Cheesy Baked Spaghetti
Cheesy baked spaghetti is the lasagna alternative you didn’t know you were missing. Made to feed a crowd, this baked spaghetti casserole is loaded with sausage, spinach and lots of Italian cheeses. This hearty casserole makes enough to feed 16 people.
Why we will love baked spaghetti with ricotta
- This spaghetti casserole gets a lot of it’s spice from the Italian sausage baked into it, so you can choose your spice level. We used mild so it would be kid friendly.
- If you are in the mood for some comfort food, this is the perfect recipe.
- This recipe can be split in half before baking, making 2 casseroles. I love to freeze one for a few weeks later.
Here’s what you’ll need to make it
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- Onion
- Italian sausage
- Ground beef
- Crushed tomatoes
- Heavy cream
- Frozen spinach
- Chicken broth
- Ricotta cheese
- Mozzarella cheese
- Eggs
How to make cheesy baked spaghetti
Cook meat and pasta. In a large skillet, brown beef and sausage. Drain and set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions for al denté. Drain and toss it with a drizzle of olive oil to avoid having pasta stick together, set aside.
Make the sauce. Melt your butter. Sauté garlic and onion until fragrant. Whisk in heavy cream and chicken broth slurry with dried herbs and salt. Stir in crushed tomatoes and thawed spinach. Continue to simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Remove and reserve 2 cups of sauce for layering of casserole. Stir spaghetti into sauce remaining in skillet.
Make the cheese mixture. Combine ricotta cheese, eggs and milk in a mixing bowl. Stir until well combined.
Layer the casserole. Spread a thin layer of sauce in the bottom of a baking dish. Add spaghetti in a single layer, then spread the beef and sausage over the spaghetti. Next, layer the ricotta mixture over the sausage. Top with reserved sauce and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
Bake for 30-45 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbling around the edges. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before serving.
Everything you need to know about baked spaghetti casserole
There is no right or wrong answer on this, you can use the two interchangeably or incorporate them together. I usually prefer ground beef when I make spaghetti, but sausage lends a lot of spices and seasonings that you will not get with ground beef.
A serving of pasta for one person should technically be 2 oz of dry pasta, which is 1 cup when cooked. Keeping that in mind, one pound of pasta will have 8 servings.
For this recipe we will cook the pasta first, most baked pasta is precooked. The trick is to make sure you cook it to al dente. The pasta will keep absorbing moisture while it bakes and this allows it to absorb some of the sauce without over cooking during the baking process.
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Cheesy Baked Spaghetti
Cheesy baked spaghetti is the lasagna alternative you didn’t know you were missing. Made to feed a crowd, this baked spaghetti casserole is loaded with sausage, spinach and lots of Italian cheeses. This hearty casserole makes enough to feed 16 people.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 16 1x
- Category: Spaghetti
- Method: Baking
Ingredients
- 2 lb spaghetti
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb Italian sausage (mild, medium or hot)
- 1 package frozen spinach, thawed
- 2 cups heavy cream
- 2 cups Chicken broth + ¼ cup flour, slurry
- 1 can crushed tomatoes (28 oz)
- 3 tsp minced garlic
- ½ onion, chopped
- ½ tsp marjoram
- ½ tsp tarragon
- ½ tsp parsley
- 2 eggs
- 16 oz ricotta cheese
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F.
- Cook spaghetti to al denté, according the package directions; drain, drizzle with oil and set aside.
- Brown beef and sausage in a large skillet over medium heat. When cooked through, remove from skillet.
- Melt butter and sauté garlic and onions, until fragrant.
- Whisk in heavy cream and chicken broth slurry with marjoram, tarragon, parsley.
- Add crushed tomatoes and spinach. Stir until well combined and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Remove and reserve 2 cups of sauce. Stir spaghetti into sauce remaining in skillet.
- In a separate bowl, combine ricotta cheese and eggs. Stir until well incorporated.
- Layer baking dish as follows: Sauce, spaghetti, beef and sausage, ricotta mixture, remaining sauce, mozzarella cheese.
- Bake at 350˚F for 30-45 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbling on edges.
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 404
- Sugar: 3.2 g
- Sodium: 294.7 mg
- Fat: 13.8 g
- Saturated Fat: 7.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 47.9 g
- Fiber: 2.7 g
- Protein: 21.4 g
- Cholesterol: 78.2 mg
