Cheesy Baked Spaghetti Recipe (SO Easy to Make and Delicious!) (2024)

You are here: Home / Recipes / Recipes / Cheesy Baked Spaghetti Recipe (SO Easy to Make and Delicious!)

October 15, 2020 by Laurie 41 Comments

October 15, 2020

This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click on a link and purchase something, I may earn a small commission (at no additional cost to you.) See my disclosure policy HERE.

FREE FREEZER
RECIPES DOWNLOAD!

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Take a look at this delicious Cheesy Baked Spaghetti recipe. It's simple and great to prepare ahead of time. Find out how to make this now!

I can't even begin to tell you how delicious this cheesy baked spaghetti was for dinner tonight!

Here's just a hint: I don't much like spaghetti (at all, really. . . ), but I'm pretty sure I could eat the entire. pan. all. by. my. self. My hubby even proclaimed it “good-enough-to-take-to-a-pot-luck”. (Which apparently means really, really, good at our house.)

Now, if you're on a diet, do yourself a favor and don't even think about making this recipe. (I know – I hate that too, but no matter how solid your will power is you won't be able to stop at one serving ~ you just won't!)

🍴TIP: You can find this recipe in week four of our Freezer Menu Planning Made Easy Set!

If you're making supper for a new mom or someone who's been a bit under the weather, this is just the perfect make-and-take recipe. You can even make it ahead of time (minus theFrench's onions),pop it inthe freezer, and then bake when you're readyto eat. So, try it out and letme know what you think!

Print Recipe

Cheesy Baked Spaghetti

Ingredients

8 oz Spaghetti Uncooked
1 Pound Ground Beef
26.5 oz Spaghetti Sauce
1 Tbsp Butter
1/2 Cup Green Peppers Chopped, Optional
1/3 Cup Onions Chopped
8 oz Cream Cheese Softened
2 Tbsp Milk
Parmesan Cheese or Mozzarella Cheese Fresh
French's Fried Onions Small Can
Parmesan Cheese Grated

Instructions

Cook spaghetti according to directions on the package. Cook to al dente, drain, and set aside.
Brown Ground Beef, and drain grease. Pour spaghetti sauce into ground beef and heat.
While spaghetti & ground beef are cooking, combine onions, peppers, and butter in microwave safe bowl. Cover and heat on high for four minutes. NOTE: Times may vary - start with 1 or 2 minutes and adjust timing until onions are translucent
Add cream cheese and milk to microwaved onions & pepper mixture and stir (You may need to warm the cream cheese up a few seconds in the microwave to make it easier to mix together)
In a 10 x 6 oval Pyrex dish (or similar size), put a thin layer of the spaghetti sauce on the bottom of the dish
Add the spaghetti noodles then add the cream cheese mixture, and then spaghetti sauce
Sprinkle parmesan cheese (or mozzarella if you prefer) over the top of the casserole
Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes
Add Fried Onions and bake and additional five minutes
Garnish with Grated Parmesan

Make this a complete meal with a salad and some garlic bread – YUM!

Find more easy to make recipes for your family!

