Beef Florentine Casserole - layers of homemade Italian meat sauce, spinach, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese. Comfort food at its best! Super easy to make and tastes great! Ground beef, garlic, onion, tomato sauce, tomato paste, basil, oregano, sugar, salt, pepper, spinach, ricotta, and mozzarella cheese. Can make in advance and refrigerate or freeze for later. This is sure to become a family favorite!
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Lightly spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
In a large skillet over med-high heat, cook ground beef until meat is browned. Drain fat.
Add garlic to the skillet and cook for 30 seconds. Add dried onion, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, until thickened.
Combine spinach and ricotta. Set aside.
Spoon meat sauce into prepared pan. Top with 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
Spread spinach and ricotta mixture over mozzarella.
Top with the remaining 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until bubbly and the cheese is melted.
Notes:
You can substitute ground turkey or pork sausage for the ground beef.
Sometimes I add a jar of mushrooms to the casserole.
Make sure to drain the spinach really well before adding it to the dish. I squeeze it with a dish towel or paper towels until all the water is gone.
Love spinach? Feel free to double up on the spinach in the casserole. I used one package of frozen spinach and it was more than enough for us.
Can I add pasta to the casserole? Yes! You can add any shape pasta that you enjoy to the dish. I would use 8 to 10-oz of cooked pasta and add it to the meat sauce layer.
Is Beef Florentine Casserole low carb? Most tomato sauces and tomato pastes are made with added sugars making them not suitable for a low carb/keto diet.
To make this as low carb as possible, omit the sugar from the homemade sauce and look for zero added sugar tomato sauce and tomato paste.
Muri Glen has zero added sugar in their tomato products. I find them at Target.
Can Beef Florentine Casserole be made in advance? Yes! You can assemble the recipe ahead of time and refrigerate it overnight. You may need to add a few minutes to the cooking time if baking straight from the refrigerator.
Can Beef Florentine Casserole be frozen? Yes! Assemble the casserole, cover the dish with plastic wrap and aluminum foil, and freeze. When ready to bake the casserole, thaw, and bake as directed.