This easy baked spaghetti is a delicious, comforting dish made with ground beef, marinara sauce, and other simple ingredients. The mozzarella and cottage cheese gives this dish the tastiest top cheese layer baked to golden perfection! It’s one of our family’s favorite pasta dish recipes and I’m sure it will become yours too!
Happy New Year everyone! I hope everyone is as excited as I am to dive into 2022. I have some big goals for myself this year and I plan on getting started right away! Do you have any big ambitions for 2022?
One thing I want to do is make sure that 2022 is full of delicious, exciting foods. After all the decadent Christmas and New Year’s food, I want to keep that trend going and push myself to make flavorful dishes everyday.
Luckily, today is National Spaghetti Day and I am so ready to celebrate!
I plan on celebrating every food holiday throughout 2022 .. who’s with me?!!
A Little History of Spaghetti
Many people think of pasta as a true Italian food. However, the earliest known pastas were made with rice flour and originated in the east. We may have to thank China, rather than Italy, for first inventing our favorite food!
Related: Easy Chicken Divan Casserole + A Little Chicken Divan History
We do know that the Italians were the first creators of wheat pasta. There are many manuscripts from the 11th century that mention long sheets of dough being rolled and cut into pasta shapes. Long strands of pasta, now known as spaghetti, made their way into Italian cuisine during the 14th century. Spaghetti was standard fare on many sailing ships due to its universal appeal and ability to be stored and quickly cooked. Since spaghetti was on board so many ships, it was quickly introduced to almost every corner of the world.
Once spaghetti was paired with pasta sauce in the 18th century, the popularity of the dish grew even more! Pasta factories began springing up across Italy to keep up with the demand for the long noodles and the love for spaghetti has continued on since then. Now, we even have a National Spaghetti Day on January 4th to celebrate this incredible food. I am ready to dive into a bowl of spaghetti myself!
Easy Baked Spaghetti Recipe
We love pasta dishes in our house. My hubby and kids absolutely love my Creamy Butternut Squash Pasta with Spinach and Sausage and my Easy Oven Baked Gnocchi recipes I might just be making them again this week! 🙂
But today, I wanted to showcase one of my favorite spaghetti dishes not only because today is National Spaghetti Day, but it’s also because I want to share with you one of my family’s favorite pasta dishes. This easy baked spaghetti is so delicious and any meal that gets the entire family’s approval is a total winner in my book!
My baked spaghetti is almost similar to a spaghetti lasagna. Layers of saucy spaghetti and cheese are piled into a casserole dish and baked until bubbly. However, rather than use ricotta cheese, I use cottage cheese in my baked spaghetti which gives the dish a modern and tastier twist. So now… let me tell you all about it!
Ingredients and Tools for Making Baked Spaghetti
My cheesy baked spaghetti uses mostly Italian ingredients. Sticking to the classic is sometimes the way to go!
Here is a quick look at the ingredients I use in this spaghetti recipe:
- spaghetti
- ground beef
- onions
- garlic
- parsley and basil
- marinara sauce
- eggs
- salt
- butter
- mozzarella
- cottage cheese
For the main tools, you will need:
- a large pot to cook the spaghetti (I have this pasta pot and love it!)
- a big non-stick skillet for browning the ground beef
- a 9×13 casserole dish to bake the cheesy spaghetti
- a rubber spatula to stir and cook the beef – it’s one of my favorite, universal kitchen tools that makes everything easier!
How to Make Cheesy Baked Spaghetti
My baked spaghetti recipe is so easy and starts off by cooking the spaghetti. Simply follow the directions on your pasta box to cook perfect, al dente pasta.
While your pasta cooks, brown the ground beef in a large skillet. Break up the beef using a spatula as it cooks so you get nice, small crumbles. Add the onion, garlic, parsley and basil to the beef and mix well.
Pour the tomato sauce into the skillet with the ground beef then let the mix simmer for about 5 minutes. This will give the pasta sauce time to absorb all the great flavors of the beef mix.
While the sauce simmers, toss the eggs, salt and butter into the cooked spaghetti. Adding eggs to the spaghetti will help them set and stick together when baked. You will be able to slice the cheesy baked spaghetti like a lasagna – thanks to the eggs! Toss them with the pasta well so all the noodles are coated in whisked egg.
Layer the pasta, meat sauce and cheese into the casserole dish. I like to start with the eggy spaghetti, add a layer of meat sauce then top it with the cheeses. I repeat this layering, making sure I end with a layer of sauce on top.
Once the pasta is layered into the casserole dish, bake it until bubbly. Let the baked cheesy spaghetti cool for a few minutes then slice and serve! This spaghetti dinner is definitely best when enjoyed hot.
National Spaghetti Day – Try My Easy Baked Spaghetti!
Are you ready to celebrate National Spaghetti Day with this delicious and easy baked spaghetti? It is such a great dish and a tasty way to celebrate a fun food holiday.
Let’s kick off 2022 on a positive, upbeat note and celebrate as much as we can. Give my recipe for quick and easy baked spaghetti a try and I promise you will be smiling from ear to ear on National Spaghetti Day! You will likely want to make this tasty dish often throughout all of 2022.
Enjoy!
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Easy Baked Spaghetti
- Total Time: 0 hours
- Yield: 6-8 servings 1x
Description
This easy baked spaghetti recipe is a delicious, comforting dish made with ground beef, marinara sauce, and other simple ingredients. The mozzarella cheese and cottage cheese gives this dish the tastiest top cheese layer baked to golden perfection!
