This five-ingredient Easy Baked Spaghetti is so fast and easy! Its ooey-gooey Cheddar cheese topping pleases everyone, especially the kids!
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 30 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 hourhour
Servings 6servings
Ingredients
1 ½poundslean ground beef
24ouncesspaghetti sauce(recommended: Ragu traditional spaghetti sauce)
1teaspoonsalt
½teaspoonground black pepper
16ouncespasta(see notes)
2cupsgrated cheddar cheese
¼cupgrated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Start by putting a large pot of salted water on to boil and preheating the oven to 350.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.
Add the ground beef and cook, stirring until it's nicely browned with no visible pink color remaining. Drain off any excess fat and return the ground beef to the pan.
Add the spaghetti sauce, salt, and pepper, and stir that together with the ground beef.
Bring the mixture to a bubble, cover it, and reduce the heat to a simmer.
By this time, the water should be boiling so you can drop in your pasta and let it cook according to the package directions. When the pasta is done, drain it and start assembling the casserole.
Put about 1/3 of the meat sauce on the bottom of your casserole dish.
Add about half the cooked pasta.
Top with half the cheddar cheese.
Add another third of the sauce and the remaining pasta.
End with the rest of the sauce and top with the remaining one cup of cheddar and the Parmesan cheese on top.
Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Remove the dish from the oven and allow it to cool slightly before serving.
Notes
To make ahead - prep and assemble the entire dish a day ahead and refrigerate it, covered, until ready to bake. May also be frozen for up to 2 months before baking. In either case, let it come up to room temperature before baking.
Leftovers may be stored in the baking dish, tightly wrapped, in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days. Just reheat in the microwave or oven. To freeze, remove the cooled casserole to an appropriate freezer container and store for up to 2 months.