My baked spaghetti recipe is simple and made with floor beef, marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, and a hidden layer of creamy pesto sauce. Pure consolation!
This straightforward baked spaghetti has all the pieces we love about baked pasta. It has noodles, a hearty meat sauce, and plenty of cheese. For extra spaghetti recipes I really like, see our weeknight spaghetti recipe or this veggie spaghetti!
My favourite a part of this baked spaghetti is the creamy pesto layer within the center. It’s ridiculously easy to make and makes this pasta dish so extremely scrumptious!
Key Elements
- Spaghetti: I exploit plain spaghetti for this recipe, however different pasta shapes work nice. Use what you have got! I prepare dinner the pasta briefly earlier than tossing it with the sauce and baking. Use the boxed instructions as a information, however prepare dinner the pasta for two to three minutes much less. It would proceed to prepare dinner within the oven.
- Floor Beef: I normally use floor beef right here, however floor sausage, rooster, and turkey are wonderful. You possibly can even go away the meat out and add a number of additional veggies (see this vegetable spaghetti for ideas).
- Marinara Sauce: I exploit homemade marinara when I’ve it, however store-bought sauce works properly on this recipe.
- Bitter Cream and Pesto: That is my favourite a part of this baked spaghetti. I stir pesto into bitter cream to create a creamy pesto sauce. Then, I add it as a creamy layer into the center of the baked spaghetti. So good! Retailer-bought pesto is ok, however in the event you can, make homemade pesto (I adore it!).
- Cheese: Mozzarella is ideal, however any melty, delicate cheese works.
Methods to Make Baked Spaghetti
Once I’m not within the temper to assemble a lasagna, I make this baked spaghetti. The flavors are related, however it’s a lot simpler.
For the sauce, I prepare dinner onions and floor beef, add the marinara sauce, after which toss with partially cooked spaghetti (by undercooking the pasta, it received’t change into mushy after baking within the oven).
You possibly can add the spaghetti and meat sauce to a baking dish and high it with cheese, however to make it style even higher, add a creamy pesto layer to the center.
It’s tremendous easy. I combine bitter cream with basil pesto. Then, I add about half of my spaghetti to the baking dish, unfold a layer of creamy pesto, and layer the remaining spaghetti on high. I do the identical when making our baked ziti with spinach, and I adore it!
Critically Good Baked Spaghetti
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PREP
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COOK
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TOTAL
Our baked spaghetti recipe includes baking spaghetti with a easy meat sauce of floor beef and marinara sauce. We additionally sneak in a layer of creamy pesto. In case you are like us, this can change into your new favourite meal! Be happy to swap the bottom beef for bulk sausage, floor rooster, or floor turkey. To make this meatless, take away the meat (the spaghetti will nonetheless be scrumptious).
8 servings
You Will Want
1 pound (450g) dry spaghetti
1 pound (450g) lean floor beef
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
6 cups (1.4L) marinara sauce from 2 (26oz) jars, or see homemade marinara sauce
3/4 cup (170g) bitter cream
1/4 cup (56g) basil pesto, see homemade basil pesto
1 cup (113g) grated mozzarella cheese, 4 ounces
Salt and contemporary floor black pepper
Instructions
1Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Butter a 3-quart baking dish or spray with non-stick cooking spray.
2Deliver a big pot of salted water to the boil. Add the pasta and comply with the bundle instructions, however prepare dinner for 1 to 2 minutes lower than the bundle requires. Drain.
3In the meantime, make the sauce. Warmth the olive oil in a big skillet with sides. Add onions and prepare dinner till translucent, about 5 minutes.
4Add the bottom beef and prepare dinner till browned, about 10 minutes. As the meat cooks, use a wood spoon to interrupt it up into small items within the pan. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of salt and some grinds of black pepper. Drain extra fats from the meat.
5Pour within the marinara sauce and prepare dinner till heated by means of. Take the pan off of the warmth and add the cooked and drained pasta. Toss effectively, style for seasoning, and regulate with salt and black pepper.
6In a small bowl, stir bitter cream and basil pesto till effectively blended.
7Spoon half of the spaghetti into the baking dish. Unfold the bitter cream and pesto combination over the pasta and scatter with half of the mozzarella cheese. Prime with the remaining pasta, frivolously press all the pieces into the baking dish after which scatter the remaining mozzarella cheese.
8Place the baking dish onto an aluminum-lined baking dish (simply in case any sauce drips over the edges of the baking dish). Bake till the cheese has melted and the sauce bubbles, about half-hour. Let stand for 10 minutes earlier than serving.
Adam and Joanne’s Suggestions
- Storing: Leftover baked spaghetti might be saved in an hermetic container within the fridge for as much as 3 days or frozen for as much as 3 months. Thaw in a single day within the fridge earlier than reheating.
- Make forward ideas: Assemble, cowl with a sheet of parchment paper, after which cowl the baking dish with foil. Refrigerate for as much as 2 days earlier than baking.
- The vitamin details offered beneath are estimates.
Vitamin Per Serving
Serving Measurement
1/8 of the dish
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Energy
540
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Whole Fats
17.8g
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Saturated Fats
6.4g
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Ldl cholesterol
60.6mg
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Sodium
1194.8mg
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Carbohydrate
61.1g
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Dietary Fiber
6g
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Whole Sugars
12.3g
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Protein
32.3g