Y’all my Baked Spaghetti recipe is straight up comfort food goals. It’s got layers on layers of rich meaty spaghetti sauce, tender pasta, creamy filling and melty cheese. Serve this baby up for a potluck, game day or Sunday supper. Regardless of when you eat this baked spaghetti, it’s a win every single time boos.
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Listen y’all, the next time you are craving spaghetti, turn it up a notch and serve my baked spaghetti recipe. It’s meaty, saucy, creamy and cheesy boos. It’s got all the vibes of lasagna but with it’s own personality and style.
Southerners never shy away from making just about anything into a casserole, and this Southern baked spaghetti recipe is no exception to that rule.
The Lowdown of This Baked Spaghetti
Cuisine Inspiration: Pure Italian inspired Southern comfort food
Primary Cooking Method: Baking
Dietary Info: Meaty and cheesy y’all. This ain’t for my veggie boos.
Key Flavor: Savory, Saucy, Meaty, Melty vibes
Skill Level: Pretty Easy (No Sweat Fam!)
It’s a Piece of Cake
Now I know all these steps and layers may have you shook but don’t get intimidated. It does take a bit of prep time but the instructions couldn’t be easier.
The Ultimate Comfort Food
This hearty spaghetti bake recipe is the type of comforting dish that warms the soul while satisfying all those food cravings. Those cheese pulls are enough to make you lose your mind boos!
Impressive Crowd Pleaser
This spaghetti casserole is the perfect dish to serve for potlucks, family gatherings, and anything else you can dream up.
Ingredients you’ll need to make baked spaghetti recipe
For the Spaghetti Sauce
- Extra virgin olive oil: This is gonna sauté up that meat and veggies bringing in the flavor.
- Meat: The combo of ground beef and Italian sausage give ample savory meaty vibes in each and every bite.
- Aromatics and veggies: Onions, green peppers, and garlic start building the flavor and textures.
- Tomatoes: We mix in tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes which give heartiness and a wonderful sauce base.
- Liquids: Chicken stock has great savory notes while thinning out our sauce. That red wine gives nuance and depth of flavor for reals.
- Sugar: Just a touch balances the acid and tartness of the tomatoes.
- Seasoning: We toss in Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper to get those flavors popping.
For the Ricotta Filling and Assembly
- Ricotta Cheese: Don’t skimp boos. I use full fat to get the ultimate creaminess.
- Egg: It helps stabilize and bind the mixture once baked.
- Basil: This important fresh herb stays giving ample Italian flavor.
- Cheese: Parmesan adds sharp flavor to the creamy filling while mozzarella is used in the spaghetti bake layers giving the ultimate melty cheese pulls.
- Salt: We gotta flavor it up with this.
- Spaghetti: The perfect noodle for this spaghetti casserole recipe that soaks up all that meaty, saucy, cheesy goodness!
How to make baked spaghetti
What to serve with spaghetti bake
- With Salad: When you have a hearty spaghetti bake recipe like this, you gotta lighten it up a bit. This harvest salad is definitely the move.
- Get Bready: Get you a filling bread like these garlic cheese breadsticks or have this no-knead garlic bread on deck.
- Veggies galore: Keep it low key with steamed vegetables, glazed carrots or double down on decadent creamy vibes with creamed spinach.
- Get Your Dessert On: Go super indulgent with this Italian remixed banana pudding tiramisu or go light with a lemon sorbet after all that heavy goodness.
Recipe Substitutions
- Meat: Feel free to swap out the ground beef for ground turkey or ground chicken. Replace the sausage with chorizo or even chicken or turkey sausage.
- Pasta: This is baked spaghetti after all but you can totally use rigatoni, shells or linguine here, and it still taste bomb.
- Ricotta: You can replace the ricotta with mascarpone, cottage cheese or cream cheese.
- Cheeses: Mozzarella can be replaced with fontina or provolone. Swap out the parm for asiago or pecorino romano.
Recipe Variations and Additions
- Go Vegan: Take out the meat all together or swap the meat for lentils, eggplant, meaty mushrooms or another veggie-based protein you love.
- Add more veggies: Toss in some spinach or kale. You can either add to the sauce or layer on top of the ricotta cheese layers before baking.
- Meat Lovers: Mix in more meats like chicken or bacon along with the ground meat and sausage.
- Go with Pizza Vibes: Toss in some pepperoni and olives to the mix.
- Carbonara Vibes: Add some cooked pancetta or bacon and peas to the sauce. Then whisk more eggs into the ricotta mixture before baking.
Expert Tips and Tricks for making the best spaghetti casserole
- Pick a Deep Dish Pan: Selecting a deep pan will allow you to add more layers of deliciousness, cheesiness, and irresistible flavor.
- Go Al Dente: Make sure you don’t overcook your spaghetti or it will turn to mush when you bake it.
- Freshly grate your cheese: Freshly grated cheese melts better than pre-shredded options. And don’t grab canned parmesan cheese off the shelves either boos. You will want freshly grated or shredded parmesan cheese from a block. It’s a game changer!
- Skip the premade meat sauce: I know that making your own sauce can be a pain but I promise it’s worth it. Jarred sauces tend to be heavy on sugar, salt, and artificial meat flavorings that just don’t compare to the real thing y’all.
- Chill Mode: Let your spaghetti casserole rest before you dig in. It makes it easier to serve up.