Comments

Suzanne Williams-McAuliffe says
December 31, 2022 at 9:35 am
How long do you bake it if it’s frozen? Covered or uncovered?
Reply
- Alice -PPP Team says
  December 31, 2022 at 9:10 pm
  If frozen, I would cover it and bake for 35 min. Then remove cover and bake an additional 5-10? Hope this helps!
  Reply
Karen says
May 13, 2020 at 7:49 pm
Oh. My. I made this for the first time this evening. I followed the recipe exactly, and it was SO yummy! Will absolutely make this one again and again! Thank you!
Reply
See Also
Tomato Basil Chicken Recipe | LaaLoosh Creamy Vegan Vegetable Chowder | Slimming Eats Recipe How To Make Flour Tortillas: Vegan, Quick & Easy Recipe | Mexican Made Meatless™31 Vegan Dinner Recipes for Everyday in Veganuary
- Laurie says
  May 14, 2020 at 5:37 am
  It is one of our all time favorites Karen ~ I’m so glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
  Reply
Teresa says
April 17, 2020 at 11:53 am
Thanks for this easy idea! I had everything. There are 7 of us (adults and 2 teen boys), so I stretched this by adding a bag of frozen spinach to the meat sauce. I doubled this into 2- 9×13 pans. Lunch is in the oven!
Reply
Marie says
January 13, 2016 at 10:35 am
Made this last night and it was delicious! My 6 yr old had 2nd’s 🙂 Thank you!
Reply
- Laurie says
  January 13, 2016 at 11:51 am
  Sooooo glad you all enjoyed it Marie ~ thank you for taking the time to let me know!
  Reply
Rachael Randall says
August 5, 2015 at 9:44 pm
I made this tonight…I microwaved the onions with the butter for 4 minutes like it said…the onions were burnt to a crisp. I did it again and only microwaved it for a minute. Am I the only one that had this problem? Other than that….it was AMAZING!!!! Thank you!!!
Reply
- Laurie says
  August 6, 2015 at 5:11 am
  Oh no Rachael! It may depend on your microwave – the one I used when making this was an older one and it may have taken longer to cook? I’ll update the post though to let people to know to watch that just to be on the safe side. So glad you liked the recipe (it’s definitely a favorite here!)
  Reply
Theresa Seibel Emans says
January 4, 2015 at 1:51 pm
that could be done easily with this minus the Fried onions on top, and may need to increase cook time 15-20 minutes then put the onions on for the last 5 min. as directed.
Reply
Michelle Hankton says
January 4, 2015 at 1:16 pm
will be making this maybe today
Reply
Debbie Williams says
January 4, 2015 at 1:04 pm
would there be any reason i couldn't assemble early, stick in the fridge, then in the oven when get home from work?
Reply
Susan Linville says
October 21, 2014 at 12:19 am
Helllllllo……my hubby who hates anything with cream cheese LOVED this and my son said it was deeeeeeelisious!! A lot of times internet recipes are not very good. This is the first recipe of yours I have ever tried and it is very, very good. It would make a great crowd pleaser, too. I used 100% whole wheat speghetti. That is the only change I made.
Reply
- Laurie says
  October 20, 2014 at 10:46 pm
  I’m soooooo glad Susan (I would have been so disappointed for you if it hadn’t turned out well!) Thank you so much for letting me know ~ I would never normally think to put cream cheese in a recipe like this but we just loved it too. Thank you so much for letting me know you all enjoyed it!
  Reply
Kara Jones says
October 20, 2014 at 2:18 pm
Thanks for the recipe! I can't wait to try it!! Plus, I just signed up for the Meal Ministry at church…this will be perfect. 🙂
Reply
- Laurie says
  October 20, 2014 at 10:30 am
  It’s soooooo good Kara – I think you’ll love it! 🙂
  Reply
  See Also
  The BEST Ham and Swiss Sliders Recipe
Karin says
March 28, 2013 at 10:26 pm
So delicious I felt compelled to comment. And for those wondering if you can do it vegetarian- you definitely can! I used 16 oz of white mushrooms (on sale at Publix for 2.69), one whole green pepper, and one whole Vidalia onion. I added about 2 heaping teaspoons of minced garlic and a couple of dashes of crushed red pepper. I thing a good red sauce is always essential so used 1 jar of Bertolli Tomato & Basil (which I have a ton of in my stockpile). Laurie, I am so with you- I could eat the whole pan! Thank you for all you do!
Reply
- Laurie says
  March 29, 2013 at 6:13 am
  Thanks so much for sharing Karin ~ what a great way to make it vegetarian! So glad you all enjoyed it … definitely a favorite here too. 🙂
  Reply
Emily B. says
March 24, 2013 at 6:37 pm
We have made this quite a few times now and super yum!! The main cost for us is the beef which we buy when it’s $2.99/lb. Thanks for the recipe!
I wish I could “pin it” 😉
Reply
Kristin says
July 30, 2012 at 2:07 pm
does anyone know whether this would work with gluten-free pasta?
Reply
- Laurie says
  July 30, 2012 at 2:19 pm
  Hi Kristin! I can’t think of any reason that it wouldn’t work with gluten free pasta, however I don’t regularly use GF past so I could be wrong. As long as the pasta can be used in any baked spaghetti recipe, it should be fine!
  Reply
- Patricia Francis says
  March 5, 2017 at 8:26 am
  This recipe is delicious! I have made it with gluten free pasta and it turned
  out good. I would recommend boiling your pasta for only 4 or 5 minutes before adding it.
  Reply
Ali says
June 19, 2012 at 3:49 am
Tried this recipe when you first posted it with some tweaks to make it a bit healthier and it was still delicious: used whole wheat spaghetti, ground turkey, low fat cream cheese, and no extra garnish of cheese.
Reply
- Laurie says
  June 19, 2012 at 6:54 am
  Those are great ways to lighten it up Ali! I think I did use low fat cream cheese, I need to try using the whole wheat spaghetti and ground turkey (great ideas ~ thanks so much for sharing!) 🙂
  Reply
angie says
January 30, 2012 at 8:38 pm
this looks so yummy come see what I shared on my blog was def another family pleaser http://shopannies.blogspot.com/2012/01/savory-chicken-and-veggie-soup.html
Reply
Molly says
January 30, 2012 at 7:03 pm
I love trying the recipes you post! This one was a hit at our house. DELICIOUS! I totally understand what you meant about eating the whole pan by yourself. I’m considering hiding the leftovers so my husband can’t take them to work tomorrow. (Not really. But the thought did cross my mind for a split second.) Thank you for sharing!
Reply
- Laurie says
  January 30, 2012 at 8:09 pm
  Yayyyy – so glad you liked it Molly! 🙂 (And so glad you enjoy the recipes – I’m working on coming up with new ones for this week right now!)
  Reply
Susan says
January 28, 2012 at 9:39 pm
I made this without peppers and onions and it was great. Next time I will substitute ricotta cheese for the cream cheese. It may be more expensive, but I think it will definitely taste more Italian. My very Italian husband thought the cream cheese was a travesty.
Reply
- Laurie says
  January 28, 2012 at 10:13 pm
  Oh no Susan – I’m so sorry! I definitely think it’s not a real “Italian” dish …. so I can see what you’re saying. We only used the onions, and they made a huge difference too. I do think it would also taste great with ricotta cheese! 🙂
  Reply
Andraliz says
January 26, 2012 at 6:10 pm
This is very simple to make and looks yummy so far, i just popped it in the oven, will update as soon as dinner is over 🙂
Reply
- Laurie says
  January 26, 2012 at 7:22 pm
  Let me know how it goes Andraliz – can’t wait to hear!
  Reply
Jennifer B. says
January 26, 2012 at 9:09 am
Another question about the cream cheese . . .
In step 6, is the cream cheese “mixture” the cream cheese mixed with the milk? I didn’t see that you used the milk otherwise and figured that was the only other thing that could be added to the cream cheese.
Separate question: Do you think this would be any good without the meat?
Thanks in advance for your responses. You are so good about answering!!
Reply
- Laurie says
  January 26, 2012 at 9:33 am
  Ughhh – I’m so sorry! I updated it last night but apparently the updates didn’t save in the post. Okay, I just fixed it, but basically after you cook the onions & peppers with the butter, you then add the cream cheese and milk and stir (if your cream cheese isn’t soft enough, you’ll need to let it cook a few seconds in the microwave so that it stirs.)
  You could definitely make it meatless, but it might be a little on the runny side? Probably not too bad though, especially if you used a thick, chunky sauce. Hope that helps!
  Reply
- darbe says
  January 26, 2012 at 3:06 pm
  i would think it would be fine without meat, maybe just add more veggies! i was thinking mushrooms
  Reply
Lauren says
January 25, 2012 at 8:39 pm
Wait…where does the cream cheese go? In with the peppers, onions, and butter? This sounds AMAZING Laurie…can’t wait to try it!
Reply
- Laurie says
  January 25, 2012 at 8:45 pm
  Yes Lauren- thanks for catching that! I just updated it 🙂 Let me know if you try it!
  Reply
  - Lisa says
    January 25, 2012 at 8:59 pm
    I will definitely be trying it soon! Sounds great! I love your receipes! Thanks to you my hubby says I’m not quiet the cook. Its all your site. lol LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!
    Reply
    - Laurie says
      January 25, 2012 at 9:06 pm
      I’m so glad Lisa! This one was definitely a hit – probably one of my all-time favorites. Love that the recipes help you out! 🙂
      Reply

