Oh So Cheesy Spaghetti Casserole
I have a family of picky eaters and I get lots of moans and groans when suggesting options for dinner when this is on the list everyone is immediately on board A family favorite dish for sure
I have a family of picky eaters and I get lots of moans and groans when suggesting options for dinner when this is on the list everyone is immediately on board A family favorite dish for sure
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 onion chopped
- 250 g spaghetti
- 1 lb ground beef lean or extra lean
- 1 10-oz can condensed cream of chicken soup
- 1 10-oz can condensed tomato soup
- 1 tsp seasoned salt
- 1/8 tsp pepper to taste
- 2 1/4 cups cheddar cheese grated; divided
- 1/2 cup italian style bread crumbs
- 2 tbsp butter or margarine melted
- Carbohydrate 56.5486110416667 g
- Cholesterol 108.897083333333 mg
- Fat 34.0702745833333 g
- Fiber 3.17726048715909 g
- Protein 34.6825822916667 g
- Saturated Fat 16.9619074166667 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (318g)
- Sodium 1705.65033333333 mg
- Sugar 53.3713505545076 g
- Trans Fat 3.50588283333333 g
- Calories 675 calories
Step-by-step
- Cook spaghetti in boiling, salted water until tender but firm. Drain.
- Scramble fry ground beef and onion in large non-stick frying pan until no pink remains. Add soups, water, seasoned salt and pepper. Simmer uncovered for 10 min. Add 2 cups of cheese and stir until melted. Mix with pasta.
- Pour into a greased 2 1/2 quart casserole dish.
- Melt butter or margarine and combine with bread crumbs. Add remaining 1/4 cup cheese and sprinkle over casserole.
- Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 25 - 30 min.
Golden breadcrumbs crown a bubbling perimeter of sharp cheddar and savory ground beef, creating a rigid crust that shatters softly under a serving spoon. Achieving this texture requires an oven set precisely to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, ensuring the interior starches thicken without scorching the dairy elements during the twenty-five to thirty-minute baking window. A standard twenty-five-minute bake works well in dark metal pans, whereas glass baking dishes generally require an extra five minutes due to lower thermal conductivity.
Assessing doneness relies entirely on visual and auditory cues instead of probing with a digital thermometer. Watch the edges of the casserole dish for rapid, sputtering bubbles of fat and tomato sauce, which indicate that the central moisture has reached a simmer. The surface topping should transform from pale crumbs to a uniform mahogany brown, signaling that the melted butter and residual cheese have toasted completely.
Preserved pantry items like condensed canned soups behave differently during the ten-minute simmering phase than fresh reductions made from scratch. Commercial soups contain heavy emulsifiers and starches designed to prevent separation under high heat, yielding a uniform sauce consistency that fresh dairy would curdle into if boiled similarly. Incorporating fresh onions requires a thorough scramble fry in the skillet until translucent, as raw aromatics will retain too much water and dilute the viscosity of the condensed soup base.
Leftovers store safely in the refrigerator for up to three days when sealed tightly in an airtight container. Reheating individual portions in a conventional oven at 325 degrees helps restore the crispness of the breadcrumb topping far better than a microwave, which typically softens the pasta and renders the cheese rubbery.
