The Best Baked Spaghetti – easy & delicious spaghetti casserole! Italian sausage, spaghetti sauce, eggs, parmesan, pasta, ricotta, sour cream, and mozzarella. Serve with a salad and garlic bread for a restaurant-quality meal. Can make in advance and refrigerate or freezer for later. The whole family loves this casserole!
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Pin This RecipeHow to Make Baked Spaghetti Casserole
This is an easy recipe to make with only a few simple ingredients. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add spaghetti noodles and cook according to package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside. In a large skillet, cook Italian sausage over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Drain excess grease. Add marinara sauce and stir to combine.
In a large bowl stir together eggs, parmesan cheese, and melted unsalted butter. Add cooked spaghetti noodles to the bowl and toss to coat. In another bowl. combine ricotta cheese, parsley, and sour cream. Set aside.
Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Spread half of the spaghetti mixture in an even layer into the bottom of the pan. Top with half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Add half of the meat sauce. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Garnish with parsley or fresh basil
Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions
- Can use ground beef, ground turkey, ground pork/sausage or Italian sausage.
- I use thin spaghetti for the pasta, but you can also use vermicelli, spaghetti, thick spaghetti, bucatini, or fettuccine
- I use three types of cheeses in this casserole – mozzarella, parmesan, and ricotta.
- Feel free to use any cheese that you like – Italian cheese blend, provolone, asiago, or cottage cheese are good substitutes.
- My favorite jarred spaghetti sauces are Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic Marinara (green label), Carbone, Rao’s, and La Famiglia DelGrosso.
- Can Baked Spaghetti be made in advance? Yes! Assemble the casserole and cool completely. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
- If using a glass dish, bring the dish to room temperature before baking.
- Can I freeze Baked Spaghetti? Yes! Assemble the casserole and cool it completely. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months.
- To bake after freezing, thaw completely and bake as directed below.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
What to Serve with Spaghetti
This spaghetti is a family favorite. We make it at least once a month. It makes a ton and leftovers taste great reheated. As I said earlier, we serve casserole with some garlic bread and a salad. Here are a few of our favorite recipes from the website that go great with this restaurant-quality meal:
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The Best Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients:
- 16- oz thin spaghetti
- 1- lb Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 (24-oz) jar spaghetti sauce
- 2 eggs
- ⅓ cup grated parmesan
- 5 Tbsp butter, melted
- 1 (15-oz) container ricotta
- 2 Tbsp dried parsley
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Cook Italian sausage in a skillet until no longer pink. Drain fat.
- Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain.
- Whisk together eggs, parmesan cheese, and melted butter. Toss with cooked pasta. Set aside.
- Combine ricotta, parsley and sour cream. Set aside.
- Combine spaghetti sauce and cooked sausage/hamburger. Set aside.
- Layer half of pasta mixture, half of ricotta cheese mixture, half of meat sauce and half of mozzarella. Repeat layers.
- Cover pan with aluminum foil and bake 35 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes (until cheese is bubbly).
Notes:
Steph
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can you add spinash to this more like a manicotti
Of course!
This is the best baked spaghetti I’ve ever made! My family loves it! I used 1/2lb. Ground Italian sausage and 1/2lb ground beef! I love the fact of so many meat choices!
Made this tonight and it was excellent ! My husband is full Sicilian and he loved it Thanks for such a great recipe.
High praise indeed! SO glad you enjoyed it!
well i was planning on freezing half for later but didn’t work out that way ! Made it for after church and put the empty dish in the dishwasher tonight ! Followed the recipe and everyone absolutely loved it!
SO glad it was a hit!
Can I make this recipe substituting vegis instead of the meat, I’m making it for vegetarians? Can I substitute sauteed mushrooms and zucchini in place of the meat?
I didn't have parsley so I used Italian seasoning. Also added Fire Roasted dice tomatoes with garlic, basil and oregano. Amazing!
And do you freeze it before or after cooking. Thinking of baking a half recipe in 2 loaf pans instead of an 8×8
I freeze it before baking and thaw completely before cooking
Can you freeze this recipe?
yes
I really like this recipe. Next time I will make double the sauce and meat…. keep half out to serve with casserole. Can spoon on top. Maybe use all Italian sausage for my husband. That would be 2 jars and 2 lbs of meat.
You can never have too much meat sauce! Glad you enjoyed it!!
It sounds like a yummy dish, I'm married to an Italian so would definitely add the minced garlic and the It. seasonings & never skimp on the cheese!
I have an egg allergy in my house. How can this be made without the eggs? It looks delicious!
This recipe doesn't have garlic or Italian seasoning. You can certainly add some to the sauce if you would like. It wouldn't hurt the recipe. Enjoy!
i don't see italian seasoning or garlic powder listed in the recipe, am i missing something? help!!! i'm making tonite!!
I have no parsley think it be ok without it
Absolutely! Enjoy!
I just used Italian seasoning and it tasted great!
Can this be prepared the night before?
Absolutely. Enjoy!
This is delicious. I've made it 4 times now and my family all love it. I make it exactly as called for, using Italian sausage and Kroger brand tomato basil sauce. The first time, I thought the amount of sauce wouldn't be enough, but after trying it, it was fine. If you like a lot of sauce on stuff like this, you could probably use a jar and a half, but it's not necessary otherwise. Excellent recipe!
Possible to leave out the Sour cream? I have some ricotta on hand but no sour cream.
You can certainly try it. Sounds good to me. Enjoy!
When it says parmesan, I'm assuming it is shredded cheese…?
shredded or grated Parmesan – either will work great. Enjoy!
I made a half recipe and put it in an 8×8 pan (there were just two of us), and I still had enough leftover for 4-6 servings (it's very thick, but very good)! Next time I would add additional sauce, but that would be my only change. Thanks!
Only two people live in my house. If I make half the recipe, will it fit in a 9×9 pan, or cause it to overflow?
Should be fine
i have no ricotta or cottage cheese…think it will be ok without either?
I made this ahead of time and refrigerated it. What is the best way to reheat this? Looks yummy!
This looks tasty! Love a make ahead meal that looks that good.
One look at the pictures and I was instantly drooling….excuse me while I grab a tissue LOL. This looks and sounds amazing!!! I must try this soon!!
Thanks for this! We will be having for dinner 🙂