A delicious baked spaghetti perfect for tonight, to put in the freezer or to give to someone else. A delicious hardy sauce to go with spaghetti and cheese. Of course, you can use your favourite marinara sauce too.
Prep Time25 minutesmins
Cook Time45 minutesmins
Total Time1 hourhr10 minutesmins
Course: main dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: baked pasta, meat sauce, spaghetti
Servings: 8
Calories: 584kcal
Author: Getty Stewart
Ingredients
For Meat Sauce
2Tbspcanola oil
2lblean ground beef or 1lb beef 1lb Italian sausage
Heat pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat for 1 minute.
Add canola oil to pan and heat for 30 seconds. Not needed if using sausage or high fat ground meat.
Add ground beef. Break into pieces and cook until no pink remains. Drain off any excess liquid if needed.
Add diced onions, celery, and carrots. Cook until softened and onions are translucent, about 3-5 minutes.
Stir in minced garlic and mushrooms (if using). Cook for another 2-3 minutes.
Add Italian seasoning, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and sugar. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Mix in tomato paste, beef stock, red wine or red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, diced tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Stir well and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and let simmer for 30-60 minutes, stirring occasionally. The longer it simmers, the more flavourful it will become.
Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Each batch may vary, so adjust salt, sugar, wine, seasoning, etc., to your liking.
If sauce is too thick, add some reserved pasta water to thin it out. The starch from the pasta water will add a gloss, and help thicken the sauce without making it watery.
For Spaghetti
Cook the spaghetti noodles according to package instructions, use 16 cups of water and 1 tablespoon of salt for 1 lb (454g) spaghetti.
Before draining, save 1-2 cups of pasta water, set aside. Drain remainder of pasta.
Assemble & Bake
To assemble, mix cooked spaghetti with meat sauce. Place mixture in 9x13-inch (23x33 cm) baking dish or two to three smaller baking dishes as desired.
Top with shredded mozzarella and half of Parmesan cheese.
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Cover with foil and bake 30 minutes, remove cover and bake an additional 10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and turning golden.
Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes, garnish with parsley or basil and serve with extra Parmesan cheese on top.
Freezing Instructions
Assemble dish and cool completely. Do not bake.
Wrap tightly to create air tight seal - Use plastic wrap and lid, two layers of aluminum foil or a combination of plastic wrap and foil.
Label including cooking instructions.
Store in freezer for up to 3 months. It will be safe for much longer, but quality will start to degrade.
Notes
Can store in fridge for up to 2 days before baking.To bake frozen baked spaghetti: Thaw overnight, remove all wrapping and bake as instructed. Add more time as needed depending on how well thawed it was.