Baked Spaghetti
100 times better than plain spaghetti! My family fell in love with this delicious dish.
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100 times better than plain spaghetti! My family fell in love with this delicious dish.
- Carbohydrate 69.9982844642067 g
- Cholesterol 85.3100519333333 mg
- Fat 26.1244215142867 g
- Fiber 6.26903600870668 g
- Protein 31.00814255498 g
- Saturated Fat 11.2533417620073 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (356g)
- Sodium 1029.67202013867 mg
- Sugar 63.7292484555 g
- Trans Fat 4.37530661405934 g
- Calories 643 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large skillet, cook ground beef over medium-high heat until no longer pink. Drain grease. Stir in spaghetti sauce. Remove from heat. *NOTE*( I used one jar of sauce and thought it needed more. I suggest using 1 1/2 to 2 jars if you like saucy spaghetti)
- Meanwhile, cook spaghetti noodles in a large pot of water according to package directions. Drain water and place hot noodles in a large bowl. Add cream cheese and italian seasoning to noodles. Stir until cream cheese has melted and noodles are coated.
- Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray. Spread a small amount of meat sauce mixture in the bottom of the dish. Pour noodles over the top and spread out evenly. Pour the meat sauce mixture over the noodles and sprinkle evenly with both cheeses. Bake uncovered for 30 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Sprinkle with dried basil. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Standard casserole proportions can easily be halved or doubled provided the baking vessel size changes accordingly. When scaling this dish down to serve two people, transfer the mixture into an 8-inch square pan rather than crowding a deep dish. This ensures the 350 degree heat penetrates evenly without drying out the edges. Overcrowding traps excess steam, which turns the noodles mushy before the cheese browns properly.
- Brown the ground beef over medium-high heat until completely rendered, draining the excess grease thoroughly to prevent the sauce from separating in the oven.
- Toss the hot noodles with the cream cheese immediately after draining so residual heat melts the dairy evenly without requiring extra manipulation.
- Increase the canned sauce to one and a half jars if preferring a moister interior, as starches absorb liquid rapidly during the thirty-minute bake.
- Allow the casserole to rest for five minutes after removing it from the oven to let the internal starches set up for clean portioning.
- Store leftovers in an airtight glass container for up to three days in the refrigerator.
Precision in pan sizing prevents uneven cooking zones. Adjusting the dairy component allows fine-tuning of the richness per portion.
