Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs
Traditional spaghetti and meatballs is turned into the most amazing baked cheesy casserole ever! A family favorite for sure!
A friend told me the other day that he wasn’t a fan of spaghetti and meatballs because it’s such a basic meal. And it is – it can get a little boring and dull.
But when you bake your meatballs on a bed of spaghetti and homemade marinara sauce topped with a crapload of cheese, there’s nothing basic about it. AT ALL.
I mean, it may just be the best spaghetti and meatballs you will ever have. Seriously. Even the spaghetti-and-meatball-hater inhaled about 4 servings in one sitting without uttering a single word. Boom.
Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs
Traditional spaghetti and meatballs is turned into the most amazing baked cheesy casserole ever! A family favorite for sure!
Ingredients
- 12 ounces spaghetti
- 3 cups marinara sauce, homemade or store-bought
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
For the meatballs
- 8 ounces ground beef
- 8 ounces ground pork
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ¼ cup Panko
- ¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon onion powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- Pinch of nutmeg
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9×9 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, combine beef, pork, egg, Panko, Parmesan, garlic powder, onion powder, allspice and nutmeg; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Using a wooden spoon or clean hands, stir until well combined. Roll the mixture into 1 1/4-to-1 1/2-inch meatballs, forming about 18-20 meatballs.
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add meatballs, in batches, and cook until all sides are browned, about 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well and stir in marinara sauce.
- Add pasta to the prepared baking dish and top with meatballs; sprinkle with mozzarella. Place into oven and bake until bubbly and heated through, about 15-20 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Spaghetti and meatballs are never boring to me, but this makes them look even better than ever!!
We just made this last night! It turned out great and we have plenty of leftovers too.
That reminds me more of a meatball pizza than spaghetti and meatballs except that it has a spaghetti and marinara crust. I have made baked spaghetti, but I never considered topping it with meatballs first. I also love that your meatballs are made from a combination of meats. Delicious idea.
@Chungah,
Wow what a way to present BAKED SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS in a yummy way
Looking forward to get this ready in Breakfast.
Kids will Love it 🙂
Regards
Anup
How many cups of sauce does your homemade sauce recipe yield? Is it enough for the 3 cups recommended in this dish?
Thanks!
It actually yields even more, about 6 cups!
Great to know. Thanks!! Making this tonight. 🙂
I put this together on Sunday for Monday’s dinner and it worked great! Had to allow a bit more time for heating up, but it was so delicious. I love homemade meatballs (and made homemade sauce) and these didn’t disappoint. Having it again for dinner tonight and probably lunch tomorrow. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe – I love your ideas!
Get this in my belly! I have spaghetti on the menu for tomorrow night and it’s getting morphed into this…I’m glad I thought to get a crapload of mozzarella! 😉 Thanks, Chungah…Your recipes never disappoint!!!
This looks like a dish I definitely want to try! Just wondered – in your recipe instructions it says to use a 9 x 9 baking dish, and in the photos it looks like you used an ovenproof cast iron skillet to bake it in. What should I use? It just seems that the 9 x 9″ dish will not hold 12 ozs. spaghetti & all those meatballs! Thank you!
You can use either a cast-iron skillet or baking dish. It’s up to you!
Made this last night and it was wonderful. A real crowd pleaser! Who family liked it. Was able to double recipe and make for 12. Thanks for sharing!
Such a great idea for regular ol’ spaghetti! I love baked pastas and this looks like a winner!
OOooOo I have been craving spaghetti and meatballs, and this sounds wonderful!! My mother is famous for her spaghetti. She adds sauteed green peppers and onions and garlic to the marinara sauce and it makes such a difference! And don’t get me started on garlic bread. ❤
Again, another fabulous recipe!! My hubby was in heaven. I made it just as you did, except no time to make the sauce. I used good quality Mia’s Kitchen marinara sauce. It cost $8.00, and it’s just enough in the jar. Thank you for the recipe!!!
Oh I love that you gave a recipie for the meatballs!! I’ve been looking for some quick meals for me to make during the week!
I love almost all your recipes.
But:
Looks like lasagna (with skinny instead of flat noodles) to me.
It’s spaghetti and meatballs baked! 🙂
I make a dynamite baked spaghetti, but have never thought about using meatballs instead of ground beef! I showed my husband your pic of finished dish, and he said he loved meatballs and could I try this one out! My question is, I have frozen meatballs I can use. How would the cooking time and oven temperature change, or should I just thaw the meatballs first? I will probably top the cheese with a few green olives.
Yes, you can definitely use frozen meatballs and cut down on prep time, but I recommend thawing first. Hope that helps!
That looks like heaven in a pot right there, can’t wait to try it!!!
I will surely told this to my mumma for baked it for me. Looks yummy!
The link to your homemade marinara sauce does not seem to be working. I also went to your recipe tab to search for it, with no luck. Can you please check that so we can try to make the sauce homemade? Thanks!
The link has been updated! 🙂
Thank you!!
Oh how yummy!! We always have homemade meatballs in the freezer. This would be a nice convenient way of making dinner. And although I think we make the best sauces in the world every now and then we buy a certain brand of the store-bought. Thank you for the inspiration. I’m excited to try it.
Even though I’ve made many a pasta bake in my time, it’s never occurred to me to bake spaghetti – I know, I can be a little slow to catch on!! Actually I have been kind of avoiding spaghetti as, due to my health, I try to get dinner made in the mornings. This recipe means we can have spaghetti and meatballs now, without any stress. Thank you for solving a dilemma and inspiring me. Sammie.