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Easy Family-Style Baked Spaghetti Casserole
I love making this baked spaghetti casserole for my family or just for myself when I want the simplest of comforting dinners! It’s loaded with flavor from the tomato sauce and is so cheesy from those delicate cubes of mozzarella cheese. I’d consider this an easy vegetarian modification of my Cheesy Baked Spaghetti with Meat Sauce!
The sauce here is inspired by my Classic Marinara Sauce, with just a slight modification as you’ll see below! For other awesome recipes with my marinara sauce, you’ll want to check these out!
- Spaghetti & Meatballs with Classic Marinara
- Classic Chicken Parmesan with Spaghetti Marinara
- Cheesy Italian Meatballs in Marinara Sauce
If you’ve never made baked spaghetti before, I recommend you start here! This recipe only uses a few ingredients. Of course, later on, you can modify this base recipe and make it your own!
Be sure to watch the video to watch how this amazing family-style spaghetti casserole is made! Please subscribe to my YouTube channel if you’re not already! Also make sure to hit the bell icon so you receive the notifications when the video recipes go live! I love to share the recipes in video form so that you’re set up for success when you give this a try! Let’s get cooking!
Ingredients for Baked Spaghetti
Let’s see what we need for the tomato sauce and for the best spaghetti bake! Be sure to scroll down to the bottom of this post for the FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD to see all the ingredients and their quantities, and to save the recipe for later! The recipe card is great because you can scale the recipe based on the size of your casserole and how many portions you’d like to make! Everything will automatically be adjusted in the recipe card right before your eyes so you don’t have to do any calculations!
For the Tomato Sauce
- Salt
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Garlic
- Italian/San Marzano type tomatoes
- Red chilli flakes
- Calabrian pepper paste
For the Casserole
- Spaghetti
- Grape tomatoes
- Italian blend cheese
- Mini bocconcini
- Fresh basil
How straightforward is that!! You can have leftover cooked pasta to save you time, but even if you’re cooking the spaghetti for this dinner, making this recipe is almost effortless. If you’ve got hungry mouths (or just yours!) to feed, dinner will be on the table in no time with this stress-free dinner.
How to Make Baked Spaghetti
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Heat olive oil on medium heat and once hot, add garlic and Calabrian pepper paste. Mix well and saute until the garlic is translucent and fragrant.
Add the can of San Marzano tomatoes and break down any whole tomatoes to smaller chunks using the back of a spoon. Stir well and bring the sauce to a gentle simmer.
Season with salt and simmer the sauce until it has thickened slightly.
Cook your pasta as per package directions. Make sure to cook the pasta for 6-7 minutes. The pasta should not be fully cooked as it will continue to cook in the oven.
Transfer the spaghetti to the pan with the sauce and mix well.
Then transfer this to a casserole and spread evenly.
Top with the grape tomatoes, bocconcini mozzarella and shredded cheese.
Bake the casserole for 25-30 minutes.
Top with fresh basil, serve hot and enjoy!
TIPS for a Perfect Cheesy BAKED SPAGHETTI
- Add more chopped calabrian peppers for an additional level of spice and flavor.
- Try not to overdo the sauce with seasoning - great quality tomatoes is all you need to make this casserole great.
- If you cannot find fresh San Marzano tomatoes, look for a can that specifies the type of tomatoes being used.
- Season and taste the dish at every stage for the best tasting casserole.
Covered Or Uncovered?▼
Completely up to your preference. Let me explain the difference. Cooking it covered will melt the cheese into stringy goodness without any crispy bits. But I quite like lightly browned cheese, I find it adds a nice flavour, but my girlfriend does not!
So, we struck a balance and I cook it halfway with the lid on and the final few minutes without it. Something that is unique to baking it uncovered are little patches of crispy spaghetti. It is surprisingly delicious. Give it a try, its your kitchen, your dish. Let me know what you like down below.
Variations
If you don’t want the grape tomatoes then simply omit them! I just wanted to add some more body to our sauce, and I didn’t want to add extra veggies so we focus on the cheese and keep the sauce super quick and simple! Additionally, if you don’t have mini bocconcini, feel free to use any kind of bocconcini or even burrata. Otherwise, if you don’t have any of that, I would recommend that you use mozzarella and cut it in cubes in addition to your Italian cheese blend. You’ll get the nice patches of cheese that come from the bocconcini! Check out the pictures below to see how that’s done!
In fact, if you want to make this Easy Baked Spaghetti single serve, you totally could! Just find an individual portion casserole dish, and cut down the recipe for one, or evenly distribute your pasta among multiple individual casseroles! No sharing and someone perhaps stealing your portion!
WHAT to SERVE with Cheesy Baked Spaghetti
Here are some great sides to pair with your Cheesy Baked Spaghetti!
- Cheesy Mozzarella Sticks
- Buffalo Chicken Wings
- Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad
- Pizza Hut India Spicy Supreme Garlic Bread
Can I make Baked Spaghetti Ahead of Time?▼
You totally could! However, since I like to serve my food fresh for a crowd, what I would recommend to save time is that you prep your casserole with the pasta, sauce and cheeses on top. You can have the lid on and keep everything in the fridge, and then bake when you’re ready to.
You can store your leftover Cheesy Baked Spaghetti in the fridge by transferring to an airtight container or by covering the casserole with a lid or aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Because we have cheese and thin noodles, I wouldn’t recommend keeping the baked spaghetti in the fridge for more than two days. To reheat, you could either add the casserole back in the oven, or if you’re in a hurry, you can microwave for 2-3 minutes, mixing at one-minute intervals to ensure it is entirely warmed through.
If your casserole is freezer-friendly, then you could freeze your assembled casserole before cooking. If your casserole doesn’t have a lid, cover the casserole with plastic wrap. Place your casserole a large Ziploc bag to ensure that there won’t be any freezer burn. Find a flat spot in your freezer and freeze for 2-3 months. To cook the Baked Spaghetti from frozen, let it thaw out in the fridge over night and then cook until the pasta is warmed through and the cheese is molten.
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