When I’m ready to impress some folks, I will throw up my Baked Spaghetti recipe in a hot second. I love using my homemade spaghetti sauce (that thing is meaty y’all) then I layer in some cheeses, a creamy filling and pasta. It’s got all the vibes of lasagna but with it’s own personality and style. Serve this baby up for a potluck, game day or Sunday supper. But don’t serve it too much because your guests will never leave.
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How to make Baked Spaghetti
Make the Spaghetti Sauce
Step 1: Cook the ground beef, Italian sausage, onion, green pepper, and salt and pepper in olive oil.
Step 2: Once browned, add the garlic.
Step 3: Toss in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, red wine, chicken stock, Italian seasoning, sugar, and red pepper flakes.
Step 4: Simmer until the sauce has thickened.
Assemble and Bake
Step 5: Combine the ricotta cheese, egg, basil, parmesan cheese, and salt in a large bowl. Mix everything together until creamy and well-mixed.
Step 6: Cook your spaghetti, drain, add sauce, toss then begin layering by spreading 1/3 of the spaghetti noodles and sauce in your baking dish.
Step 7: Top with half of the ricotta filling and then a large amount of mozzarella cheese.
Step 8: Repeat layering steps then add the final layer of spaghetti and sauce and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and the cheese is bubbly and delicious. Cool for 10-15 minutes, sprinkle with parsley and serve it up!
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
Recipe Tips
- 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.
Serving Suggestions
- With Salad: This caesar salad or harvest salad are perfect pairs.
- Get Bready: Get you a filling bread like these garlic cheese breadsticks or this delish garlic bread on deck.
- Veggies galore: Keep it low key with steamed vegetables, glazed carrots or double down on creamy vibes with creamed spinach.
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Recipe help
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.
More Italian Inspired recipes
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!