This cheesy baked spaghetti recipe is one that the whole family will love and is super easy to prepare. Spaghetti pasta is combined with tomato sauce, chopped veggies, ground meat, and delicious spices then topped with lots of cheese and baked up until golden and bubbly!
You may be wondering what makes this a Southern recipe since spaghetti is a dish of Italian origin. Well here in the South, we, particularly Black people, typically keep the veggies we add to our spaghetti to a minimum and we combine everything together instead of serving the pasta with meat sauce poured on top.
You will see this preparation of spaghetti served as a stovetop recipe or as a baked dish like this particular Baked Spaghetti recipe. Black folks in the South also consider spaghetti a side dish instead of a main course. One of the most popular ways spaghetti is served where I'm from is as a side dish to fried fish at a backyard fish fry.
Catfish, bream, and crappie are typically the fish you see offered at a Southern backyard fish fry, and spaghetti with meat sauce is sure to be the main side dish!
Ingredients You Need to Make This Recipe
- 1 pound dried spaghetti pasta. Use your favorite brand of dried pasta.
- Extra virgin olive oil. You can also use vegetable or canola oil. We will cook our veggies in 2 tablespoons of oil.
- Yellow onion. One medium-sized onion is perfect for this dish. I recommend a Vidalia onion, but you may also use another type of yellow or white onion. Chop onion for this recipe.
- Green bell pepper. One medium green pepper, rinsed, seeded, and chopped, is what we will use in this spaghetti.
- Fresh garlic. Mince three fresh garlic cloves for this recipe.
- Ground beef, turkey, chicken, or plant-based meat. We will use one pound of ground meat for this recipe.
- Salt, cracked black pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, and crushed red pepper. These are the spices we will use to flavor our spaghetti.
- Pasta sauce. We will use one 24 ounce jar of store-bought pasta sauce for this recipe. I used Ragu Old World Style Traditional Sauce, but you may use any pasta sauce you prefer.
- Fire-roasted diced tomatoes. We use one 14.5 ounce can of tomatoes for this recipe. I used Hunt's Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes.
- Shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese. ⅔ cup each of shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese is added to the spaghetti before transferring it to the oven.
How to Make This Baked Spaghetti
- Cook pasta in a large saucepan of salted water until al dente according to package instructions, drain, and set aside. Add about a tablespoon of oil to your pasta cooking water to keep the pasta from sticking together.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed stockpot.
- Add chopped onion and bell pepper and cook until onion is translucent and veggies begin to soften, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about another minute.
- Add ground meat, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, and cook until almost cooked through, about 3-5 minutes. Season meat mixture with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, and crushed red pepper. Stir to combine everything.
- Add pasta sauce and diced tomatoes and give everything another good stir. Season with more salt and pepper to taste, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add cooked spaghetti and stir until all ingredients are well combined.
- Carefully transfer spaghetti to your prepared baking dish and top with shredded cheeses. Bake spaghetti for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve spaghetti immediately with cornbread or garlic bread if desired. Enjoy!
Variations of This Recipe
Southern spaghetti typically keeps vegetables and other add-ins to a minimum. However, if you'd like to get a bit more creative, feel free to explore with any of the following additions:
- Sliced mushrooms
- Zucchini
- Yellow squash
- Sliced carrots
- Rosated red peppers
- Baby spinach
- Cream cheese
- Ricotta cheese
- Parmesan cheese
Make-Ahead and Storing Instructions
You can prepare and store this spaghetti a day or two ahead of time and bake it on the day you'd like to serve. Just store the cooked spaghetti in an airtight container in the refrigerator and transfer it to a baking dish, top with cheese, and bake as directed in the recipe when ready to serve.
This baked spaghetti can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for five days. You can also freeze this spaghetti by storing it in a zip-top freezer bag and wrapping it in plastic wrap. Frozen spaghetti will keep for up to three months.
Recommended Tools for This Recipe
Check Out These Other Easy Southern Dinner Recipes Before You Go!
Blackened Catfish and Smoked Gouda Grits
Easy Southern Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried spaghetti pasta
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or vegetable or canola oil
- 1 medium yellow onion chopped
- 1 medium green bell pepper rinsed, seeded, and chopped
- 3 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 1 pound ground beef or ground turkey, chicken, or plant-based meat
- Salt and cracked black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper optional
- ⅔ cup of shredded cheddar cheese
- ⅔ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Cook pasta in a large saucepan until al dente according to package instructions, drain, and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed stockpot.
- Add chopped onion and bell pepper and cook until onion is translucent and veggies begin to soften, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about another minute.
- Add ground meat, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, and cook until almost cooked through, about 3-5 minutes. Season meat mixture with salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, and crushed red pepper. Stir to combine everything.
- Add pasta sauce and diced tomatoes and give everything another good stir. Season with more salt and pepper to taste, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes. Add cooked spaghetti and stir until all ingredients are well combined.
- Carefully transfer spaghetti to your prepared baking dish and top with shredded cheeses. Bake spaghetti for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve spaghetti immediately with cornbread or garlic bread if desired. Enjoy!
Notes
- This baked spaghetti can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for five days
- You can also freeze this spaghetti by storing it in a zip-top freezer bag and wrapping it in plastic wrap. Frozen spaghetti will keep for up to three months
- See blog post for other important tips and suggestions
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