Trackbacks

[…] Cheesy Baked SpaghettiÂ Ingredients 8 ounces uncooked spaghetti 1 pound ground beef Ground Round â€“ I will use […]
Reply
[…] Cheesy Baked Spaghetti Ingredients 8 ounces uncooked spaghetti 1 pound ground beef Ground Round – I will use ground […]
Reply
[…] Here are some of my favorite hamburger dishes: • French Onion Burgers from Campbell’s Soup • Cheesy Baked Spaghetti from Passionate Penny Pincher (great use of the American Beauty pasta and Ragu spaghetti sauce […]
Reply

Cheesy Baked Spaghetti Recipe (SO Easy to Make and Delicious!) (2024)

FAQs

What is the secret to good spaghetti? ›

IF YOU COOK spaghetti in a big pot of water, drain it, then toss it with sauce, you are pouring a lot of flavor down the drain, says Vendemmia chef Brian Clevenger. “The trick to good pasta is cooking it in the sauce,” he says. It was while working at Delfina in San Francisco that he really started to understand why.

Read The Full Story ›

How do you keep baked spaghetti from drying out? ›

If you're worried about your leftovers being too dry, you can add an extra dollop of pasta sauce or even a few drops of water to the baking dish. This will revamp your leftovers and keep the taste and texture the same as the first time you enjoyed the meal.

