Mac first introduced me to baked spaghetti at an Italian restaurant in Falls Church called Anthony’s. Since we don’t live anywhere near there, I whipped up my own version. Baked spaghetti is a delicious remix of the standard baked pasta dishes. The ricotta cheese melts together with the marinara to make a creamy sauce.
This baked spaghetti recipe is also very adaptable. You can also easily change this recipe to be vegetarian-friendly by eliminating any meat. Or you can swap out the ground beef for meatballs, pepperoni, bulk Italian sausage, or another ground meat. If you make your own marinara sauce, you can use that. I buy jarred sauce then add more seasoning. I have also found that breaking the spaghetti into thirds helps it cook more quickly and combines better with the other ingredients.
Baked spaghetti is also a fantastic make-ahead meal. It easily freezes and reheats well. Mac loves to take leftover for lunch all week. If you do freeze it, bake covered for about an hour and half at 350 degrees.
Ingredients
- 16 ounce box of spaghetti noodles
- 28 ounce jar of marinara sauce
- 1/4 cup of pepperoni
- 1 cup of ricotta cheese
- 2 cups of shredded mozzarella or Italian blend cheese
Meatballs:
- 1 pound of ground meat or turkey
- 1 cup of breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons of Italian seasoning
- 1 egg
- 2 tsp. olive oil
Instructions
- Break dried spaghetti into thirds. Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Drain.
- Meatballs: Combine meatball ingredients in bowl. Form into small balls (about the size of a dime) and bake for 12-15 minutes.
- Dice pepperoni.
- Toss sauce with spaghetti. Stir in ricotta cheese, cooked meatballs, and pepperoni.
- Transfer to greased dish. Top with shredded cheese and, if desired, a few pepperoni.
- Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Uncover and return to oven for 5 more minutes.
Notes
This recipe is pretty flexible. You can easily substitute in your favorite meat like bulk Italian sausage or meat sauce. You can also leave out the meat entirely and make this dish more vegetarian-friendly. If you like a saucier spaghetti, feel free to stir in a small can of plain tomato sauce with the jarred sauce.
