Even during some of my kids’ pickiest phases, this easy and delicious spaghetti casserole recipe has been one of their favorites that they all manage to agree on. When you throw in the fact that Eric is crazy about it too, it makes for a slam dunk of a dinner. Of course, the fact that it throws together pretty easily doesn’t hurt either!
When I was a kid, we sometimes had spaghetti casserole with leftover spaghetti noodles. At our house, after we have a dinner of spaghetti and then Eric puts together a lunch for work for the next day, we don’t usually have leftover noodles. That’s okay though – newly cooked noodles work just as well.
Spaghetti casserole goes together just about as quickly as just making regular spaghetti. The only difference is, of course, you’re going to have to add 45 minutes to bake it. My family loves it so much though that when I recently asked them close to dinner time if they wanted spaghetti soon or spaghetti casserole in about an hour, every single one of them said they’d rather wait.
Of course, if you want to save some time and still have a similar taste, you might like to try the Busy Night Tortellini Bake.
Delicious and Easy Spaghetti Casserole Recipe
Ingredients for Spaghetti Casserole Recipe
- 1 pound box of spaghetti noodles (we like thin spaghetti), prepared according to package directions
- 1 pound of ground beef, browned
- 8 oz bag of shredded mozzarella cheese (you might want more if you want it to be extremely cheesy)
- Large jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (we use a 45 oz jar of fresh mushroom sauce)
- Cooked add-ins of your choice, such as mushrooms, onions, or peppers (optional) – we use mushroom sauce, but do not add in anything else
Directions for Spaghetti Casserole Recipe
(There is a printable version of the recipe below)
1. Prepare spaghetti noodles and brown the ground beef, as noted above.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Set aside a couple of handfuls of shredded mozzarella cheese to cover top of the casserole. (You don’t need it quite yet, obviously.)
4. Combine prepared spaghetti noodles, browned ground beef, spaghetti sauce, vegetables (if added), and the remaining mozzarella cheese (that you didn’t set aside already).
I sometimes combine everything in the 13″ x 9″ baking pan that I’ll bake it in, and sometimes I use a large mixing bowl. The large mixing bowl is easier, but sometimes I just don’t want to dirty another dish.
5. Put your combined spaghetti mixture into a 13″ x 9″ baking pan.
6. Cover the top of the mixture with the shredded mozzarella cheese that you set aside.
7. Cover pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Enjoy!
Spaghetti casserole goes well with salad and breadsticks or French bread.
- 1 pound box of spaghetti noodles, prepared according to package directions
- 1 pound of ground beef, browned
- 8 oz bag of shredded mozzarella cheese (you might want more if you want it to be extremely cheesy)
- Large jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce (we use a 45 oz jar of fresh mushroom sauce)
- Cooked add-ins of your choice, such as mushrooms, onions, or peppers (optional) - we use mushroom sauce, but do not add in anything else
- Prepare spaghetti noodles and brown the ground beef, as noted above.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Set aside a couple of handfuls of shredded mozzarella cheese to cover top of the casserole. (You don't need it quite yet, obviously.)
- Combine prepared spaghetti noodles, browned ground beef, spaghetti sauce, vegetables (if added), and the remaining mozzarella cheese (that you didn't set aside already).
- I sometimes combine everything in the 13" x 9" pan that I'll bake it in, and sometimes I use a large mixing bowl. The large mixing bowl is easier, but sometimes I just don't want to dirty another dish.
- Put your combined spaghetti mixture into a 13" x 9" cake pan.
- Cover the top of the mixture with the shredded mozzarella cheese that you set aside.
- Cover pan with aluminum foil. Bake for 45 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
- Cool and enjoy!
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