How to store & reheat baked spaghetti
Cool the spaghetti casserole down to room temp then store in an airtight container.
Reheat a single portion in the microwave or you can reheat the casserole dish in the oven until hot and bubbly again (about 15-25 minutes at 350°F).
How long will baked spaghetti last in the fridge?
It should last up to 3-4 days.
Can I freeze spaghetti casserole?
For sure boos. You can freeze spaghetti bake before or after you cook it up. Just wrap super tightly in plastic wrap then in foil and freeze. Add the date. It should last up to 3 months.
Frequently asked questions
For sure boos! You can prep each of the ingredients in advance but I recommend assembling the day you want to bake it. Cooked noodles will soak up liquid from the sauce if it sits in it too long making the dish mushy.
The entire casserole should be heated through and the top should be golden and bubbly y’all.
Let me just say that this sauce is seriously so easy to make but if you are running out of time, yep you can just doctor up your fave store-bought marinara and enhance with all of the flavors.
Y’all I don’t need to convince you to make this delish baked spaghetti casserole. The flavors will do it for me. It’s rich, savory, saucy, cheesy and downright addictive. Get into it boos.
More Fave Italian Inspired recipes
- Shrimp Scampi Pasta
- Spaghetti and Lentil Meatballs
- Italian Pot Roast with Bolognese Sauce
- Homemade Pizza Sauce
- Baked Ziti
- Lasagna
- Lentil Meatballs and Spaghetti
Baked Spaghetti Recipe
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Ingredients
For the Spaghetti Sauce
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 1 cup chopped onions
- ½ cup chopped green peppers
- Seasoned salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp Black pepper to taste
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 42 oz crushed tomatoes
- 29 oz tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp red wine
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tbsp + 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ⅛ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
For the Ricotta Filling
- 15 oz ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- 1 ½ tsp basil chopped
- ¼ cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
- ½ tsp salt
For the Remaining Ingredients
- 16 ounces spaghetti
- 3-4 cups mozzarella or Italian blend shredded cheese
- Parsley for garnish
Instructions
For the Spaghetti Sauce
- Add ground beef, Italian sausage, onion, green pepper and salt and pepper. Brown until cooked.
- Next add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Then add in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, red wine, chicken stock, Italian seasoning, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Continue to simmer until sauce has thickened about 30-40 minutes.
For the Ricotta Filling
- Combine ricotta cheese, egg, basil, parmesan cheese and salt in a large bowl and mix until combined.
- Set aside.
For the Spaghetti Pasta
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boil then add spaghetti and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente. Don't cook all the way. Drain noodles and rinse with cold water. Add sauce to spaghetti and toss to combine then set sauced spaghetti aside.
- Preheat oven to 375.
For Assembly
- Begin layering by adding ⅓ of sauced spaghetti to bottom of the 9×13 deep baking dish.
- Next spread with half of ricotta filling then top with a large amount of mozzarella cheese..
- Repeat steps with layering of spaghetti then the remaining half of ricotta cheese and mozzarella.
- Finally add final layer of spaghetti then top with shredded cheese.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and cheese is bubbly and delicious. Cool for 10-15 minutes, sprinkle with parsley and serve.
Notes
How to store & reheat baked spaghetti
Cool the spaghetti casserole down to room temp then store in an airtight container. Reheat a single portion in the microwave or you can reheat the casserole dish in the oven until hot and bubbly again (about 15-25 minutes at 350°F).How long will baked spaghetti last in the fridge?
It should last up to 3-4 days.Can I freeze spaghetti casserole?
For sure boos. You can freeze spaghetti bake before or after you cook it up. Just wrap super tightly in plastic wrap then in foil and freeze. Add the date. It should last up to 3 months.Nutrition
This post was originally published in September 2019. It has been updated with some new images and content.
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Everything “Grandbaby cakes makes is amazing and this dish is no different. Perfect for a large family or pot luck. So cheesy and creamy and it heats up great the next day. This one is a must try!
Thank you so so much!
I am going to use this recipe for a fund raising event I host at my home every fall. I will be serving about 150 pp. I wondered if you have a suggestion on making this luscious dish vegetarian as I will need to serve both meat and vegetarian options. Thank you,
p.s. I live by your brown sugar pound cake recipe!
Absolutely! I think you can easily make this vegetarian by replacing the stock with vegetarian stock and replacing the meat with various vegetables like mushrooms are amazing and even lentils would be fantastic to add a nice hearty flavor! Let me know if you want some additional ideas. And thank you for the sweet compliment regarding my brown sugar pound cake.
Love that this is made in layers and you can see them through the dish!
Assuming this can be made vegetarian? Omit the meat or add vegetarian sausages or something?
Yes it totally can. You can replace the meat with other vegetables or even mushrooms would be hearty and extremely delicious.
There’s no mention in the Assembly directions for what to do with the sauce. Assuming from the photos that you must first combine the sauce with the spaghetti noodles before beginning the layering process.
Looks delicious.
Yes once you have the sauce ready, you combine with the pasta. The line went missing so I just updated the recipe. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
My kids LOVE lasagna and I know this will be a hit! Such a fun twist, too, I can’t wait to try it!
This looks like the perfect family meal – so full of flavour and very filling! My family would love it
Everyone at my house loved it! So delicious!
That ricotta cheese filling was SO good. Thank you!
That’s a comfort food right there! I’m sure my family would devour this and ask for seconds!