This easy Southern Baked Spaghetti recipe is quick and easy to make. Spaghetti pasta is combined with the sauce, ground beef, and three kinds of gooey cheese for a savory, family-friendly delicious dinner.
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Easy Baked Spaghetti for the win!
This is the best baked spaghetti because it’s an easy meal and a perfect weeknight dinner. It’s easy and quick to make.
The seasoned meat sauce is combined with spaghetti noodles and three types of cheese in a baking dish. Rather than traditional spaghetti, you can serve this cheesy casserole with minimal effort.
Oven-Baked Spaghetti is similar to lasagna, with a few different cheese flavors and less effort. It will quickly become a family favorite!
Traditional spaghetti with meat sauce is taken up a notch with gooey cheese and baked to perfection. It’s an easy recipe the whole family will love.
It’s a perfect dish for family gatherings because it’s easy to make a large 9×13 pan of it and serve with a green salad.
Easy Baked Spaghetti Recipe ingredients
- avocado oil
- medium onion
- kosher salt & ground black pepper
- lean ground beef
- garlic
- marinara or spaghetti sauce
- uncooked spaghetti
- Italian seasoning
- cream cheese
- cottage cheese
- mozzarella cheese
What cheese is best for baked spaghetti?
The best cheese for baked spaghetti is a combination of 3 different kinds of cheese. Those are cream cheese, cottage cheese, and mozzarella cheese.
Best Baked Spaghetti Recipe substitutions and additions
Ground beef – You can substitute the ground beef with Italian sausage, ground turkey, ground sausage, or even ground tofu for a vegetarian version. You want this to be a hearty meat sauce, so use one that holds up to the marinara.
Green Pepper – you can add chopped green pepper to the onions when sautéing the sauce. This will not only add flavor, but it will bulk it up with veggies. The bell pepper can be added with the onions and softened.
Cremini Mushrooms – Baby Bella or cremini mushrooms would go great in this recipe. You can add them into the onions when sautéing for the sauce.
Cream cheese – you can replace the cream cheese with part-skim ricotta cheese if you prefer. I find that cream cheese gives a much better texture and flavor than ricotta cheese, but both work well.
Avocado oil – you can substitute the avocado oil with olive oil or any other neutral-tasting oil.
Red pepper flakes – you can add red pepper flakes to the meat mixture to add a little bit of spice.
Spaghetti pasta – you can use standard spaghetti or thin spaghetti noodles, both work well.
Baked Spaghetti Recipe Easy toppings
- fresh basil
- Fresh Parmesan cheese
- Black olives
How to make Easy Baked Spaghetti
- Heat the oven to 350ºF and spray a 9×13 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large skillet, heat avocado oil over medium-high heat and add the onion. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Mix to combine.
- Add the ground beef and season with Italian seasoning.
- Cook about 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently breaking up the ground beef into crumbles until cooked through.
- Add the garlic to the skillet and mix. Saute for about 1 minute, just until fragrant. Be sure not to burn the garlic.
- Set 1 cup of marinara aside and add the remaining sauce to the cooked ground beef mixture. Turn the heat to low and let it heat through.
- While the beef cooks, cook spaghetti according to the package directions to al dente.
- Drain spaghetti and mix in the reserved 1 cup of marinara sauce with the cooked spaghetti.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the cottage cheese and cream cheese. Mix until it’s smooth.
- Add half of the spaghetti mixture to the prepared baking dish. Spread until it’s in an even layer.
- Top the noodles with all of the cottage cheese and cream cheese mixture. Spread it until it’s in an even layer over the pasta.
- Top the cream cheese and cottage cheese mixture with the remaining cooked noodles. Spread until even.
- Pour the pasta sauce and meat mixture over the top of the noodles. Smooth it out into an even layer.
- Top with lots of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
How to serve Southern Baked Spaghetti
- Garlic bread or garlic toast
- Roasted broccoli
- Parmesan breadsticks
- Side salad
Easy Baked Spaghetti Recipe tips
- If you don’t use lean ground beef, be sure to drain it before adding the marinara sauce. Otherwise, your baked spaghetti will be greasy.
