Easy Baked Spaghetti
Spaghetti baked with seasoned beef sauce, ricotta and mozzarella until hot and bubbling.
- Measurements grams + cups
- Cuisine Italian-American
Why You'll Like This Recipe
- Assembles ahead and bakes when you need it, which makes it useful for a crowd.
- Serves eight from one dish and reheats better than most pasta.
- A layer of ricotta through the middle rather than mixed in, so you get pockets of it.
Recipe
Easy Baked Spaghetti
Layered spaghetti bake with beef sauce, ricotta and melted mozzarella.
Ingredients
Ingredients scaled. The method below still refers to the original quantities.
Instructions
- Step 1. Preheat the oven to 190°C / 375°F. Lightly grease a 23 × 33 cm (9 × 13-inch) baking dish.
- Step 2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti until just al dente, about 1 minute less than the package directions. Drain.
- Step 3. Add the ground beef and onion to a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- Step 4. Cook for 6–8 minutes, breaking the beef apart, until browned and the onion is softened. Drain excess grease if needed.
- Step 5. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds.
- Step 6. Stir in the pasta sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, and black pepper. Simmer for 3–4 minutes.
- Step 7. Add the cooked spaghetti to the sauce and toss until evenly coated.
- Step 8. Spread half of the spaghetti mixture in the prepared baking dish.
- Step 9. Spoon the ricotta evenly over the pasta and sprinkle with half of the mozzarella.
- Step 10. Add the remaining spaghetti mixture.
- Step 11. Top with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan.
- Step 12. Bake uncovered for 25–30 minutes, until hot and bubbling and the cheese is lightly golden.
- Step 13. Rest for 5–10 minutes before serving.
Notes
- Drain the beef properly. Fat left in the pan pools on the surface of the bake and makes it greasy rather than rich.
- Bake uncovered. Covering it traps steam and you lose the browned cheese top, which is most of the point.
- Rest it 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Straight from the oven it will not hold a slice.
Easy Baked Spaghetti — Simple Table Recipes · https://simpletablerecipes.com/recipes/easy-baked-spaghetti/
Ingredient Notes
- Spaghetti, cooked al dente
- A full minute under the package time. The pasta keeps cooking in the sauce in the oven for another half hour, and pasta cooked properly in the water comes out soft in the dish.
- Ricotta or cottage cheese
- Spooned in as a middle layer rather than stirred through. Cottage cheese is a common substitute and works, though it is looser — drain it first if it looks watery.
- Mozzarella
- Low-moisture mozzarella, the block kind, not fresh mozzarella in water. Fresh mozzarella releases too much liquid and makes the top layer wet.
Equipment
- Large pot
- Large skillet
- Colander
- 23 × 33 cm (9 × 13-inch) baking dish
- Wooden spoon
Substitutions
- Ground beef
- Ground turkey or Italian sausage both work. Sausage brings its own seasoning, so taste before adding the salt.
- Spaghetti
- Any long or short pasta works — penne and rigatoni hold sauce especially well in a bake.
- Ricotta
- Cottage cheese in the same quantity, or leave it out entirely for a simpler bake. Béchamel is a richer alternative if you want to make one.
Storage & Freezing
Storing: Refrigerate covered for up to 4 days. It reheats particularly well — cover with foil and warm at 180 C / 350 F for about 20 minutes.
Freezing: Freeze assembled and unbaked for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge, then bake as written adding 10 to 15 minutes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I assemble baked spaghetti ahead of time?
Yes — this is one of its main advantages. Assemble it fully, cover and refrigerate for up to a day. Add about 10 minutes to the bake if it goes into the oven cold.
Why is my baked spaghetti dry?
Usually not enough sauce, or pasta that was fully cooked before it went in. The pasta absorbs sauce as it bakes, so it should look slightly saucier than you want before it goes in the oven.
Should I cover baked spaghetti with foil?
No, not for this. Baking uncovered is what browns the cheese on top. Cover it only when reheating leftovers, where you want to warm through rather than brown further.
Can I freeze baked spaghetti?
Yes, and it freezes better unbaked. Assemble it in a freezer-safe dish, wrap well and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before baking.
Do I have to use ricotta?
No. It adds creamy pockets through the middle, but the dish works without it. Cottage cheese is a common swap, and some people use a béchamel instead.
How far in advance can I cook the pasta?
Cook it just before assembling. Pasta cooked hours ahead clumps together and does not coat evenly with the sauce, even if you rinse and oil it.
Did you make this?
Let other people know how it went. One tap, nothing to fill in.
Thanks — that helps.
