This easy baked spaghetti recipe is sure to become a family favorite! It’s kid-friendly, quick, has a meaty sauce, and uses basic ingredients the whole family will love.
This easy baked spaghetti recipe is a Drake family favorite. I’m pretty sure most moms have their own version of this great recipe that they make on a regular basis. It’s got a lot of things going for it…it’s easy, pretty quick, hearty, has simple ingredients, and usually there are leftovers. When my kids were home, I knew I could make this and everyone would eat it. No one complained! All I needed was this baked spaghetti casserole with some garlic bread, and we were ready to eat.
This post may contain affiliate links. See my disclosure statement.
Why This Recipe Works
I’ve been making this dish for so long that I honestly don’t remember how I came up with it. It’s certainly not anything complicated, but sometimes those types of recipes turn out to be the best. Kids love this because there are no weird ingredients, and it’s not spicey. I love using fresh basil when I have it in my garden, and it’s wonderful in this easy baked spaghetti recipe. I chop up about 6 – 8 leaves and throw it in. It adds freshness and a little color.
Ingredient Notes + Tips
- Ground turkey or Italian sausage can be substituted for the ground beef.
- Additions: ricotta cheese, Italian seasoning, black olives, chopped onions, red pepper flakes, green peppers, sliced mushrooms, or oregano.
- Penne, shells, elbows, spaghetti noodles, or whole wheat pasta can be substituted for the rotini.
- Store this delicious casserole in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.
- For a classic comfort food dinner, serve this spaghetti with a Caesar salad, romaine and apple salad, or fresh fruit. Don’t forget the garlic bread!
How To Make
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large pot of salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions.
- Drain pasta.
- In the same large pot, cook the ground beef until it is no longer pink.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Drain or pat off any excess fat/grease.
- Pour the pasta sauce into the pot of ground beef.
- Stir and add chopped fresh basil if desired.
- A little at a time, add the cooked pasta to the sauce/beef mixture.
- (You want plenty of sauce because the pasta continues to cook as it bakes.)
- At this point you can put the pasta/sauce mixture into a casserole dish or keep it in the cooking pot.
- Top with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until bubbly around the edges.
One Less Step
I recently tried a new method where the pasta cooks right in the oven…no need to boil it first! By adding chicken broth to the sauce, the spaghetti bakes up perfectly tender while saving a step (and a pot). It takes a bit longer in the oven, but the cleanup is easier, and the result is just as delicious.
- Add 2 cups of dry rotini pasta to an 8×8 inch baking dish.
- Add one cup of chicken broth.
- Add one jar (24 oz.) of spaghetti sauce.
- Mix together and make sure pasta is covered with the liquid.
- Top pasta mixture with 1 lb. cooked ground beef. Do not mix beef with the pasta mixture.
- Cover with foil and bake at 375 degrees F for 40 minutes.
- Remove from oven. Stir well.
- Top with 1.5 cups mozzarella cheese, and parmesan cheese if desired.
- Return to oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbling.
- Let sit at least 5 minutes before serving.
Shop + Source
*Affiliate links included. See my disclosure statement. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Can you double this recipe?
Yes! It works well if you need to feed a crowd. A double recipe fits in a 9 x 13 pan, and bakes very evenly. You may need to increase the baking time a little. This baked spaghetti is done when the cheese is melted and it’s bubbling around the edges.
Easy Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 24 oz. jar of your favorite tomato/spaghetti sauce (can use more if desired)
- 12 oz. rotini pasta
- 1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- Fresh basil optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a large pot, cook the pasta according to package directions.
- Drain pasta.
- In the same large pot, cook the ground beef until it is no longer pink.
- Add salt and pepper to taste. Drain or pat off any excess fat/grease.
- Pour the spaghetti sauce into the pot of ground beef.
- Stir and add chopped fresh basil if desired.
- A little at a time, add the cooked pasta to the sauce/beef mixture.
- (You want plenty of sauce because the pasta continues to cook as it bakes.)
- At this point you can put the pasta/sauce mixture into a casserole dish or keep it in the cooking pot.
- Top with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses.
- Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until bubbly around the edges.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
If you make this recipe, and love it, please come back to leave a comment and a 5-star review. I would really appreciate it, and it would help me so much. Thank you!
JOIN THE OSP COMMUNITY
Sign up to get uncomplicated recipes, unlimited seasonal decor, and
understated ways to refresh your home sent straight to your email inbox!
More Main Dishes
amazon storefront
Discover simple and affordable
ways to refresh your home.
Follow my Amazon Storefront
for all my favorite finds!
This looks so delish! I have had baked spagehetti before but it did not look as good as yours. I’m going to haved to give this one a try. Thanks for sharing.
This sounds delicious and so easy for a Friday night.
I think I am going to make your recipe for supper tonight as it sounds delicious, easy and I have never baked spaghetti before!! Thank you!
Kind of like a mini-lasagna….or a casserole! I have NEVER put spaghetti/sauce in the oven. I made a huge batch of spaghetti sauce the other day. Now I know ONE more thing I am going to do with it! Thanks…..yum!!!! xo Diana
I have really enjoyed your recipes. Hope you will have more sometime. Your posts are delightful and I so enjoy them
I got this recipe over 20 years ago from one of my Hospice Pts. I went home that evening and made it and from then on it was a family favorite. I just might have to make it for tonight’s meal just thinking about it makes me want some.
Thanks for the recipe! Going to make it this week!
Hi Ann, just signed on, and I’m loving your posts!
May I offer my baked spaghetti recipe? It’s such a family favorite, my kids (when they were teenagers) friends used to ask for it!
I add a little of the pasta water and a few Tbsp of butter to the sauce, because I found the sauce ‘dries out’ a bit when baked. Or simply add in that half empty jar of sauce that’s sitting in the fridge. I found one jar just isn’t quite enough… And I stir the mozzarella into the spaghetti just before baking, then cover the top with another cup of mixed mozzarella and parm mixed. Bake until bubbly, maybe 25 min.
Like I said, the kids couldn’t get enough, and there weren’t ever any leftovers. These days I’m cooking gluten free, and simply have to under cook the noodles a fair amount so they don’t get too mushy, but it’s still great using rice pasta too.
Thank you again Ann – love your stuff!
I sometimes add the pasta water too if I get carried away adding the rotinis! Thank you for sharing!
Basil flavored olive oil, instead of butter,
sounds good too. Thanks for the extra tips.
With four kids (now grown with kids of their own), I made many easy hearty one-pot dishes. I’m having grandkids over today so I’m going to make your recipe this morning. Love, love, love it! Thanks so much.
I have really enjoyed all you recipes! I hope you will continue them before long.