Baked spaghetti takes familiar pasta-night ingredients and turns them into a sliceable, cheesy casserole. The spaghetti is coated in a rich ground beef sauce, layered with a creamy ricotta mixture, and baked under mozzarella until bubbling and browned.
For the best texture, slightly undercook the pasta before assembly. It will continue absorbing sauce in the oven, so starting with fully soft spaghetti can make the finished casserole mushy.
What You’ll Need Before You Start
- Large pot
- Large skillet
- 9×13-inch baking dish
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon
- Tongs or pasta fork
- Measuring cups and spoons
ShiMuv Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 jar (24 ounces) marinara sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 15 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup grated Parmesan, divided
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt, plus more for pasta water
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley or basil
How to Make It
- Preheat and prepare the pan. Heat the oven to 375°F and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil for the spaghetti.
- Build the meat sauce. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and onion and cook 6–8 minutes, breaking the meat into small crumbles, until the beef reaches 160°F and no pink remains. Drain excess fat if necessary.
- Season the sauce. Add garlic and Italian seasoning and cook 30 seconds. Stir in marinara, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 5 minutes so the flavors blend. Taste before adding extra salt because jarred sauces vary.
- Cook the spaghetti slightly firm. Boil spaghetti about 2 minutes less than the package’s fully cooked time. It should bend easily but still have a firm center. Drain well and toss with about two-thirds of the meat sauce.
- Mix the creamy layer. In a bowl, stir ricotta, egg, ¼ cup Parmesan, ½ cup mozzarella, salt, black pepper, and half the parsley until evenly combined.
- Layer the casserole. Spread half of the sauced spaghetti in the baking dish. Spoon and gently spread the ricotta mixture across the pasta, then add the remaining spaghetti. Spoon the reserved meat sauce over the top.
- Add cheese and bake. Cover with the remaining mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake uncovered 25–30 minutes until the edges bubble and the cheese is fully melted with golden spots.
- Rest before cutting. Let the baked spaghetti stand 10–15 minutes before serving. The rest gives the cheese layer time to set so servings hold together instead of sliding apart. Finish with remaining parsley.
Recipe tip: Resting is not optional if you want clean servings. Straight from the oven, the sauce and cheese are too fluid; 10–15 minutes gives the casserole structure.
Food safety: Cook ground beef to 160°F before assembling the casserole. Refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours and reheat thoroughly.
From Recipe to Content
Turn the Recipe Into a Simple Food Story
- Open with a cheesy serving lifting from the casserole.
- Show ground beef browning with onion.
- Capture spaghetti being tossed through meat sauce.
- Film the ricotta layer and mozzarella topping.
- End on bubbling browned cheese and a clean slice after resting.
TRY THIS IN SHIMUV
Create this recipe as a short food video
Open the editable prompt and finished example image in ShiMuv, then review or customize everything before generation.
Create a short food video showing how to make baked spaghetti. Open on the finished casserole with a browned cheesy top. Show ground beef and onion browning, marinara stirred into the skillet, spaghetti cooked just until slightly firm, ricotta Parmesan and egg mixed together, sauced spaghetti layered in the baking dish, creamy cheese spread through the middle, mozzarella covering the top, and a bubbling casserole coming from the oven. End with one cheesy serving lifted from the dish.Opens with this prompt and finished example image ready to review. Nothing generates or spends credits until you confirm.
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