With only 7 ingredients and less than an hour you can have dinner to the table with this delicious and easy Spaghetti Casserole. Simple, tasty and filling.
Spaghetti is one of our go-to meals when it comes to dinnertime. Pasta is one of our favorite things in the world and we can not get enough of it.
Some of our regular pasta recipes that we serve include Honey Pepper Chicken Mac and Cheese, Ground Beef Carbonara and this Sausage Pesto Pasta.
Usually one type of pasta recipe will be on our menu rotation each week, and we were getting kind of bored with just normal spaghetti so we decided one day to whip up this Spaghetti Casserole.
WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
- Super simple already on hand ingredients it whips up quickly.
- Assembly of this is foolproof and provides layers of goodness.
- This feeds a family and can easily be doubled for larger crowds!
I’m a person of simplicity. That is just how it has to be around here when you run around with 4 kids, 4 pets and a husband, we don’t have time for much.
Easy dinners like this Spaghetti Casserole Recipe is one that we make a lot of the time because it’s done from start to finish in under an hour.
It’s pretty much just like you favorite spaghetti, but in a casserole form and with layers separated by gooey cheese, who doesn’t love cheese?
HOW TO MAKE SPAGHETTI CASSEROLE, STEP BY STEP:
- In large skillet cook your ground beef until no longer pink, drain and remove from pan and set aside.
- Add oil and onions and saute until unions are translucent and softened.
- Place your ground beef and pasta sauce back and stir to combined.
- Mix in your cooked spaghetti and toss until everything is coated evenly.
- In a greased 9″x13″ or 9″x11″ (depending on how thick you want it) add half of your spaghetti mixture.
- Top your spaghetti mixture with freshly grated mozzarella cheese.
- Top with remaining spaghetti mixture.
- Lastly top with remaining cheese and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes until cheese is melted then garnish with parsley if desired.
How can you deny that this Spaghetti Casserole isn’t easy as all get out. It is one of the best ways to switch around your normal spaghetti routine for something different.
WHAT CHEESE IS BEST FOR SPAGHETTI?
While for this casserole we really prefer mozzarella, others that are really common to using in spaghetti are parmesan, Romano, fontina and ricotta.
You could make this more or less a spaghetti lasagna if you went with some ricotta in the center mixed with some herbs and other cheeses as well.
We usually stick with the Mozzarella as it’s an easy cheese to be able to shred from the block and get larger shreds which we like.
WHAT GOES WELL WITH THIS CASSEROLE?
Now obviously we love to add a good side salad and a bread or vegetable with this. So some of our normal go-to side dishes are Homemade Garlic Knots, Easy Italian Salad and Green Beans with Roasted Peppers.
There is so much that you could serve alongside this Spaghetti Casserole that there really are no limits, those are just some of our favorite ones we go to a lot of the time.
HOW TO STORE:
This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days when covered with tinfoil or Saran Wrap to make it airtight.
You can also make this ahead of time and use it as a freezer meal. To do this, I recommend using a reusable foil pan and assembling like the recipe says.
Wrap in Saran Wrap and then tin foil and you can store this in the freezer for up to 2-3 months. To reheat let it defrost in the refrigerator overnight and then bake according to directions adding an additional 5-10 minutes.
This recipe will become one of your most beloved meals, at least that is what has happened in our house. Just for the simple fact of flavor and ease.
Like stated before it is so easy to whip up and it’s done in under an hour, who doesn’t want recipes that cater to those specifics?
TIPS AND TRICKS:
- We like to use lean ground beef as it produces less grease so the casserole itself won’t be greasy.
- You can switch up your cheese preference to any of your favorite Italian cheeses, but we prefer to use freshly grated cheese.
- If you want to add some contrast to this dish you can add some chopped peppers or sliced mushrooms which you would add when you cook the onions.
- You can absolutely make your own homemade meat sauce for this recipe, I have one linked above that we enjoy and make all the time.
- You can double this recipe for bigger crowds, it is a great potluck dinner idea.
Ff you’re looking for a perfect and easy weeknight meal, we have you covered with this delicious Spaghetti Casserole Recipe!
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Spaghetti Casserole
Ingredients
- 12 oz dry spaghetti
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup onion diced
- 1.5 pounds lean ground beef
- 24 oz jar marinara sauce or your favorite pasta sauce
- 4 Cups mozzarella cheese freshly shredded
- ¼ cup chopped parsley or basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9"x11" or 9"x13" pan with non stick spray, set aside.
- Cook spaghetti according to package directions, drain and set aside.
- In a large skillet, cook beef until no longer pink, drain and set aside.
- Add oil and onion to the skillet and cook until onions are translucent.
- Add the beef back to the skillet along with the sauce and stir, then add the spaghetti noodles and toss to combine.
- Add half the spaghetti mixture to the pan, then top with half of the shredded cheese.
- Add the rest of the spaghetti mixture and top with the remaining cheese.
- Place in the oven to bake for 25 – 30 minutes until casserole is hot and bubbly and cheese is melted.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with chopped parsley.
Notes
- We like to use lean ground beef as it produces less grease so the casserole itself won't be greasy.
- You can switch up your cheese preference to any of your favorite Italian cheeses, but we prefer to use freshly grated cheese.
- If you want to add some contrast to this dish you can add some chopped peppers or sliced mushrooms which you would add when you cook the onions.
- You can absolutely make your own homemade meat sauce for this recipe, I have one linked above that we enjoy and make all the time.
- You can double this recipe for bigger crowds, it is a great potluck dinner idea.
Nutrition
Tornadough Alli is not a nutritionist or dietitian, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and nutritional value is important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and values can vary depending on which brands were used.
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