Cheesy Spaghetti Bake
Tasty and cheesy, I cut some up into smaller dishes and its great to take to work for lunch. Or great to take to a party, easy to serve and filling.
Tasty and cheesy, I cut some up into smaller dishes and its great to take to work for lunch. Or great to take to a party, easy to serve and filling.
- Carbohydrate 36.3368689178428 g
- Cholesterol 165.677094423739 mg
- Fat 21.6193549090622 g
- Fiber 0.753574972311656 g
- Protein 30.2688598801986 g
- Saturated Fat 10.8655686701692 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (198g)
- Sodium 515.732475571307 mg
- Sugar 35.5832939455311 g
- Trans Fat 2.28392918934059 g
- Calories 455 calories
Step-by-step
- Cook spaghetti noodles and brown the meat
- Mix hamburger meat and sauce and simmer on low, stir occasionally.
- Add 1/2 stick butter to drained noodles.
- Add Garlic Powder to taste
- Mix sour cream, cream cheese, cheddar and 2 beaten eggs together, may be lumpy but hot noodles will help melt and smooth the mix
- Add hot spaghetti noodles and butter to cheesy mix, stirring till lumps are out and all noodles coated.
- Spoon a layer of meat and sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan.
- Place spaghetti mix on top of that.
- Spread a layer of Parmesan cheese across the noodles
- Top with remaining meat sauce.
- Bake @ 350 for 20 minutes.
- Turn oven off
- Top with mozzarella slices covering top.
- Place in oven for 5 minutes
- Remove and let sit for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Allowing the casserole to rest for ten minutes after baking lets the melted mozzarella and internal starches firm up, ensuring clean slices rather than a collapsed serving. Combining cream cheese, sour cream, and cheddar directly with the hot, drained noodles creates an emulsified base that coats every strand evenly before it ever hits the baking dish. Ground beef browned at high heat develops deep Maillard compounds that balance the acidity of a standard tomato jar sauce. Layering the ingredients in a standard 9x13-inch pan distributes moisture efficiently, preventing the bottom noodles from drying out during the twenty-minute bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Residual oven heat melts the final mozzarella cheese topping during a brief five-minute post-bake dwell.
Scaling this dish for smaller households requires halving all dairy and meat components while maintaining the same ratio of two beaten eggs to bind the noodle layer. Left portions maintain quality for up to three days when sealed properly in airtight containers.
