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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I prepared this dish, which I found to be quite satisfactory. In retrospect, I wish I had doubled the amount of ricotta filling, as I have noted that others have suggested. I have consistently enjoyed all of the recipes I have tried; for instance, I also made fried zucchini in the air fryer to accompany this meal. My family consumed all of the spaghetti, and I believe that an additional quantity of red peppers could have enhanced the dish by providing a bit more spice.
Delisious
Recipe is good. I will make again but next time will likely double ricotta cheese mixture. I felt it needed more of this.
Glad you liked it!
I love the recipe, but have a few comments. I had a lot of leftover sauce so next time I will cook 1 1/2 lbs spaghetti instead of just 1 lb …. I really feel the 1 1/2 lbs would be a lot better. I also liked the addition of the Ricotta cheese, but I would double all the “ricotta ingredients). You could also add another 1/2 lb of meat. I would also increase the peppers to 3/4 cup. It feeds 8 people with some Garlic Bread. It’s sort of like lasagna with spaghetti. Delicious. Everybody loved the flavors.
Love these suggestions! Thanks for sharing, Carol!
I have made this dish many times and freeze the leftovers. Also, have frozen the unbaked version. When my sons were in college I would divide the casserole, cooked leftovers and uncooked as well, into two servings containers and give to them to take back with them in a cooler.
Looks yummy & can’t wait to make it. Question: you recommend not freezing left overs but what about dividing into 2 different pans & freezing one uncooked? Assume need extra cook time for frozen one.
fun dish, thank you, and another new one for me, a nice change to my traditional spaghetti recipe, love all of the extra ingredients, compared with my recipe, that are literally baked in!