Easy baked spaghetti is a 5-ingredient Amish classic! It’s simple, comforting, and ideal for a quick weeknight dinner the whole family will devour.
Spaghetti Bake Casserole is Easy, Wholesome Comfort Food
On a summer trip to Martha’s Vineyard many years ago, I found an old Amish church cookbook tucked away in a dusty little used bookstore — just the kind of hidden gem my parents and I love to explore. Flipping through those pages felt like stepping back in time. The recipes are simple, wholesome, and full of heart. This easy baked spaghetti is no exception! It’s the kind of comforting, no-fuss, budget-friendly meal that reminds me of cozy weeknights around the family dinner table.
Great make ahead for kids, but I love it too!
– Shirley
Easy Baked Spaghetti
I’ve seriously never met a child who doesn’t love a spaghetti dinner, so naturally the easy baked spaghetti recipe instantly jumped out at me when I was flipping through the pages of the used cookbook. Yes…even in the heat and humidity of July, my mind was drawn to this cool-weather comfort food that I knew my boys would enjoy!
Inspired by Amish-style casseroles, the dish combines tender pasta, seasoned ground beef, rich marinara sauce, and melted cheese. Give it a stir, then it’s all baked in one cozy casserole dish. With basic ingredients and minimal prep, it’s a satisfying weeknight meal that’s always a crowd-pleaser.
How to Make Baked Spaghetti Easy
The original Amish version calls for more ingredients and steps. Here, I simplified it to just 5 pantry staples (plus olive oil, salt, and pepper). It’s perfect for our busiest nights! With no last-minute prep, you can make it ahead, pop it in the fridge, or freeze it for later. Easy, comforting, and totally kid-approved!
- Saute onion and brown ground beef in a skillet. Drain off the grease.
- Stir marinara sauce into the beef mixture, and then taste and season with salt and pepper. You might also like to add other herbs and spices, such as garlic powder, Italian seasoning, basil, oregano, or even red pepper flakes.
- While the beef is cooking in the skillet, cook the spaghetti in a large pot of well salted boiling water for 1 minute less than al dente. The noodles will continue cooking in the oven, so you want them to still be a little bit firm at this point.
- Add the cooked spaghetti to the beef and marinara mixture, then transfer to a baking dish.
- Sprinkle cheese on top. You can use shredded mozzarella, a shredded Italian cheese blend, or we like a combo of mozzarella and cheddar.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the casserole is hot and bubbly. Garnish with fresh herbs just before serving.
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Watch How to Make It
Easy Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 small yellow onion, finely diced (about 1 cup)
- 1 lb. lean ground beef
- 3 cups marinara sauce
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 8 ounces uncooked spaghetti noodles
- ½ cup grated cheese (I like a combination of shredded mozzarella cheese and sharp cheddar cheese)
- Optional garnish: fresh herbs such as basil and/or parsley; grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a large baking dish with cooking spray and set aside. A deep 11 x 7-inch dish works well, but you can also use a 9 x 13-inch dish.
- Heat about 2 teaspoons of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the onion just until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook until the meat is no longer pink. Drain off the excess grease. Stir in the marinara sauce. Taste and season with salt and pepper. This is also a great time to add some extra herbs and spices if you like (such as a teaspoon or two of Italian seasoning or a little bit of garlic powder).
- Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large pot of well-salted boiling water for 1 minute less than the package directions for al dente. Drain. Combine the cooked spaghetti and the meat sauce.
- Pour the spaghetti mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top.
- Bake in the preheated oven, uncovered, until the cheese melts and the inside is hot and bubbly, about 25 to 30 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Serving Suggestions
This baked spaghetti casserole pairs beautifully with simple sides like a green salad tossed with Dijon vinaigrette, my favorite Southern Caesar salad, garlic bread, pull apart garlic bread, steamed broccoli, sautéed zucchini, roasted yellow squash, or corn on the cob in the summer months.
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Make Ahead: Assemble the casserole in advance, cover tightly, and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before baking. Let it sit on the counter and come to room temperature for 30-60 minutes before baking. You may need to add at least an extra 5-10 minutes to the bake time if the dish is still cold when it goes in the oven.
- How to Store Leftovers: Cover the pan or keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- How to Reheat: Warm individual portions in the microwave for 1-2 minutes, or reheat a full dish in a 325°F oven until heated through.
- How to Freeze Before Baking: Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and foil. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before baking as directed.
Recipe Variations
- Add Veggies: Stir in sautéed mushrooms, bell peppers, or spinach.
- Cheesy Upgrade: Layer in ricotta cheese or cottage cheese for a lasagna-style twist (or try this million dollar baked spaghetti recipe).
- Spicy Version: Use hot Italian sausage or add red pepper flakes to the sauce.
- Extra Herbs: Mix in dried Italian seasoning, garlic powder, or fresh basil for a flavor boost.
- Different Protein: Use mini meatballs, ground turkey, sweet Italian sausage, or cut-up pepperoni instead of ground beef for a fun twist.
Made this tonight. Delicious. Might add green pepper with the onion next time.
– Susan
More Pasta Bake Recipes to Try
Dump and Bake Meatball Casserole
55 minutes mins
Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
4-Ingredient Ravioli Casserole
50 minutes mins
Originally published in September, 2017, this post was updated in August, 2025.
