Baked Spaghetti is everything you know and love about Bolognese in the form of an epic, juicy pasta bake with a bonus layer of molten cheese in the middle!
This is one of those rare foods that is a truly fabulous freezer meal and keeps for days in the fridge!
Baked Spaghetti
I call it a casserole, I call it a pie, I call it a pasta bake.
I actually don’t really know if there’s a proper name for this, but what I do know is this:
You are going to love it.
Because it’s everybody’s favourite Spaghetti Bolognese – PLUS CHEESE. Need I say more?? 🤷🏻♀️
So now, even if you’ve never made anything like this before, you know full well it’s going to be a home run right??
How to make it
On the face of it, you’re really just making a big batch of Bolognese Sauce then mixing it through pasta and baking it with a generous slug of cheese.
The Bolognese Sauce can be made in 30 minutes (minimum) or if you want to go all out, simmer it for a couple of hours and you’ll be rewarded with deeper flavours, a richer sauce and melt-in-your-mouth beef.
And to make the Spaghetti Pie ultra juicy, what I like to do is mix some of the sauce through the pasta and reserve some to spread on the layers.
Adding a layer of cheese slices in the middle also helps. You can use shredded if you prefer, but you get better cheese coverage using less cheese if you use slices. <– Pro cheese tip right there!
What you need
No surprises here – basically, you just need everything you use for Bolognese – plus cheese!
Carrot and celery is optional – ups the veg quota a bit but more importantly, adds to the flavour base of the sauce.
Sugar??
Only if needed. Many of the mainstream canned tomato brands here in Australia tend to be on the sour side rather than sweet and full of flavour as Italian ones are.
So if you’re dead set on Aussie-grown, add a touch of sugar to counteract the sourness. This can make all the difference especially if you’re doing a quick simmer rather than slow cooking!
BEST freezer meal!!
There are many recipes where I say “freezes fine”, but few where I say “freezes 100% perfectly!”
This is one of those freezer beauties. It is one of those dishes that comes out perfectly even after keeping it for months in the freezer.
And though it’s best cooked after thawing, it can even be cooked from frozen (though it does take over an hour, being a formidable block of ice that it is straight out of the freezer).
But the clincher is how smug you’ll feel, knowing you’ve got this in your freezer.
Open freezer door, plonk in oven.
Dinner.
Done.
– Nagi x
More Cosy Casseroles and Bakes
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Lasagna (and Vegetarian Lasagna is a must try!)
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Browse all Casseroles and Cosy Bakes
Watch how to make it
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Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
Bolognese Sauce:
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 1 carrot , finely diced (optional)
- 1 stick celery , finely diced (optional)
- 750g / 1.5lb ground beef (mince)
- 3/4 cup (185ml) dry red wine (or sub with water or beef broth/stock)
- 3 beef bouillon cubes , crumbled (Note 1)
- 1.2kg / 2.4 lb crushed tomato , canned
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 1 - 3 tsp white sugar , if needed (Note 2)
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 dried bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried thyme or oregano)
- Salt and pepper
Spaghetti Bake:
- 500g/ 1lb spaghetti
- 8 - 10 slices Swiss cheese (or other type), enough for a layer
- 2 cups (200g) mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
Sauce:
- Heat oil in a large, heavy based pot over medium high heat.
- Add garlic and onion, cook 2 minutes.
- Add celery and carrot, cook 3 minutes.
- Turn heat up to high, add beef and cook, breaking it up as you go.
- Once beef is brown, add wine. Simmer rapidly for 2 minutes.
- Add remaining Sauce ingredients, stir.
- Bring to simmer, lower heat, cover with lid. Simmer for 45 minutes (minimum) or 1.5 - 2 hours (best!).
- If liquid evaporates too much, add water - should be saucy (see video/pics). Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Assemble & Bake:
- Preheat oven to 180C/350F.
- Cook pasta per packet directions, minus 1 minute.
- Drain, then return into pot.
- Add just over half the Sauce, toss.
- Spread half the pasta in a casserole pan, spread with half remaining Sauce.
- Top with cheese slices, then remaining pasta, remaining Sauce, finish with mozzarella.
- Cover loosely with foil (so cheese doesn't stick), bake 25 minutes.
- Remove foil (reserve), bake further 10 minutes than remove.
- Cover loosely with foil, stand 10 - 15 minutes. Then cut slices with a knife and use a spatula to serve pieces like lasagna!
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
This is what happens at dinners: wiping away a disgraceful amount of drool ALL down his front – literally!🤤
Margaret Thilthorpe says
BAKED SPAGHETTI
Is this correct ? 1.2kgs/ 2.4lbs of tomatoes, seems wrong as they only show 1 tin. Another of these receipes showe
tin’s not even weighing that much !!!
BAKED SPAGHETTI !!!