Is baked spaghetti the same as lasagna? ›

The main differences are that you use thin spaghetti noodles instead of wide lasagna pasta, and you toss in a couple of beaten eggs with the cooked noodles.

Read On ›

Why put Worcestershire sauce in spaghetti sauce? ›

Whether you can pronounce it or not, Worcestershire sauce is an easy, effective way to load up spaghetti sauce with umami flavor. It is salty, tangy, and has lots of potent vinegar, all of which cut through tomatoes to create a soothing, savory flavor.

What cheese is good for pasta? ›

Choosing the Right Cheese for Your Pasta

Parmesan's nutty, savory notes create an easy-going blend with creamy pasta dishes, while Pecorino's robust tanginess is perfect for robust tomato-based sauces.

Do you rinse noodles for baked spaghetti? ›

To summarize, rinsing your cooked pasta would be detrimental to your final dish because that excess starch is instrumental in providing some structure and flavor to the pasta sauce that you're creating. In fact, that's the logic behind using pasta water instead of plain tap water in a pasta sauce.

Do Italians eat baked spaghetti? ›

Eventually baked pasta, or pasta al forno, was adopted all over Italy. Today, baked pasta is a staple dish of Southern Italy, where it's usually made on Sundays, holidays and special occasions. They like to call it piatto unico—one serving as a complete meal with protein, carbs, veggies and dairy.

Keep Reading ›

What is easier baked ziti or lasagna? ›

well, lasagna noodles! The noodles are stacked in a baking dish with cheese and sauce between each layer. Baked ziti, however, uses ziti noodles that are tossed with sauce and cheese. There's still some layering involved but only a little so it comes together quicker and easier than lasagna.

Discover More ›

Why is baked ziti so good? ›

Baked Ziti is so much more than just a Bolognese pasta bake…. It's a big, juicy baked pasta that's loaded with flavour from a healthy dose of seasonings and topped with a generous amount of cheese. Cosy food that's easy enough for midweek yet worthy of company. Bonus: perfect freezer friendly meal!

Tell Me More ›

What kind of cheese do you put on spaghetti? ›

#1.

Parmesan is a hard cheese, and it's perfect for grating and melting. Tomato-based pasta dishes such as spaghetti bolognese become much more authentic when topped with parmesan, while this type of cheese is called for in a traditional alfredo recipe, as well as carbonara, lasagna, and a four-cheese sauce recipe.

Learn More Now ›

What does milk do to spaghetti sauce? ›

It sounds unconventional to use milk in a meaty red sauce, but upon further investigation, it makes total sense why Italians swear by it. According to our Food Director Amira, not only does milk add a rich flavour to the bolognese, but it also “helps cut through the acidity of the tomatoes and red wine”.

Learn More ›

Should I put cheese in my spaghetti sauce? ›

Cheese and dairy give sauces creaminess while butter and oil give them richness. You also don't need to use a lot — these are just for finishing and rounding out the flavors in a sauce. Whole Milk or Heavy Cream: Add a splash and let the sauce simmer for a few minutes to thicken.

See Details ›

What brings out spaghetti flavor? ›

Red pepper flakes, dehydrated or fresh garlic, dried oregano, parsley, or basil, or an Italian seasoning blend are all good options. Dried herbs and spices should be added at the beginning of the cook time so that they have time to bloom.

What gives spaghetti sauce depth of flavor? ›

Toss in Olives or Capers

Briny ingredients like olives or capers are another way to brighten up your pasta sauce while also introducing texture and depth of flavor. Roughly chop a handful and stir them into your sauce while it's heating up on the stove.

Know More ›

What is the most important ingredient in spaghetti? ›

tomatoes. Tomatoes is the most popular ingredient in spaghetti sauce dishes. ...
salt. Another popular ingredient in spaghetti sauce is salt. ...
olive oil. Olive oil is another common ingredient in spaghetti sauce dishes. ...
garlic. Another popular ingredient in spaghetti sauce is garlic. ...
pepper. ...
spaghetti.

Cheesy Baked Spaghetti Recipe (SO Easy to Make and Delicious!) (2024)

FREE FREEZER RECIPES DOWNLOAD!

I can't even begin to tell you how delicious this cheesy baked spaghetti was for dinner tonight!

Cheesy Baked Spaghetti

Ingredients

Instructions

Comments

Trackbacks

Leave a Reply

FAQs

What is the secret to good spaghetti? ›

What does milk do to spaghetti sauce? ›

FREE FREEZER
RECIPES DOWNLOAD!