This creamy, cheesy Ground Beef Baked Spaghetti Casserole recipe is a wonderfully easy dinner idea for any night of the week. It’s a great comfort food addition to your next family gathering or potluck.
Recipe | History of Spaghetti | Ingredients
History of Spaghetti
Did you know that pasta wasn’t invented in Italy? It was actually invented in China. The long strands of pasta that we now know as spaghetti may have been invented in Sicily, though. Read more about that at Best of Sicily.
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Ingredients
There aren’t many ingredients to make this comforting casserole. You will use the entire box of spaghetti because it’s the star of the show, of course.
There are two different kinds of cheese and a couple of eggs to help bind everything together.
If your casserole isn’t very deep, you can either add the leftover to a small casserole or simply store it in the refrigerator for later.
It will need to be heated about two minutes in the microwave to make sure the egg is cooked through. The egg is probably already cooked from the heat of the pasta but it’s best to be safe.
Family Get Togethers
When we were trying to figure out what to make for dinner, my mom happened to remember a baked spaghetti she had at a family get together in Illinois many years ago. She had never had it here in the South part of the country so it may be a regional thing to the North part of the United States.
We decided to go ahead and try making our own Creamy Baked Spaghetti with the ground beef we had thawed in the refrigerator.
Do you do that too? Thaw a package of ground beef and then try to come up with ideas for it later? That seems to be my M.O.
Assembly
As it turns out, this really tastes like a cream-based lasagna except you didn’t have to go through all the layering.
Once everything was cooked and ready, I just threw it in a bowl to mix it together. You pour everything in the pan to bake in the oven a bit.
Try drizzling some pizza or spaghetti sauce on top and adding bits of sliced green onion. It’s delicious! Going back for seconds now!
Shredding the Cheese
Whenever possible, try to buy your cheese in block form. I like to shred it myself in the food processor.
It only takes a couple of minutes to shred a pound of Mozzarella cheese this way.
You wouldn’t believe the difference between the freshly shredded cheese and the prepared shredded cheese. It’s so creamy!
The prepared shredded cheese has something mixed in to keep it from sticking together. If you need to use it because of limited supply, it will still work, of course.
I do recommend that you try shredding it yourself, at least once.
Adjusting the Recipe Size
My recipe calls for one-pound of ground beef because we freeze our bulk ground beef into one-pound packages.
When I make this again, I may try to divide the recipe by using half the ground beef in this and save the other half for, oh, I don’t know. How about pizza?! It will be just enough for my Lasagna Pizza.
The Creamy Broccoli Salad Recipe is also a great choice for a crowd or family get together.
Try our Chili Cheese Tater Tots Casserole for another crowd-pleaser.
Recipe
Cheesy Baked Spaghetti and Ground Beef Recipe
Equipment
- 11 x 17" casserole pan
Ingredients
- 16 ounce Spaghetti, prepared according to package directions
- 1 pound Ground Beef, 80/20
- 1 medium Onion, chopped
- 4 Garlic Cloves, minced
- 1 14.5 ounce Petite Diced Tomatoes
- 1/2 cup Chicken Broth, or stock
- 8 ounces Cream Cheese, cut into 10 even pieces
- 8 ounces Ricotta Cheese
- 1 cup Heavy Cream
- 1 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
- 1 1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese, shredded
- 2 large Eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon Oregano, ground
- 1 teaspoon Black Pepper, ground
- Cooking Spray
Instructions
- Prepare Spaghetti according to package directions to lowest suggested time. Do not overcook. Drain and set aside.
- In skillet, on medium high heat, crumble ground beef and cook until no longer pink. Drain, retaining 1 tablespoon fat.
- Add onion and garlic into the same pan as the retained fat of the ground beef and cook until onion is tender. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- In medium saucepan, on medium heat, combine tomatoes, cream cheese, ricotta and chicken stock. Cook until a little bubbly and cheese is completely melted. Remove from heat and stir in cream. Set aside.
- In large mixing bowl, combine cooked spaghetti, meat mixture, ONE CUP of each of cheddar and mozzarella cheeses (the remaining 1/2 cup of each will be for the top), eggs, oregano and pepper. Add tomato mixture and stir to coat.
- Spray 11 x 17" pan with cooking spray.
- Pour in spaghetti mixture and smooth with the back of a spoon or spatula. (If there is too much for the pan, you can put the extra in the refrigerator for later. It will need a couple of minutes in the microwave to make sure the egg is cooked.)
- Sprinkle on remaining cheddar and mozzarella.
- Cover with foil and bake for 10 minutes. Remove foil and bake for another 15 minutes.
- For best results, allow to cool 15 minutes before cutting. Cut into 15 equal pieces. Serve garnished with green onion and drizzled pizza or spaghetti sauce.
Notes
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. All amounts are estimates and 24Bite® takes no responsibility for actual figures since calculations vary by packaging and supplier. Please calculate the amounts yourself based on package labeling if you have specific dietary requirements. 24Bite®, Kim Guzman or Christian Guzman shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on this website or actions you take as a result.
© 2019-2020 Kim Guzman. All rights reserved. Subscribe to 24Bite email newsletters.
Originally published December 19, 2019; updated October 2, 2020 with additional information and photos.
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