This baked spaghetti casserole is a family favorite and really easy to make. With savory Italian sausage, fire roasted tomatoes and cheese this spaghetti recipe is sure to please!
For this casserole we start with convenience ingredients like jarred pasta sauce, but then we add a special touch with onions, lots of garlic, flavorful Italian sausage and fire-roasted tomatoes. The sauce will take less than an hour to cook, yet tastes homemade. The rest of this dish is simple, boil some pasta, add cheese and bake.
Baked spaghetti casserole is great when you need to feed a crowd. Add a side salad and garlic bread to stretch a serving. If you’re in a hurry, but still want a home-cooked pasta dinner, try this sausage rigatoni and Italian sausage spaghetti.
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Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Small Onion, finely diced
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves, minced
- ¼ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 pound Mild Italian Sausage, casings removed and torn into small pieces or use bulk sausage
- 28 ounce Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- 24 ounce Jar Marinara or other Meatless Pasta Sauce (use your favorite brand and variety)
- 12 ounces Spaghetti, cooked to package directions for al dente and drained
- Salt for the Pasta Water, we used kosher salt
- 2½ cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Chopped Parsley for garnish, if desired
You will also need
- Large, deep casserole dish at least 11x7 inch
- Large baking sheet
Prep Work
The prep work for this pasta casserole is quick and easy! There’s very little chopping involved and the rest is opening some cans and measuring out ingredients. Still, it’s good to have everything gathered and ready to go before you start. I like keeping prepped ingredients in glass nesting bowls for convenient, stress-free cooking.
- If you’re starting with links instead of bulk then remove the sausage from its casings. Use a sharp knife tip, and run it along the sausage lengthwise. Remove the casing and tear the sausage into small pieces. This will make it much easier to break up the sausage once it hits the hot skillet.
- Dice the onions.
- Mince the garlic.
- Gather and measure out the remaining ingredients.
Instructions
Italian sausage is a versatile ingredient that adds a ton of flavor to dishes without having to use a bunch of ingredients. This sauce is a great example of that, and so are these 14 Italian sausage recipes.
- Cook the onions gently in olive in a large, deep skillet until they start to soften.
- Next, add the garlic and oregano to the skillet and cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Now, add the sausage to the pan and raise the heat to medium-high. Stir the sausage while breaking up any large pieces using a wooden spoon or a spatula.
- Cook approximately 5 minutes or until browned.
- Add the diced tomatoes and the pasta sauce to the sausage and stir well. Bring the sauce to a simmer, lower heat to medium-low and cover and cook 25 minutes. Stir occasionally.
Cook's note: If the sausage renders a lot of excess grease drain some, if desired. An easy way to do this is to take the skillet off the heat. Mound the sausage on one side of the skillet and gently tip it so that the excess oil pools opposite the sausage. Use a ladle or a large spoon to scoop out some of the excess oil. Then level the pan and continue with the recipe.
Build the casserole
While the Italian sausage sauce cooks preheat the oven and cook the spaghetti.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti according to package directions for al dente. Remember to salt the water, a tablespoon or two of salt should do it. When the spaghetti is done drain it well.
- Use a large, deep and oven-proof casserole dish or baking pan at least 11x7 inches.
- Add a layer of meat sauce to the bottom of the casserole dish, enough to cover.
- Add a layer of spaghetti.
- Sprinkle about ½ cup of shredded cheese.
- Repeat layering: sauce, spaghetti, cheese and sauce again, until all of the ingredients are used up. End with the tomato sauce on top.
- Reserve at least ½ cup of cheese to melt on top at the end.
Place the casserole dish on a baking sheet, if it bubbles over it won’t make a mess of your oven. Bake the spaghetti for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the remaining cheese. Place it back in the oven and bake for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese melts.
Let the casserole rest for a few minutes before serving, perfect time to make some homemade garlic bread. Garnish the baked spaghetti with chopped parsley, if desired. Enjoy!
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📖 Recipe
Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 Small Onion finely diced
- 3-4 Garlic Cloves minced
- ¼ teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 pound Mild Italian Sausage casings removed and torn into small pieces or use bulk sausage
- 28 ounce Diced Fire Roasted Tomatoes
- 24 ounce Jar Marinara or other Meatless Pasta Sauce use your favorite brand and variety
- 12 ounces Spaghetti cooked to package directions for al dente and drained
- Salt for the Pasta Water we used kosher salt
- 2½ cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- Chopped Parsley for garnish if desired
Instructions
Make the sausage pasta sauce
- Heat the olive oil in a large, deep skillet or pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 3 minutes or so, until they start to soften and become translucent. Stir frequently.
- Add the garlic and oregano, cook 1 minute, stirring frequently.
- Add the sausage to the skillet and raise the heat to medium-high. Stir the sausage while breaking up any large pieces using a wooden spoon or a spatula. Cook for approximately 5 minutes or until browned.
- Add the diced tomatoes and the pasta sauce and stir well. Bring the sauce to a simmer, lower heat to medium-low and cover.
- Cook the sauce for 25 minutes keeping it at a simmer. If it starts boiling too vigorously, lower the heat a little bit. Stir occasionally.
Make the spaghetti casserole
- Preheat the oven to 350°F
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Cook the spaghetti according to package directions for al dente. Remember to salt the water. When the spaghetti is done drain it well.
- Use a large, deep and oven-proof casserole dish or baking pan at least 11x7 inches. Add a layer of meat sauce to the bottom of the casserole dish, enough to cover.
- Add a layer of spaghetti, sprinkle about ½ cup of shredded cheese. Repeat layering: sauce, spaghetti, cheese, until all of the ingredients are used up. End with the tomato sauce on top.
- Reserve at least ½ cup of cheese to melt on top at the end.
- Bake the spaghetti for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with the remaining cheese. Place it back in the oven and bake for 3-5 minutes or until the cheese melts.
- Let the casserole rest for a few minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped parsley, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information above is computer generated and is only an estimate. There is no guarantee that it is accurate. This data is provided as a courtesy for informational purposes only.
Meretta
Can this be made ahead of time and then put in fridge till supper time to cook?
Elizabeth
Hi Meretta,
Yes, it can. Take it out of the refrigerator a little while before baking because some baking dishes cannot handle extreme temperature changes. Also, the cooking time will be a little longer since the ingredients will not be warm already. Bake until hot in the center. Hope that helps!