Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs
Cheesy Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs is a fun new way to serve this family favorite comfort food! Add this dinner recipe to your menu for spaghetti with a twist. A simple casserole made with layers of pasta, marinara sauce, cheese and meatballs.
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Table of Contents
Easy Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs
It was time for traditional spaghetti and meatballs to get an update. This family spaghetti dinner is baked into a casserole. Meatballs, cheese, noodles and sauce all baked to perfection.
For this dinner recipe I started by Opening up a Bottle of the Good Stuff! Classico Riserva Pasta Sauce is made with no artificial ingredients or added sugar. Classico Riserva’s vine-ripened tomatoes are picked at the peak of sweetness and are perfectly balanced with herbs and spices, extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of sea salt, then slowly simmered to perfection. So opening a bottle of Classico Riserva Pasta Sauce is like opening a bottle of fine wine.
How To Make Baked Spaghetti
I chose the Roasted Garlic Classico Riserva Pasta Sauce, of course. This recipe calls for 1 (24 oz) bottle of pasta sauce. That creates a great pasta casserole with noodles that are lightly coated with sauce. If, like me, you prefer a saucier dish go ahead and use 36 ounces of sauce. Or heat up sauce to serve on the side. That way everyone can use as little or as much sauce as they prefer.
Once the meatballs are browned and the pasta is boiled it is just a matter of layering. Sauce. Noodles. Meatballs. Cheese. More Noodles. More Sauce. And More Cheese.
Then bakity-bakity-bake.
Once the meatballs are cooked through and the cheese gets super melty, you are good to go! Dig In.
This makes a fantastic family dinner. It would also be perfect for inviting friends over to enjoy Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs, wine and good conversation. Dinner parties don’t always need to be super fancy. Sometimes good ol’ comfort food with a unique twist will do the trick.
Here are a few more easy pasta recipes for you: Lemon Garlic Pasta, Spinach Tortellini Pasta Salad or Shrimp Pasta with Creamy Sauce.
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Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 1/2 Lb Lean Ground Beef
- 1/4 Lb Italian Pork Sausage
- 1/2 Cup Panko Bread Crumbs
- 1/4 teaspoon Onion Powder
- 1/2 teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt
- 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
- 1 teaspoon Dried Italian Seasoning
- 1 Large Egg
- 1/4 Cup Whole Milk
Baked Spaghetti
- 16 ounces Spaghetti Noodles - break in half and cook according to package instructions
- 24-36 ounces Classico Riserva Pasta Sauce*
- 3 Cups Shredded Mozzarella - divided
- 1 Cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
Meatballs
- In large bowl, combine all ingredients. (pour milk over the bread crumbs) Mix by hand until just combined, do not over mix. Form into 10-12 golf ball sized meatballs.
- Working in two batches, fry in large pan over medium heat. Continually rotate meatballs until all sides are dark brown. Transfer to tray.
Baked Spaghetti
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Cook and drain pasta.
- Spread half pasta sauce into 9x13 baking dish. Top with half the spaghetti noodles.
- Nestle meatballs into pasta then top with 1 cup mozzarella and 1 cup parmesan.
- Distribute the remaining spaghetti noodles then evenly spread the remaining sauce.
- Top it all with 2 cups mozzarella and a sprinkle of parmesan.
- Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 5 more minutes. (broil 1 minute for browned top - optional)
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Welcome!
Nicole Harris is the recipe creator behind WonkyWonderful, sharing fast, budget-friendly meals for busy families. Since 2012 she’s been developing 30-minute dinners, kid-approved favorites, and holiday dishes with flair - all with real ingredients and no fuss. She grew up stretching simple pantry staples into something delicious, and that shows up in every recipe: easy, affordable, and full of flavor. Read more...
When ever you double process pasta, in the first process only cook al dente – just about done but not quite.
I just made this recipe and it’s very good! I ended up using 4 cups of shredded mozzarella and I added a can of small whole mushrooms to half of it. Be sure to cook pasta al dente. Also, I think 36 oz of sauce is barely enough and it almost doesn’t all fit in a 9×13 pan! I always use Classico sauce…..whatever flavor Costco has. Also I used frozen Italian meatballs from Costco too. So much easier and still tasted great! I did have to cook an extra 10 minutes to heat thru. I don’t think the foil is necessary. I will make again! Thanks!
I’ve made this once before and it is delicious! Does it freeze well?