Ingredients
- 1 box (16 oz) spaghetti noodles
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 jar (24 oz) marinara sauce
- 2 large eggs, slightly beaten
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 2 cups small curd cottage cheese, divided
Garnish (optional)
- fresh parsley
- fresh basil
Instructions
- Cook pasta according to package directions for al dente
- While pasta is cooking, prepare sauce
- In a large skillet, brown ground beef until just about done
- Add onion and cook until no pink remains in beef and onions are soft
- Add garlic, parsley and basil and stir together
- Stir in pasta sauce
- Bring to simmer and cook 5-6 minutes or until flavors have combined well
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- Coat 13×9 inch baking dish with cooking spray
- Remove pasta from stove and drain well, transfer to large bowl
- Add eggs, salt and butter to pasta and toss to combine
- Place half of the pasta mixture in the baking dish
- Add half of the meat sauce, then half of the cottage cheese and half of the mozzarella cheese
- Repeat layers
- Cover and bake for 30 minutes, uncover and continue baking for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly
- Let stand for 10-15 minutes before serving
- Serve with fresh herbs if desired.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 50-60 minutes
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A former school teacher, Jocelyn Brown created Hip Mama’s Place in 2007. Her motto for this blog is: get inspired, create and share! Jocelyn loves sharing about food and recipes, crafts, DIY projects and her random travels with her family. She also loves all things social media, but her latest obsession is Instagram.
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This looks good! A great option for the menu I am working on for next week!
I have a family member who would be all about it. She loves simple and easy to make things and her husband only eats pasta
All my kids love spaghetti. I love the leftovers.Thanks for sharing Never can have too many recipes.
I love spaghetti dishes! Thanks for sharing this recipe
So yummy!!! Totally craving for some pasta already and it’s like turning midnight! Hahaha.
Yum! I need to try making this at home. I order it when I’m out, but why not try and make it? It looks simple and delicious!
This is such a great baked spaghetti recipe! I love the flavor of this dish!
I don’t think I have ever tried baking spaghetti before, but I think I just may have to give it a try now. Thanks for this recipe!
This easy baked spaghetti looks not only delicious but also great meal idea.
Living in Italy, we eat pasta, and plenty of spaghetti! I like this recipe; it’s easy to follow and looks delicious!
while i will replace the beef with maybe tofu, i have never tried baked spaghetti and this sounds and looks good.. so definitely adding this to my dinner menu recipes
I love spaghetti! I have never tried this Cheesy Baked Spaghetti before and it looks so delicious! I need to try this recipe. Thank you for sharing this!
I love spaghetti! But I have never tried Cheesy Baked Spaghetti before. It looks so delicious! I need to make this and save this recipe. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
I am already thinking of this recipe for dinner.
This can easily be a favorite in our house too. It looks so good.
Love that the recipe is so easy to follow! And it looks delicious as well 😍
This is yummy! I will choose a day to try this with the family. Thank you for sharing!
This is our type of dinner. My family will love it for sure!
I think this would be a great recipe to try with my picky kids. Sounds like a fun dish to make and serve.
I’m eager to try this. I love all other pastas baked, so spaghetti should be wonderful too.
Yum. I can see why this is a family favorite!
Just in time for our pasta saturday! Love this easy to make baked spag!
This looks good and simple to make. I will do it for lunch later. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Baked spaghetti seems to be an amazing recipe. This is one of my favorite dishes.
This is a perfect spaghetti recipe! Thanks for sharing!
Oh my this is such a really great recipe it looks so good I’m sure my family would love this
Wow that looks absolutely delicious and tasty surely going to give this a try
This is a tempting recipe that I must try. Only that I don’t take meat, but would like to replace it with fish, as a pesco vegetarian.
Easy Baked Spaghetti is always a classic for me! We had this last New Year! So yummy! OMG!
I love baked spaghetti, although I haven’t made it myself in ages. Thanks for the recipe so I can give it a go again.
looks great. this is one of my favorite among your recipes 🙂
This is so simple to make yet so delicious. I don’t think it will last an hour in our home lol
This is so much better than takeout. I’d love to try this
I love baked spaghetti! This is one of my favorite recipes to make for the family.
Yum yum yum. You could never go wring with spaghetti and this recipe just makes it all the more scrumptious! Craving for baked spag at this very moment!
Baked spaghetti can be served as party dish.
Baked spaghetti can be savored as party dish.
This is very similar to lasagne. And it is delicious. The marinara sauce has the great role here, and it should be of high quality.
I had anyways planned a spaghetti dinner for tonight, guess I am gonna try this recipe of yours, simply loved it!
I haven’t made baked spaghetti in so long! Such a great idea!
I’ve never tried making baked spaghetti before, looking forward to giving this a try.
Baked spaghetti is for sure a favorite in our house!
This is a really great idea to use spaghetti, like a lasagna. I don’t eat meat so I could make this without the meat, and add in some veggies like spinach. Thank you!
I need to make this for sure. I just love spaghetti. I don’t think I’ve tried baked spaghetti before.
I like the sound of easy. This is a recipe that my husband used to make at a restaurant many years ago.
This is definitely a great idea for a family meal. I might try it but switch the beef and cheese to vegan options. Thank you for this.
This looks so good and it looks like a great dish to use for packed lunches for work/school since it would stay together nicer.
YUM…you had me at both easy and spaghetti! Between working full time and having kids, I need quick, easy meals that can provide leftovers. We are Italian so spaghetti is a favorite. I’ll be sure to try this recipe. Thanks so much!