Description
Make this easy baked spaghetti recipe with layers of spaghetti, meat sauce, and cheese for a weeknight comfort food full of savory flavor!
Ingredients
Scale
- 16 oz. spaghetti
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 1 lb. Italian mild sausage, removed from casing
- 1 small onion, diced, 1 cup
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 (24 oz.) jars marinara sauce
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
- 15 oz. ricotta cheese
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 Tbsp. fresh basil or parsley, chopped, for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Grease a deep 9×13-inch baking dish and set aside.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti 2 minutes shy of al dente. Drain and set aside. If needed toss with some reserved pasta water to prevent from sticking.
- Heat olive oil in a large deep skillet or saute pan over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until browned, breaking it up as it cooks.
- Add onion and cook until softened, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Pour in the marinara sauce, diced tomatoes with juice, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper. Let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, 1 cup of mozzarella cheese, and Parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir until well mixed.
- Spread half of the cooked spaghetti evenly across the bottom of the baking dish to create the base layer. Spoon half of the meat sauce over the spaghetti. Top with ricotta mixture over the sauce. Dollop and then spread. Repeat the layers with the remaining spaghetti, and sauce. Top with the remaining 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes uncovered until the cheese is melted and bubbly on top. Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly. If desired, sprinkle with fresh basil or parsley before serving.
Notes
- Cooking spaghetti: Boil your spaghetti until just shy of done, about 2 minutes less than the package instructions. This ensures it doesn’t turn mushy while baking. Drain and toss the spaghetti with a little olive oil or reserved pasta water to prevent sticking and help the sauce cling better.
- Sausage: You can use mild or spicy variety of sausage. Or swap the sausage for ground beef, turkey, or chicken.
- Leftovers: Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3-4 days. This dish freezes well for up to 3 months, so feel free to make a double batch and freeze one for a future meal. Reheat from frozen at 350F for 45 minutes up to 1 hour.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/10
- Calories: 380
- Sugar: 4.2 g
- Sodium: 529.2 mg
- Fat: 14.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 41.1 g
- Protein: 21.8 g
- Cholesterol: 37.8 mg