Baked Spaghetti is an easy, cheesy, and cozy dinner any night of the week. This super simple comfort food recipe is something your whole family is sure to love!
Baked Spaghetti Casserole
This Baked Spaghetti Recipe is a lifesaver when it comes to quickly preparing a homemade dinner. Sure, it doesn’t get much simpler than classic spaghetti (always a delicious choice!), but add extra cheese and bake it until toasty perfection and you’ve got a weeknight dinner winner.
This is such a foolproof meal to make for your family after work, for Sunday night dinners, or even for gameday. It’s ready in less than an hour, no fancy ingredients required. This easy recipe is a favorite around here – cheesy pasta is always a good idea!
Why You’ll Love this Baked Pasta Recipe:
- Quick: Baked spaghetti takes less than an hour to make from start to finish, with only 15 minutes of active prep time. Easily throw this dinner together when you get home from work or in between kids’ after school activities.
- Crowd Pleaser: Anytime I make this recipe for a potluck, it’s the first to disappear! What’s not to love about spaghetti casserole?
- Customizable: Use your favorite marinara (from the store or homemade) and meat of choice. While the recipe is written using ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey or Italian sausage would work great.
And, this easy dinner makes easy leftovers for another meal! It reheats really well, so you can even prepare baked spaghetti ahead of time if needed.
How to Make Baked Spaghetti
You can jump to the recipe card for full ingredients & instructions!
- Cook the spaghetti to al dente.
- Make the marinara meat sauce.
- Add the cooked pasta to the sauce and stir to fully coat the spaghetti.
- Transfer to a baking dish, sprinkle with cheese, and bake.
You can make your own marinara sauce to use in this recipe, or pick up a jar of sauce from the store to make things extra quick. Another option is to replace the marinara/beef sauce with this Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce – make it ahead of time, combine it with the cooked spaghetti, and bake.
Yes. Cook the spaghetti to al dente, following the package instructions. Combine this cooked spaghetti with the sauce before baking.
Definitely. Instead of ground beef, try ground chicken, turkey, or Italian sausage.
Baked spaghetti is the perfect freezer meal for families! Prepare it ahead of time (through step #8), place it in a freezer-safe dish with a tight fitting lid, and freeze for 2-3 months. To bake, let it thaw in the refrigerator, then place it in the oven as instructed to fully bake through.
Serving Suggestions
Complete a baked spaghetti dinner menu with a fresh salad or veggies, garlic bread, and dessert! Here are some of my favorite recipes to serve with spaghetti casserole:
- Olive Garden Salad
- Classic Caesar Salad
- Garlic Pull Apart Rolls
- Garlic Bread
- Homemade Brownies
- Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie
Tips!
- Spaghetti: Cook the noodles to al dente for best results. If the noodles are super soft before baking, they’ll become pretty mushy and lack texture.
- Baking Pan: Use a 9×13 inch baking pan, or a similar equivalent (anything around 3 quarts is great).
- Vegetarian: For a vegetarian baked spaghetti, simply omit the meat from the sauce.
Do I cover baked spaghetti while it bakes?
I don’t recommend it – if covered while in the oven, the noodles will steam instead of truly bake, so you’ll end up with a pretty soggy baked spaghetti casserole.
What kind of noodles are best for baked spaghetti?
This recipe is written with spaghetti, but use your favorite shape/type of noodle!
Make this cheesy baked pasta for dinner tonight and you’ll have one happy family!
More Italian Recipes
We love this easy baked spaghetti recipe, but be sure to also try these Italian favorites.
Cheesy and easy are two of my favorite words when it comes to food, and I love anything that I can make in a pinch for dinner during a chaotic week. This is exactly the recipe I need during this busy season of life!
If you make this recipe be sure to upload a photo in the comment section below or leave a rating. Enjoy! You can also jump to recipe.
Easy Baked Spaghetti Recipe
Ingredients
- 16 ounces dry spaghetti
- 1 pound ground chuck
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 24 ounces marinara sauce one jar of your favorite
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil divided
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- ½ cup grated parmesan cheese divided
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray a 13×9 baking dish with nonstick spray.
- Cook the spaghetti, per package directions, to al dente and drain.16 ounces dry spaghetti
- While the spaghetti cooks, brown the beef in a large skillet set over medium heat. Break the beef up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.1 pound ground chuck
- Drain the beef and wipe out the skillet.
- In the same skillet, add the oil and butter. Add onions and cook until onion has softened and is translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add minced garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, 1 medium yellow onion, 3 garlic cloves
- Add the beef, marinara sauce, 1 tablespoon chopped basil, and ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese. Stir until well combined and season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.24 ounces marinara sauce, 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil, ½ cup grated parmesan cheese, Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- Add the cooked spaghetti to the skillet with the meat sauce mixture and stir until spaghetti is well coated.
- Transfer the spaghetti mixture to the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with mozzarella and remaining ¼ cup parmesan cheese.1 cup shredded mozzarella
- Bake at 350°F for 20-30 minutes or until cheese has melted and the spaghetti is hot throughout.
- Garnish with the remaining chopped basil and serve.
Last step! Don’t forget to show me a pic of what you made! Upload an image or tag me @thecookierookie on Instagram!
Nutrition Information
Can I prepare this in the am then bake it later for dinner? Thank you!
I don’t see why not!
Really nice recipe. Thanks for sharing. Also see https://www.beckandbulow.com
Thanks! I hope you enjoyed it!
Dinner party for ten this evening. I know they’ll love it!
Great idea for a dinner party!
Good recipe. But I like more sauce so I add more.
Definitely modify to your liking!
I LOVE cooking yet 1st time baking spaghetti; VERY impressed…was delicious!!
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your success with us!
I have really liked making this and sort of mixing up ingredients. Tonight I got wild and put a layer of ricotta and sauce in the middle. Added some mushrooms too. Really nice approach.
That sounds great, thanks for sharing, Caroline!
I’m going to try this tonight
I hope you enjoy it!!
Fixed this last night & it made a ton. Sent part of it home with the cleaning lady & her family asked when I’d be making it again. Sooo good!! Even better this afternoon at lunch. Only thing I did different was whip up a quick scratch Alfredo sauce because there wasn’t a jar in the pantry like I thought. Definitely a keeper.
That sounds yummy! I’m glad everyone loved it so much!
What size baking dish was used?
Looks yummy! Wondering how this would turn out with angel hair pasta?
Sounds like a great idea! Let me know how it works out for you!