Joanne cook says
Regarding the spagetti. Would you use a normal or a San remo tubular or bucatini to soak up the juices
Remi says
Hi, I am trying this recipe next week and was wondering what other cheeses work for the layer of cheese? I can’t find sliced Swiss cheese in my supermarket
Carolyn M Rivett says
I used Coon tasty cheese in the middle and pizza topping cheese on top! tasted delicious
Sandy says
SO, so good! I’m getting so, so fat making and devouring all of your recipes, Nagi! The only thing I would not do next time is use the type of bouillon I bought, very salty and had a strange flavor. Sauce was still amazing. I’ll have to do a little research on bouillons to find a better one, I normally don’t use them. Thanks, Nagi!
Nicky says
I was expecting just another ‘pasta bake’ but this is a the king of all pasta bakes. Simple, delicious, super simple, filling. Step aside spag bolognaise, you’re being replaced!
Ellie says
Another amazing recipe!! Thank you so much Nagi x
Derek says
Made this last night fresh Bolognese and left over Spaghetti. Froze what we didn’t eat for future meals. Another great recipe.
Charlotte says
hello, this looks so good! wondering if you’ve ever tried a layer of ricotta cheese instead of swiss? thanks for another great recipe!
Jo says
Trying to figure out how many cans of crushed tomatoes and what size???
Nagi says
Hi Jo – as listed in the ingredients 1.2kg / 2.4 lb crushed tomato 🙂 N x
Margaret Thilthorpe says
Is this correct ? 1.2kgs/ 2.4lbs of tomatoes, seems wrong as they only show 1 tin. Another of these. Seems a llot.! receipes showed tines not even weighing that much !!!
BAKED SPAGHETTI
CatCrewser says
When Nagi says this baked spaghetti is EPIC, she is for real! It IS truly epic; the best I’ve ever found. My hubby absolutely loved it. We sent a dish over to neighbors sick w/Covid & they said it was so comforting. The bolognese sauce & everything about this dish is mouth-watering! We froze some only to take it right back out the next day! No idea what we were thinking heeheehee You will not be disappointed if you follow this recipe, to the letter. It is phenomenal! 🙂
Arg says
Love this recipe! Cooked it several times including tonight (in the oven now and I am already salivating!). Big fan of you, you’ve become one of my main go to’s for any occasion!
Karen says
Have made a few times, my husband requests it regularly! Amazing flavor and awesome for leftovers, especially easy to take to work for lunch. I’m a recipetin fan and haven’t ever used up spices like I have since finding you! It’s doubtful we’ll ever eat out again even after the pandemic…eating better with your recipes and others and cheaper. Thank you for your recipes!!
Jacqualyn Enniss says
Ok so I made this for tea last night and it was amazing!!
Robyn says
Just made this and I must say it was pretty yummy! It’s fall in Canada and we were craving something hearty and comforting but easy. The sauce smelled divine while cooking away. I did wonder about the recipe listing weight of the canned tomatoes, as cans here are usually labelled in both mL and Fluid ounces. So I guessed and used a large can (about 800 mL) for the halved recipe we made for the two of us. It worked out nicely. I can also confirm that the low sodium beef stock worked out just fine instead of bouillon cubes. Next time I will make a full batch of sauce, cook up 4 or 5 servings of pasta for baking in the oven again, and freeze the rest of the sauce!
Maria Gillies says
What size dish did you use for the 10-12 servings, please?
Can’t wait to make it!
Thank you so much Nagi for sharing your recipes. I am not a very good cook, so I need all the help that I can get! Oh and Dozer is a beautiful dog!!
Helen Sparrow says
Hi, do you have a recipe for a dish we get get from a Malaysian restaurant we support during this time in Vic. It is stir fried green beans with minced meat. It is so yum.
Nagi says
Hi Helen – is this what you’re looking for: https://www.recipetineats.com/stir-fried-green-beans-with-pork/ N x
Helen Sparrow says
Love your recipes. Thanks for putting them out. Being a Victorian it is nice to have something really different at the moment. We love stir fries. Your a delish and easy.
Allison Nelson says
This was really easy and really tasty! The beef bouillon and Worcestershire were new additions for me but it sure worked. Thank you for the recipe, it’s a keeper.
Darren Peel says
Made it tonight and it was lovely. The first cheese topping I used a mandolin to cut cheddar cheese and it worked okay. The Mozzarella I used was ready shredded for pizzas and maybe better shredding a different Mozzarella. Very tasty and will be making again. Thank you, yet another great meal from Nagi..!
Heather says
Hi Nagi. Made this and substited GF spaghetti (being a glutard !). Amazing. Husband had it 3 days in a row, took to work for lunch the next day and told his boss how good it was. Boss came in a few days later with same, (after telling his wife) and not too thrilled but obviously not your recipe as it was nothing like yours…have now passed your recipe on. You are amazing !!
Natalie says
Hello, this looks delicious and I would love to try it. I just have one question, can I leave some of the canned tomatoes out?? It seems like an awful lot, more tomatoes than mince!! My husband isn’t a real fan of “tomatoey” mince.
Nagi says
Hi Natalie, I suppose you could – the amount does cook down and bolognese is a tomato based sauce though. You’ll need to adjust the liquids accordingly. N X