- When it comes to the marinara sauce, use your favorite. Whether that’s a bottled sauce, a basic tomato sauce, a classic marinara pasta sauce, or a homemade sauce, use the one you like most.
- You can use a 13×9-inch or 3-quart baking dish.
- It’s not required, but I recommend using part-skim mozzarella cheese that’s been freshly grated. Pre-shredded cheese has an anti-caking agent that prevents it from melting as well.
Southern Baked Spaghetti FAQs
It’s easy to make baked spaghetti vegetarian. Just omit the ground beef. Sauté the onions and garlic, add the marinara, and continue with the recipe as written.
You can cook pasta in the oven. There are a lot of pasta dishes that are cooked in the oven including lasagna, baked spaghetti, and even dishes like tuna casserole. The amount of time and temperature will depend on the specific dish you’re making.
Spaghetti should be baked at 350°F for 30 minutes for best results.
Pasta can be cooked without boiling. You can add uncooked pasta to casserole dishes and allow it to cook in the sauce in the oven. You just want to be sure it has enough liquid to fully cook through.
You do not have to cover pasta bake with foil. If the cheese on top begins to brown too early, you can, but it is not necessary.
The best way to keep baked pasta moist is to be sure there is enough sauce. Without enough sauce, the pasta will dry out.
Baked spaghetti uses spaghetti noodles and only has 3 layers while lasagna uses lasagna noodles, has different cheeses, and often has 6 layers.
Products to make Oven Baked Spaghetti
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Buy Now → Oven Baked Spaghetti storage
To store leftover baked spaghetti, allow it to cool completely. Place it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
I find that it’s even better the next day when all of the flavors have had a chance to combine even more.
How to Reheat
The best way to reheat a pasta bake is in the oven. Place it in an oven-safe dish, cover it with a lid or aluminum foil, and heat it in a 350ºF oven until heated through.
You can also use a microwave. Place it on a microwave-safe dish, cover loosely with a moist paper towel, and heat in 1-minute increments until heated through.
Can You Freeze Baked Spaghetti?
Yes, baked spaghetti can be frozen. You can freeze it in individual servings or as a whole casserole. It’s one of my favorite freezer meals.
Allow the casserole to cool completely. Cover and store in a freezer-safe, airtight container for up to 6 months.
If you like this Best Baked Spaghetti Recipe, check out these other classic spaghetti recipes!
Instant Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
other classic dinners and favorite casseroles you’ll love
Southern Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon avocado oil
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 24 ounces marinara sauce
- 1 pound spaghetti pasta uncooked
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350ºF and spray a 9×13 casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large skillet, heat avocado oil over medium-high heat and add the onion. Season with kosher salt and black pepper. Mix to combine.
- Add the ground beef and season with Italian seasoning.
- Cook about 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently breaking up the ground beef into crumbles until cooked through.
- Add the garlic to the skillet and mix. Saute for about 1 minute, just until fragrant. Be sure not to burn the garlic.
- Set 1 cup of marinara aside and add the remaining sauce to the cooked ground beef mixture. Turn the heat to low and let it heat through.
- While the beef cooks, cook spaghetti according to the package directions to al dente.
- Drain spaghetti and mix in the reserved 1 cup of marinara sauce with the cooked spaghetti.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the cottage cheese and cream cheese. Mix until it's smooth.
- Add half of the spaghetti mixture to the prepared baking dish. Spread until it's in an even layer.
- Top the noodles with all of the cottage cheese and cream cheese mixture. Spread it until it's in an even layer over the pasta.
- Top the cream cheese and cottage cheese mixture with the remaining cooked noodles. Spread until even.
- Pour the pasta sauce and meat mixture over the top of the noodles. Smooth it out into an even layer.
- Top with lots of mozzarella cheese.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbling.
- Remove from the oven and allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Definitely a winner! Excellent flavor! I substituted ricotta for the cottage cheese since we don’t particularly like it, and it turned out amazing!! I don’t think I will ever make spaghetti any other way again! Thanks for the recipe Kara!
Thanks, Jennifer! I’m so glad y’all liked it!
This was pretty good, although I thought the middle cheese layer was way too much. I’m thinking half that much, next time, and/or leave out the cream cheese entirely.