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This Easy Baked Spaghetti is a one-pan meal that’s always a hit at the supper table or at a covered dish supper. With a creamy, cheesy center, and a meaty sauce, this pasta casserole is comfort food taken to a whole new level!
When you’ve got a big casserole dish, loaded with perfectly cooked pasta that’s been tossed in cream cheese, then topped with more cheese and a meat sauce that tastes like it’s been cooking for hours, well, you’ve got something special.
When I developed this recipe, I took all the traditional ingredients of a spaghetti dinner and baked lasagna and added them together. The results are absolute “out of this world” so, now you know how I came up with the name!
To pull this recipe together I start by making the sauce. I use a little shortcut here because it’s such a time saver. I use a jarred Mariana sauce and mix it with cooked ground beef and onions. Then, I let it simmer a bit to bring all the flavors together for a true home-cooked taste.
While my sauce is bubbling away, I cook the pasta and make the cheese layer. I blend cottage cheese, Parmesan, and one egg together to make a creamy mixture that will melt into the pasta. That layer right there is what makes this easy-baked spaghetti so special.
Whenever I serve it, my normal lively, noisy table conversation gets quiet and the only sounds are oohhs and aahhs. I’m not kidding. This is a dish that is so comforting and so satisfying.
I make this casserole in a 9×13 dish. The recipe makes enough for 12 people if you’re serving a salad and bread along with your meal. If not, and you’re feeding a bunch of hungry folks, then you can easily get 8 servings. An added bonus to this out of this world dish is that it freezes well.
Just assemble it per the instructions, then instead of baking it in the oven, just wrap it up and freeze it. When you want to serve it, take it out of the freezer and let it thaw 24 hours prior to baking. I’ve often divided the recipe into two portions, cooking one and freezing one. This is a great way to stretch your budget and stock your fridge!
I could go on and on about how good this easy-baked spaghetti is, but the real proof is in the taste. All I can say with that is, get ready to savor the best, over the top, out of this world, baked spaghetti ever. Enjoy!
More Recipes You’ll Love…
- Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
- Spaghetti Salad
- Out of This World Rotel Chicken Spaghetti
- Skillet Chicken Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small to medium onion – chopped
- 1 24 oz jar Marinara sauce – I use Rao’s
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese – grated
- 1 egg
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1 8 oz cream cheese
- 2 cups Mozzarella cheese – grated
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a medium size skillet, cook ground beef and onion until done. Drain off fat. Pour Mariana sauce over meat and mix well.
- In a large pot, cook spaghetti according to package directions. When done, drain. Add cream cheese and mix well, coating all spaghetti.
- Mix together, in a medium size bowl, cottage cheese, ½ cup Parmesan cheese and egg.
- To build baked spaghetti, place approximately ½ cup of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9×13 casserole dish. Place half of spaghetti on top of meat mixture smoothing to the edges of casserole dish. Layer on cottage cheese mixture, covering all of spaghetti. Layer remaining spaghetti over cheese. Spoon remaining meat mixture over all layers. Top with Mozzarella cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle on ½ cup of Parmesan cheese and bake for additional 15 minutes until cheese is golden brown. Remove from and allow to reset 10 minutes. Cut into squares and serve.
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It was very good however the sauce seemed to evaporate while baking. I even used a 32 oz jar of sauce instead of the 24 oz in the recipe. Next time I’ll be sure to use alot more sauce
Hey there Amy!
Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe and for your wonderful rating, I’m glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! Cooking is all about making recipes fit your own tastes and preferences, so adding more sauce next time sounds like a great idea to me! I really appreciate all your support, let me know if you ever have any questions, I’m always happy to help!
~Donya
This is so delicious that I am making for the second time this month. I refuse to eat left over spaghetti but this I can eat left over and it tastes even better the second day!
Hey there Teresa!
Wow! I am thrilled to hear that you’ve been enjoying this recipe! I totally agree with you that this Baked Spaghetti makes wonderful leftovers, it’s a great meal for hectic weeks and super easy to make. Since you enjoyed this recipe, you should check out my Out of This World Rotel Chicken Spaghetti, it’s just as quick to prepare and the flavors are incredible. Thank you so much for your kind words of support and your wonderful rating, let me know if you ever have any questions about a recipe, I’d be happy to help!
~Donya
Thank you so much! My granddaughter & family are coming for a visit. I think they will love your recipe! I will let you know.
Can I prepare baked spaghetti day before and hold in the refrigerator until next day?
Hey there Linda!
Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe, that’s a great question! You can absolutely prepare this recipe ahead of time, just follow the instructions in the recipe card until you get to the baking part, then simply cover it with tinfoil and store in the fridge until you’re ready to bake! I really hope you enjoy the recipe, let me know how everything turns out!
~Donya
Can this be frozen?
Hey there Lenetta!
Thank you so much for your interest in this recipe, that’s a great question! The answer is yes, this dish is absolutely freezer-friendly! Just assemble it per the instructions, then instead of baking it in the oven, just wrap it up and freeze it. When you want to serve it, take it out of the freezer and let it thaw 24 hours prior to baking. I’ve often divided the recipe into two portions, cooking one and freezing one. This is a great way to stretch your budget and stock your fridge! I hope this helps, let me know how you like the recipe!
~Donya
Do you thaw it in the fridge?
Absolutely delicious recipe for a crowd – everyone loved it and asked for the recipe. The only changes I made were using ricotta instead of cottage cheese and adding garlic to the meat while sautéing. We’ll definitely be eating this again soon!
Hey there Mary!
WOW! Thank you so much for your kind words and this phenomenal rating! I am thrilled to hear that everyone enjoyed this recipe, I completely agree that this dish is perfect for feeding a crowd. It sounds like you made a delicious meal, with some tasty additions, I like to add garlic sometimes as well. Thank you so much for your support, it means the world. If you ever have any questions about a recipe, please feel free to reach out!
~Donya
My family loved this dish.I my self don’t care for cream cheese but this dish was out of this world packed with some much flavor one thing I should have done though was baked it a little longer ty
Hey there Kelly!
Wow! Thank you so much, I am so thrilled to hear that you and your family enjoyed this recipe. It’s such an easy-to-make weeknight meal, what’s not to love. If you liked this recipe, you should check out my Creamy Chicken Casserole recipe, it’s just as easy to make and it’s a terrific make-ahead dish. Thank you for your phenomenal rating and your kind words of support, if you ever have any questions about a recipe please feel free to reach out!
~Donya
I left out cottage cheese and added peppers, mushrooms, garlic and spinach. Everyone loved it!
Hey there Julia!
So glad to hear everyone enjoyed this, I bet adding the extra veggies was delicious! Thank you so very much for your phenomenal rating, if you ever have any questions about a recipe don’t hesitate to ask!
Best,
~Donya
Omg!!!! We have tried so many baked spaghetti recipes. Our search is over. Only thing we did different was use homemade sauce. This was amazing
Hey Tammy!
I’m so thrilled y’all enjoyed this recipe! Using your own marinara sounds like a really nice touch, great way to make the recipe your own. Thank you so much for your rating and your support!
~Donya
This sounds great– Question – can this be frozen before and/after- Only me in HH and want some good healthy recipes to make & freeze. Still love to cook- and need recipes to fill my freezer and this one sounds great- mine never turned out good before- My son comes by at times and I would love to surprise him with this. Thank you
Hey Jan!
That’s a great question! You can absolutely freeze it, I recommend in an airtight container. I really hope you and your son enjoy this recipe, it’s definitely a favorite in my house! Let me know how it goes!
~Donya