Cheesy Baked Spaghetti Recipe with Ground Beef

If your family loves spaghetti but they’re sick of the same old pasta and sauce, they are going to LOVE this cheesy easy baked spaghetti recipe! It’s a cross between spaghetti and meatballs and cheesy lasagna so you’ve got a hearty layer of cheesy noodles topped with a tasty meat sauce and plenty of ooey gooey cheese.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Ground Beef – I typically use 80/20 ground beef for my recipes – don’t forget, fat equals flavor so skip the lean ground beef for this pasta. If you want to spice it up a bit, try using Italian sausage or spicy Italian turkey sausage in place of the beef. You could also use ground turkey or chicken.
• Yellow Onion –  I prefer using yellow onion for this baked spaghetti, but white onion will also work. I don’t recommend using red onion, though.
• Fresh Garlic – Freshly minced garlic will always give you the best flavor. But if you don’t have any on hand, just sub 1/2 a teaspoon or so of garlic powder in place of the minced garlic. Add more to taste.
• Italian Seasoning – If you don’t have Italian Seasoning in your spice cupboard, you can substitute with dried oregano, dried thyme, and dried rosemary.
• Spaghetti Sauce – Feel free to use your favorite store-bought spaghetti sauce for this recipe. Marinara sauce will work too! Feel free to bulk up the sauce with canned diced tomatoes as well.
• Spaghetti – I use regular ol’ spaghetti noodles for this pasta casserole, but you can use your favorite long or short cut of pasta. Angel hair, linguine, penne, rigatoni, or rotini will all work great! Just make sure you cook the pasta a couple minutes less than al dente so it doesn’t end up mushy after baking.
• Cottage Cheese/Whole Milk Ricotta – I like to use small curd 4% whole milk cottage cheese for this baked spaghetti. I love the flavor and texture that it offers. If you want a smoother texture, try pulsing it in the food processor until smooth or using whole milk ricotta in place of the cottage cheese. Some recipes call for eggs, but the cottage cheese/ricotta does a great job of holding the casserole together without eggs.
• Whole Milk Mozzarella – I love the flavor and texture of whole milk mozzarella compared to part-skim mozzarella. Keep in mind, whole milk mozzarella is not the same as fresh mozzarella. If your grocery store doesn’t have a block of whole milk mozzarella that you can grate yourself, look for pre-shredded whole milk mozzarella. I’ve tried this baked spaghetti recipe with shredded cheddar cheese too and it was delicious!
• Parmesan Cheese – I like to shred my own Parmesan, so I usually get a wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano at the store. But, pre-shredded Parmesan will work as well for this recipe!
• Heavy Cream – Heavy cream adds another level of creamy deliciousness to the cheesy pasta layer. You can skip it if you don’t have any on hand or sub half the amount called for with half and half.

How to Make Baked Spaghetti

Boil spaghetti in a large pot of water just until al dente. Brown ground beef in a large skillet, then add onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning along with a couple of pinches of salt and pepper.

Cook, stirring frequently, for a few minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent.

Add pasta sauce to the beef and onion mixture and stir to combine.

In a large bowl combine cooked spaghetti noodles, cottage cheese (or ricotta if prefer), mozzarella, Parmesan, heavy cream, Kosher salt, and black pepper.

Use tongs to toss the ingredients together.

Transfer to the pan and spread in an even layer.

Top pasta with meat sauce.

Then add mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.

Cover the pan with foil and bake for 40-50 minutes. Broil for a couple minutes.

Let rest for 5-10 minutes, then cut the baked spaghetti casserole into slices. Garnish with Parmesan and fresh chopped parsley and enjoy! Try adding red pepper flakes or fresh basil for a little extra flavor.

Why You Will Love this Baked Spaghetti Recipe

• It takes just minutes to prepare and can be made in advance! This baked spaghetti recipe has all the feels of a Sunday night dinner but it can be easily thrown together on a weeknight. Spaghetti noodles are mixed with a trifecta of cheeses, then topped with a jazzed-up store-bought pasta sauce and plenty of shredded cheese. Throw it together while the kids are at school and then pop it in the oven about an hour before you’re ready to eat! Don’t forget to serve it with my Easy 5 Minute Garlic Bread!
• If you loved this cheesy baked spaghetti recipe, be sure to check out my Easy Cottage Cheese Lasagna, my One Pot Garlic Parmesan Pasta, or my 20 Minute Baked Ravioli Casserole. 

Make-Ahead, Storage, Freezing, and Reheating

• Make-Ahead: This baked spaghetti is the perfect make-ahead meal! You can prep it while the kids are at school and then pop it in the fridge for the afternoon. A couple hours before you’re ready to eat, set the casserole out on the counter for about an hour to come back to room temp, then bake according to the recipe instructions until warmed through.
• Freezing: To freeze this recipe, follow the recipe instructions but before baking, tightly wrap the casserole in foil, then place in a Ziploc freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight then let sit on the counter for an hour before baking according to package directions. You may need to add a bit of baking time to account for it being previously frozen. Just follow my tip above for making sure that the casserole is warmed through.
• Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
• Reheating: Your leftover baked spaghetti can be reheated in the oven at 350 degrees until it is warmed through and the cheese is melted and bubbly. You can also microwave leftovers in 30-60 second increments until warmed through.

Serve Baked Spaghetti With

• Easy 5-Minute Garlic Bread
• Cheesy Tomato Caprese Garlic Bread
• Cheesy Olive Garlic Bread
• Garlic, Herb, Parmesan Olive Oil Bread Dip
• Simple Arugula Salad

Tips

• Dice the onion super small if your kids don’t like them. They’ll cook down a lot in the meat sauce and then again in the oven and will virtually disappear – the kids will never know!
• You can skip the ground beef in this recipe for baked spaghetti recipe to keep it vegetarian. We don’t always have ground beef on hand, so sometimes I’ll replace the beef with a few finely diced portabella mushrooms or I’ll just skip it altogether.
• The grease from cooked ground beef is going to help to sauté the onion and garlic so don’t drain it unless there is a TON. Remember that fat equals flavor and if you’re using local grass-fed beef, you’re likely not going to end up with too much excess grease anyway.
• Spray the tin foil with cooking spray to prevent the cheese from sticking to it while it bakes. Covering the dish with tin foil helps heat everything through, but if you don’t spray it with oil it may end up taking that delicious layer of cheese right off the casserole once you uncover it. A thin layer of cooking spray will make sure no cheese is lost. 
• To test and see if the center of the baked spaghetti is warm, carefully insert a metal butter knife directly into the center of the dish for a few seconds. Remove the knife and carefully feel if it is warm/hot. If it’s still cold, cover the pan tightly with foil and continue baking until warmed through in the center. If it’s warm/hot then you know the casserole is warmed all the way through to the center.

FAQ

Easy Pasta Recipes