You is likely to be asking your self, “Why on earth would I bake spaghetti??” Effectively, let me let you know. This Baked Spaghetti recipe provides you all of the consolation of a casserole however with the acquainted flavors of your favourite pasta dinner. The noodles absorb the sauce, the cheese will get completely melty and golden on high, and the entire thing holds collectively in a method that makes it nice for slicing and serving. I like that it’s budget-friendly, too, and it makes fantastic leftovers. It’s value the additional half-hour. Promise.

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Simple Recipe for Baked Spaghetti
This tremendous easy baked spaghetti casserole has three fundamental parts: spaghetti (in fact), meat sauce, and cheese. What extra do you really want? I consider it as a shortcut lasagna with all of the consolation however method much less effort. I normally make the meat sauce from scratch, but when I’m in a rush, a very good jar of store-bought marinara works simply wonderful. As soon as the pasta’s combined with the sauce, I unfold half into the dish, add a layer of cottage cheese and Parmesan, high it with the remainder of the pasta, and end with mozzarella. Then it’s within the oven till all the pieces’s golden and effervescent. It’s my definition of good, sincere consolation meals.
Baked Spaghetti Recipe


- 1 yellow onion ($0.70)
- 3 cloves garlic ($0.12)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.22)
- ½ lb. Italian sausage ($1.93*)
- 3 oz. tomato paste ($0.45)
- 28 oz. crushed tomatoes ($1.67)
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning ($0.05)
- ½ tsp salt ($0.02)
- ½ cup water ($0.00)
- 12 oz. spaghetti ($1.00)
- 1 cup cottage cheese (small curd, $1.12)
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan ($0.50)
- ¼ tsp black pepper (freshly cracked, $0.02)
- 1 cup mozzarella (shredded, $1.25)
- 1 Tbsp parsley (chopped, optionally available garnish, $0.05)
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Cube the onion and mince the garlic.
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Add the olive oil to a big skillet and warmth over medium. Add the Italian sausage and cook dinner till browned.
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Add the chopped onion and minced garlic to the skillet and proceed to stir and cook dinner till the onions are smooth and translucent.
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Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and water. Stir to mix, then enable the sauce to come back as much as a simmer. Scale back the warmth to medium-low and let the sauce simmer when you cook dinner the pasta.
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Preheat the oven to 350 levels. Add ½ Tbsp salt to a big pot of water and convey it to a boil over excessive warmth. Add the spaghetti and proceed to boil till the pasta is tender, however not totally cooked. Drain the pasta in a colander.
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Add the drained pasta to the sauce and stir to mix.
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Mix the cottage cheese, Parmesan, and pepper in a bowl.
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Evenly grease an 8×11″ casserole dish. Layer in half of the spaghetti and sauce, then high with the cottage cheese combination. Add the second half of the spaghetti and sauce, then high with the shredded mozzarella.
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Cowl the dish with foil then bake the spaghetti for half-hour. Prime the spaghetti with chopped parsley, if desired. Slice into six items, then serve!
See how we calculate recipe prices right here.
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Giant 12″ skillet
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Giant Pot
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8×11″ Casserole Dish
*Be happy to up the quantity of meat to a entire pound when you’ve got room in your price range. You too can swap the Italian sausage for an additional floor meat, like floor beef, however you’ll lose out on plenty of taste (Italian sausage is full of plenty of spices). For those who resolve to make use of a unique sort of floor meat, I like to recommend doubling the herbs and spices you add to the sauce.
Serving: 1servingEnergy: 534kcalCarbohydrates: 59gProtein: 25gFats: 22gSodium: 1063mgFiber: 5g
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Methods to Make Baked Spaghetti Step-By-Step Pictures


Collect all your elements.


Make the meat sauce: Begin by dicing one yellow onion and mincing three cloves of garlic.


Warmth 1 Tbsp olive oil in a big skillet over medium. As soon as scorching, add ½ lb. Italian sausage and cook dinner till browned.


Add the diced onion and minced garlic to the browned sausage, and proceed to cook dinner and stir for just a few extra minutes or till the onions are softened and translucent.


