaghetti recipe Tannis!
I haven’t made the recipe yet. I will be cooking this for some friends. I do want to add mushrooms but as I do not like mushrooms, I need some help. What kind of mushrooms can I add, do I put them in raw or cooked and if cooked, what is best way to cook them? Thanks!
I love mushrooms and they’d be great in this dish!
Mushrooms can release a lot of water (and make the dish watery) if they aren’t cooked. Once the meat is browned and drained, you can add the mushrooms and let them cook about 4-5 minutes and then add the sauce and proceed with the recipe as written. Let us know how it goes!
Such an easy and flavorful recipe. The baked cheese on top really adds that extra flavor. Crispy but soft cheese with the spaghetti and I’m in heaven.
I used a 28 oz can of crushed san marzano tomatoes, added Italian seasoning, tiny bit of sugar and let that simmer for 30 min then added that into the meat when time to.
I also used a 24 oz can of Rao’s Marinara sauce.
I skipped the parsley and the green bell pepper and used up the rest of the mushrooms I had.
This came out absolutely perfect and I even wowed myself. My 18 month old loved it too! I’m not usually a fan of “casserole” type dishes but this is definitely going to be on rotation around here. Thank you!
Very bland.
I’m sorry that you didn’t enjoy the baked spaghetti as much as we do. I’m surprised to hear that you find it bland Seirra, as this recipe has a 5 star rating from over 160 votes! It’s definitely easy to add more seasonings, salt, and pepper to this recipe if you find it to be bland. Thank you for trying the recipe.
I Can’t wait to try them all, especially the chili which my kids love!!!!
Delicious recipe! I used mild Italian sausage and it turned out wonderfully!
I haven’t tried the recipe but it looks delicious. Is there by chance a substitutions for the tomatoes? My husband will eat speghetti but is not a huge tomatoes lover. Since you said not to drain them….should I just add more sauce? I can’t wait to try this.
I think that tomato sauce will work just fine Khristina. Enjoy!
I’d like to try this …
Thank you… when searching for a recipe I’m in need of (in-spite of having a BIG collection of cookbooks) your recipes have proven to be a great choice more than once..: and thanks for the additional info about freezing, baking, etc.—- !
You’re welcome! I am so happy to hear that the tips and information are helpful!
We loved this! I used Barilla protein plus angel hair pasta and ground turkey, instead of spaghetti and beef. Will definitely make it again. Yum yum!
Soo…maybe I missed something…but is the spaghetti precooked or does the recipe mean to just add the uncooked spaghetti into the ingredients that are being sauteed?
Looks like a winner dinner either way! Thanks!
The spaghetti is cooked.
I really loved this recipe
My family loved this for dinner last night. My only concern is when I calculated 1/8 of the recipes calories I came to 510 calories per serving size, which is very different than the 318 listed.
So happy that you love this baked spaghetti as much as we do! Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used. We did review the information based on our ingredients used and have updated it. Hope that helps.
I have never fixed baked spaghetti before. (and I am a senior). This recipe is impossibly easy, and it is about to come out of the oven. I had to make do with one of the ingredients–the cheese, but I plan on getting the shredded cheese when i go grocery shopping. i cannot wait for the timer to ding so I can have my lunch. Thank you for such a simple but complete recipe.
So happy to hear that Jean. This pasta is so delicious, I hope you loved it!