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Quick and easy oven baked spaghetti is a hot and comforting dish made with ground beef, pasta, cream cheese, shredded mozzarella cheese, and marinara sauce. This homemade meal is cheesy and creamy. It’s the perfect weeknight meal.

Oven Baked Spaghetti

This baked spaghetti casserole is the ultimate southern comfort food. It’s best served with freshly baked rolls, steamed vegetables, and an ice-cold drink. The meat sauce is perfectly seasoned with onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. This is a dish your whole family will love.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

Cook the ground beef in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add the onion and garlic and season with salt and pepper.

Continue cooking until the meat is browned and crumbled.

 

 

Add the sauce, one cup of mozzarella cheese, and cream cheese and reduce the heat to low.

Simmer the sauce until the cream cheese is melted, stirring constantly.

Stir in the cooked spaghetti.

Spread the mixture in the prepared baking pan and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until the sauce is bubbly and the cheese is melted.

Tips for Success/Variations 

Here are a few tips and variations that will help you make the best oven-baked spaghetti you’ve ever had: 

Meat: Substitute with ground turkey, meatballs, ground Italian sausage, or ground chicken.  

Vegetarian: Make this dish vegetarian by replacing the pasta and meat with spaghetti squash.  

Dairy: You can use cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, or parmesan cheese for the dairy.  

Vegetables: Add vegetables like chopped red bell peppers, red onions, mushrooms, olives, zucchini, eggplant, or chopped asparagus. 

Spicy: Make this meal spicy by adding red pepper flakes. 

Cooking method: Instead of cooking in the oven, try the slow cooker or instant pot instead.  

Dairy-free: Leave out the cream cheese and use dairy-free cheese for the topping. 

Pasta: This dish uses spaghetti noodles, but you can use linguine, penne, shells, or farfalle instead. 

What to serve with baked spaghetti? 

This oven-baked spaghetti is perfect as a main course but goes well with side dishes like puff pastry asparagus, easy peasy pea salad, or fried okra. 

How to store quick and easy baked spaghetti 

Store leftover oven-baked spaghetti in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. 

You can also freeze this dish to save any extras for later. To thaw, put it in the refrigerator overnight. 

Heat it up in the microwave in 30-second increments until it reaches 165 degrees F in the middle. Use a digital thermometer if you want to be certain.  

FAQs 

Do you put eggs in baked spaghetti? 

You can put eggs in baked spaghetti, however, this recipe doesn’t include them. 

Can you put uncooked pasta in the oven? 

Yes, you can cover uncooked pasta with liquid or sauce and bake for delicious baked spaghetti. 

How do you keep baked spaghetti from drying out? 

Pasta dries out if there isn’t enough sauce covering it. Add a little extra sauce if you’re worried about the pasta being dry. 

How long does pasta need in the oven? 

As long as there’s enough liquid in the pan, it takes about 30 minutes to cook pasta in the oven.