I bet that Amish cookbook is so fun to go through! This spaghetti looks amazing, Blair! It’s only 6:30am and I kinda want to dig into this for breakfast! 🙂 Love that it’s just five ingredients, too!
Nothing wrong with some pasta for breakfast! 🙂 Thanks, Gayle!
I can eat pasta morning, noon,& night I just love it.Any recipe with noodles has to be awesome.. This recipe is just like I always made mine. Thank you
Pasta is the best! 🙂 I hope that you enjoy this, Betty!
You said no boiling water was necessary for this recipe in your blog — but then the recipe states to cook spaghetti according to package directions which, of course, means boiling the water. I thought perhaps it was an option for make-ahead, but didn’t see that either. Just a little disappointed. I was tickled with the idea of not boiling water!
Great make ahead for kids but I love it too!
Thanks, Shirley!
This is a great recipe to bring in the fall season. Love that you simplified the steps and made it easier to prepare. Thanks for sharing this.
Thank you, Karl! You’re right — it’s so simple and cozy for the start of fall! Thanks for stopping by!
If this dish serves 4 then the nutritional information should be 1/4 not 1/6 ,??
Sorry about that, Kary! The serving suggestion should have said, “4-6 servings.” It gets cut off sometimes in the recipe card. Thanks for letting me know — I fixed it now. 🙂
Made this tonight. Delicious. Might add green pepper with the onion next time.
Thanks, Susan! Yes, the green pepper would be a great addition!
Baked spaghetti? So much yes. This is a staple that the whole family will love!
Thanks, Karly! So much YES is right! 🙂
This looks good as well as easy. I can make up a batch to have one for dinner and one to freeze in 8″ size, there are only two of us. Oh by the way my 6 year old grand daughter does not touch any spagetti, barely eats pizza. She will eat mac and cheese and raman noodles so there is still hope.
Hi, Lynn! Yep, this would be a great freezer meal! And it sounds like your grand daughter doesn’t love the tomato-based sauce on spaghetti and pizza? At least she’s okay with other pasta, right? I’m sure she’ll come around eventually! 🙂
Thanks for this great recipe. I’m cooking the family meal tonight and this is it.
That’s great, James! I hope that your family loves it!
I have leftover cooked aldonti spaghetti noodles. Will it work in this recipe?
Hi, Suzie! Yes, the recipe requires you to cook the spaghetti before adding it to your casserole. If you already have cooked spaghetti leftover from a previous meal, you can use that cooked spaghetti and just cut out an extra step! 🙂 Enjoy!
Looks great and easy! I will tweak it to become a vegan recipe with vegan meatballs and vegan cheese. Thanks very much for the inspiration!
That sounds like a great idea, Alison! Enjoy!
Oh this looks amazing! I love baked pasta dishes because they always seem so homely and comforting!
Exactly, Kristy! So cozy! 🙂
A friend recommended this recipe to me. My mom made it for dinner tonight. It was so easy. She replaced a small onion with onion powder and it tasted great! I’ll be recommending it to my FB friends and family members.
Yay! I’m so glad that it was a hit, Sandy! Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
I’m totally drooling at this right now it seriously looks to die for!
Thanks, Emily! It’s definitely a keeper!
This is prepped (put it together last night) and ready to cook tonight! I can’t wait to see how delicious it is!!
Awesome! Enjoy, Sara! 🙂
Could I use angel hair pasta instead of spaghetti?
Yes! That should work well. 🙂
I don’t eat anything with a heart. Would I have to change the baking time if I make it without the beef?
Hi, Rhona! No, I don’t think so. The cooking time shouldn’t change too much. Maybe reduce it by about 5 minutes? You can just check it, and when the dish seems really nicely heated through, go ahead and pull it out. 🙂
Adding sauteed mushrooms and peppers really add to the dish, Yum,
YUM! Thanks, Patty!
This looks so easy! I’m going to make it tomorrow night but I’m going to try to tweak it just a bit to add a bit more nutrition: I’ll probably precook the sauce with grated carrots, mushrooms, peppers and onion. We like our sauce chunky. I’m watching carbs (even though I LOVE pasta!) so am going to do spaghetti noodles mixed for half and spaghetti squash mixed on the other half. Hopefully that will turn out OK. I don’t mind if the squash is…well..squashed! Thanks for posting such a simple recipe!
Sounds great, Jan! I hope you enjoy the meal!
Hi Blair,
I found your recipe while surfing for quick easy meals. Your recipe is all that plus more. I did tweaked the recipe to make it more heart health friendly, such as using whole wheat pasta, ground turkey, lots of compatible veggies and about 1/2 the amount of cheese prescribed. A win, win. Thanks
Sounds perfect, Madelia. Thank you!
Hi Blair. I made your Amish spaghetti casserole today. My husband popped it in to the oven for dinner. It is so tasty. I added some chopped mushrooms, as we enjoy these. This recipe is a keeper. I fell and am recovering from 9 broken ribs and other damage (3 weeks in) I stood in kitchen for first time to prepare this today. Your recipe spurred me on! Thanks Blair for your wonderful site!
Hi Gail,
We’re sorry to hear of your injuries! We hope you heal quickly and are so glad you were able to get in the kitchen and enjoyed our recipe.
Blair. I want to add the Amish Spaghetti casserole makes your home smell wonderful while it is baking!
Thank you, Gail!