All right – today’s recipe is full-on comfort food. My husband has been asking me to make Baked Spaghetti for about a month now, and I finally got to it. (I confess, I haven’t felt much like cooking lately!)
This recipe dirties a few extra dishes during prep, but what’s great about it is that you can assemble it whenever you have time (like the night before, or in the morning) and then pop it in the oven when you’re ready to bake it. I have also gotten it ready in advance and had my husband put it in the oven an hour before I get home, so dinner is ready for us all earlier. So there is a definite convenience factor that offsets the extra dishes! Plus, it’s one of our favorites.
Baked Spaghetti
- 1 – 16 oz. package spaghetti
- 1 lb. ground beef or turkey
- 1 – 24 oz. oz jar of your family’s favorite spaghetti sauce (you can buy meatless since you’re adding meat)
- 1 – 15 oz. container of ricotta cheese (you can substitute cottage cheese if you normally make your lasagna that way)
- 2 eggs
- 1 small onion – chopped (or 1 Tbsp. minced onion)
- 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 c. melted butter
- 2 c. shredded mozzarella cheese
First, cook your spaghetti according to the package directions, and brown your meat and onion in a skillet. Drain the meat and the spaghetti.
Add your sauce to the meat and onion, and set them aside.
In a separate bowl, whisk your eggs, butter, and HALF the parmesan cheese (1/4 cup parmesan). You can set the other 1/4 cup aside. Once it’s well-blended, pour the mixture over your drained spaghetti, and toss it well to coat it thoroughly.
In yet another bowl (sorry, lol) mix the remaining 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, the whole container of ricotta, and 1 -1/2 cups of the mozzarella cheese together. (Reserve 1/2 cup of mozzarella to top it at the end.) You may think the cheese blend is a little weird, but mixing the ricotta with the other cheeses totally changes the texture, which gives you the wonderful subtle flavor of ricotta while satisfying every picky eater in our family.
Now – layer half the pasta in a greased 9×13 pan. Add half the ricotta cheese mixture on top and smooth it down.
Top this with half the sauce, and repeat the layers again. Sprinkle the last half cup of mozzarella on top.
Now, cover it, and bake it in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes. Uncover it, and bake for an additional 15-20 minutes (until the cheese is melted.
This makes up a good 6-8 real-life servings. Technically I’m sure it *should* be 12, but I have never seen it go that far! ;) This is a great go-to recipe for casual family get-togethers since it’s a one-dish meal and everyone loves it – and I already mentioned you can do the work ahead of time, so you’re not stuck in the kitchen when people arrive.
What’s your favorite comfort food recipe?
Wow Adrianne, this looks amazing, I can’t wait to try it out! I may or may not be featuring you tonight at my party!
heart/Carlee
http://www.ladybirdln.com
Yum, I love baked spaghetti! My grandmother used to make it all the time, but her recipe calls for a can of cream of mushroom soup spread over the top, and we add black olives into the layers too. :-)
Can’t get enough of pasta (although I try to limit myself to a couple of times a month). Pinning this for next month!
This is very similar to a spaghetti pie recipe I used to have. Yum.
Looks yummy- I’ll be glad when I can have pasta again!
This looks great – proper comfort food! Kind of like lasagne but with spaghetti! I love baking pasta – it gives it such a nice taste! Thanks for sharing such a delicious looking recipe!
Ooooh … I want to try this! Looks so yummy!
I’m sorry the kipferl wasen’t you and your moms, oh some times it’s hard to keep track when following many wonderful craft blogs :-)
Hi Adrianne yummy, so delicious comfort dish, very nice when we have snow outside. My favorit comfort food must be Boeuf Bourguignon. Thank you so luch for the recipe, haven’t tried spaghetti baked in a tray. Haven’t forgot you mom’s kipferl recipe :-) have a lovely day :-)