Baked Spaghetti with Italian sausage
Baked Spaghetti with Italian sausage
Baked spaghetti recipe is a favorite in our kitchen and it is so easy to make. If you like spaghetti, you will love baked spaghetti. Imagine your favorite plate of spaghetti topped with beautiful layer of melted cheese. Nothing but smiles at the dinner table. Try a tray today!
Ingredients
- 1 lb uncooked spaghetti noodles
- 1 jar of favorite spaghetti sauce (16 oz)
- 1 cup plain yogurt
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese (shredded)
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 1 bell pepper (orange or yellow – chopped)
- 1 medium onion (minced)
- 2 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Cook spaghetti al dente. Drain. Save 1/2 cup of pasta water.
- In a fry pan, heat olive oil. Cook minced onions and garlic until translucent. (2-4 minutes). Add loose sausage. Cook on medium high until meat is thoroughly cooked. Break sausage into small chunks as it cooks. Drain excess fat and set aside.
- In a glass baking dish (9″ x 13″), mix spaghetti water, yogurt, Italian seasoning, vinegar, and 1/2 of the spaghetti sauce. Add spaghetti noodles and mix until noodles are coated with creamy sauce.
- Add cooked sausage and chopped bell pepper. Mix together.
- Spread second half of spaghetti sauce on top of the noodles.
- Top with shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake at 350 F for 30 minutes or until the outer edges are nicely brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.
- Cut into squares and serve on plates. (Serves 6 – 8)
Notes
Baked Spaghetti Thoughts
Our baked spaghetti recipe is a favorite in our household. While this recipe is similar to lasagna, it is far less complicated to make. We love to hide veggies in this recipe, including vegan meatball substitutes.
What is “al dente”?
This is another one of those terms that you hear all the time but don’t know what it actually means. I counted myself in that group until a kind Italian woman explained it to me. Al dente roughly means “chewy”. In terms of spaghetti noodles, it means you slightly under-cook the noodles. This recipe benefits from al dente because the noodles will continue to soften during the baking process. ?
Confession – I am a baked spaghetti person, so trust me when I say that Bobguy has nailed it. The amount of cheese burn is perfect. And to pay attention to al dente shows a certain love of this recipe. Check out the Gordon Ramsay video on al dente.
Thanks for the kind words. 🙂
I have to admit that I was not very enthusiastic about the idea of baked spaghetti. That is to say, that I like a nice plate of spaghetti with a beautiful red sauce and maybe a few meatballs. But Bobguy says “Hey you can bake spaghetti”. So I tried it and this is what I learned. First, baked spaghetti is delicious. Second, getting that beautiful cheese melt you show in the picture is not easy. Any suggestions Bobguy?
Thanks for the new recipe in my book.
Glad you learned something new Amy. As far as the cheese melt goes, it is more an art thing than a science thing. That is to say, that I know MY oven and I know what to look for. The best suggestion I can give you is that you should turn off the oven before it is completely done and carefully watch it until you get the amount of burn/melt that you want.
Pretty! This has been a really wonderful post. Thank you for providing this information.
By far one of my favorite recipes to make. I would eat it 5 days a week if I didn’t know all those other recipes.