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.
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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.
it was easy and delicious! I put zucchini instead of peppers
Has anyone tried adding cheese to the mix, other than just on top?
Would marinara sauce be too thin for this recipe?
Other readers have used a marinara sauce in this recipe with good results. I would love to hear how it turns out for you.
So easy to make and freezes well. My family loves it!
Hi Holly, I made this last night.Next time I will add the peppers. I didn’t have enough spaghetti so used fusilli. The noodles weren’t firm enough for my liking maybe I over cooked them.
Just curious if anyone knows, it browned on top, almost crispy, but why didn’t it bubble and stay soft.
Hi Linda, you can add a little extra pasta sauce or try a splash of broth to help add some additional moisture to this recipe.
How tall/deep should the pan be?
Mine is about 2 inches tall.
I added chunks of black licorice, and it was delicious.
No oven temp added
It’s in step 1.
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
If I wanted to make a version of this without meat in it, should I alter the baking time? Making the OG too for a fundraiser but we have some people with Alpha Gal so trying to make it work for them.
Hi Christel, the meat is pre cooked before added to the casserole so it shouldn’t adjust the cooking time to leave it out.
I’m so looking forward to cook this for my sons birthday. if I prepared it a day ahead do I still cook the past and meat.
Hi Bg, we assemble this entirely (up to the last step) and then refrigerate until ready to bake. Then remove it from the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking and bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until hot in the center. Make sure you bake the casserole uncovered so the cheese can form a nice crust. Covering it will also make it steam, which can overcook the spaghetti.
Was wondering how many servings are you able to get out of the recipe?
This recipe makes 8 – 2 cup servings
Delicious! We added some onion and cottage cheese for a protein boost.
Question: Would this recipe work with regular frozen hashbrowns?
Hi Alison, I have only tried this recipe as written but would love to hear how it turns out for you.
I made a take on this tonight and it is a lot better than I expected! I tried to clean out what I had and it worked out well. Iused goat cheese instead of mozzarella and added red pepper flakes and Greek kalamata olives. I also added a cup of bone broth in the bake and fresh tomatoes in addition to the pasta sauce. Thank you!
We loved it. As Julia Child always said, we will be adding it to our ‘repertoire…’
very good, I made 4 large pans for our senior centers lunch with garlic toast. 1 gluten free one
Hi. how many guest did you have?
quick, easy, and tasty!
This was great! Everyone ate seconds. I added a couple of tablespoons of red wine, a couple if tablespoons of sugar, and about 1/4 cup butter, but it probably didn’t change it much. Definitely a keeper! Thank you!
Sugar is a must in marinara sauce!!
Fantastic recipe. I added grated cheddar, 2 peppers one red one yellow, Spanish onion, club house Italian seasoning,3 tablespoons to the sauce. This is so tasty. Thank you.
Ive made this recipe in the past a few times always comes out good and delicious every time… my little one wanted spaghetti for dinner tonight… I used angel hair pasta and then I ground up a pound of ground meat and then once drained I let it simmer on the stove for about a good half hour with tomato sauce and hunts’ meat flavored pasta sauce and seasoned that good with italian seasoning, garlic and onion powder…once pasta was all done n drained I added the meat sauce mixture with the remainder half can of the Hunts’ meat flavor sauce and another full can of hunts’ traditional pasta sauce to the angel hair pasta… once it was all mixed together really well I took half of that and put it into my 13×9 baking dish and topped it with parm. cheese.. then added the rest of the spaghetti on top of that and I evened it all out and I will top it off with sargentos shredded mozzarella and provolone cheese mixture and parm. cheese before I pop it in the oven… it was funny cause after I made the spaghetti up I was thinking its kinda too plain what else can I do and then it dawned on me oh yeah i’ve made baked spaghetti in the past but had to look the recipe up cause I forgot for how long to bake it for hahahaha…. thank you for sharing your recipe :^) have a blessed day