That is what your skillet ought to appear like as soon as the onions have cooked with the browned sausage and softened after a couple of minutes.


Now pour in a single 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes, 3 oz. tomato paste, ½ tsp Italian seasoning, ½ tsp salt, and ½ cup water to the skillet.


Stir the sauce till all the pieces is properly mixed, after which let the sauce simmer when you make the pasta.
Preheat your oven to 350ºF and cook dinner the spaghetti. Add ½ Tbsp salt to a big pot of water and convey to a boil over excessive warmth. Add 12 oz. of spaghetti and proceed to boil till it’s simply barely undercooked (it can cook dinner extra because it bakes). Drain the spaghetti in a colander, however don’t rinse it.


Make the cheese combine: Whereas the pasta is cooking, put together the cheese layer. Add 1 cup small curd cottage cheese, ¼ cup grated Parmesan, and ¼ tsp pepper.


Stir the cheese layer elements collectively till properly mixed.


Assemble the casserole: Stir the drained spaghetti into the simmered meat sauce.


Evenly grease one 8×11-inch (or 2-liter) casserole dish. Add half of the spaghetti and meat sauce to the underside of the baking dish, then high with the cottage cheese combination.


Now layer the second half of the spaghetti and meat sauce over high, then sprinkle with 1 cup of shredded mozzarella. Attempt to evenly distribute the mozzarella throughout your entire floor of the spaghetti.


Bake: Cowl the casserole dish with foil, then bake within the preheated 350ºF oven for half-hour, or till the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly across the edges.


Let the pasta cool for about 5 minutes, then slice into six items and serve. You’ll be able to high with chopped parsley garnish for visible impact, nevertheless it’s not wanted for taste.
- Swap the Italian sausage. As talked about within the recipe card, you may swap the bottom Italian sausage for an additional sort of floor meat (or floor meat different). You’ll simply must double the herbs and spices added to the meat sauce to compensate for the seasoning within the Italian sausage.
- If you wish to make this recipe veggie, miss the Italian sausage (double the seasonings added) or swap in a jar of your favourite store-bought marinara sauce. My do-it-yourself marinara sauce recipe would even be scrumptious on this baked spaghetti.
- Wish to make it forward? Make the meat sauce, combine it with the spaghetti, and assemble the casserole. As a substitute of baking, let it cool and retailer it within the fridge for as much as 2 days. Let it come to room temperature as your oven preheats, then bake coated with foil as directed. You might want so as to add just a few additional minutes to the baking time to make sure it heats all over.
- Pop the completed casserole underneath the broiler for a couple of minutes for an additional crispy, golden cheese high. I actually like doing this when I’ve the time as a result of any baked spaghetti poking out additionally will get a bit crispy (which I like!)
- What else can I add? Add sautéed mushrooms, chopped spinach, olives, or possibly even some sautéed zucchini so as to add additional greens to the sauce. Do-it-yourself meatballs rather than the sausage would additionally work (don’t overlook to double up on the seasonings within the sauce). Or, to make it additional tacky, strive including in some crumbled feta or possibly additional mozzarella to the cheese layer. I wished to maintain mine budget-friendly, so I went sort of gentle on the cheese and sausage this time round.
What to Serve with Baked Spaghetti
Do-it-yourself garlic bread is superior with baked spaghetti, however if you’d like some greens on the facet, I might go along with one thing like oven roasted frozen broccoli or an simple Caesar salad.
Storage & Reheating
After baking, slice the baked spaghetti into six servings and refrigerate. The spaghetti will keep good within the fridge for about 3-4 days, or, as soon as totally chilled, you may package deal up particular person slices and freeze them for longer storage. This dish is so excellent for meal prepping. It’s such a lifesaver to have the ability to pull a serving of this out of the again of the freezer on a busy evening! Let it thaw earlier than reheating within the microwave or in a foil-covered baking dish within the oven till heated by.
Our Baked Spaghetti recipe was initially printed 9/29/12. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be higher than ever 9/8/25.


