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Spaghetti is the easiest meal ever. In about 20 minutes, I can have dinner on the table, just by boiling up some noodles and heating the sauce. But sometimes, regular spaghetti gets a little boring.
This spaghetti casserole only takes a couple of extra steps but is more special than basic spaghetti. Casseroles are easy and delicious, and I don’t know any family who hates them. It gets a hearty, filling meal on the table with just a few steps.
Baked Spaghetti Casserole with Cream Cheese
This is one cheesy recipe. With two different types of cheese that add a whole pound of cheese, it’s the perfect dish for cheese lovers. And let’s face it: that’s pretty much everyone! Who doesn’t love cheese?
But when you add cream cheese to the recipe, it gets even cheesier. Cream cheese adds a delicious creaminess that makes this recipe really sing. Added to the beef and pasta sauce, cream cheese makes it even better.
This recipe can be easily modified to accommodate any family’s favorite flavors. When you add cream cheese to this recipe, it gives it similar flavors to lasagna. Because it already has mozzarella as one of the cheeses on top, it’s already a lot like lasagna.
Spaghetti Casserole Recipe
Spaghetti casserole is easy to make. Essentially, you just combine spaghetti and pasta sauce with some ground beef and top the whole thing with a ton of cheese. Throw it in the oven and the whole thing is ready in about 20 minutes.
This puts the recipe in the famous and sought after category of “30 Minute Meals.” Recipes that can be ready so quickly are a must for busy families. There used to be a TV show that advertised 30-minute meals because so many people want homemade meals that are fast to prepare.
The meals on that show were tasty, but many of them took far longer than 30 minutes to make. They didn’t account for a lot of the prep time you needed to chop ingredients or brown meat. Sometimes that could add as much as an extra 15 to 30 minutes of prep time, depending on how many ingredients were added.
This spaghetti casserole recipe really is ready in 30 minutes, though. You’re guaranteed that you won’t have to spend hours in the kitchen to prepare this meal. The clean up doesn’t take long, either.
If you do want to take a couple of extra minutes of prep time, though, this recipe can be jazzed up with some additional ingredients. Some chopped green peppers can be sautéed with the beef to add a little flavor. Green peppers are also high in vitamins C and E, so adding them would increase the nutrition.
To further increase the vitamin content, you could also a can of diced tomatoes. Tomatoes are high in vitamins C and K, potassium, and folate. Plus they’re just really tasty!
My family loves garlic. I definitely add a couple of cloves of minced garlic to this dish for my family. If your family likes garlic too, try adding a clove (or more, depending on how much your family likes it.)
Another thing you could add to this recipe is some canned or fresh mushrooms. Spaghetti and mushrooms are a natural fit together.
One thing this recipe is not is low-carb (unless you substitute zucchini noodles for the spaghetti.) So why not make it even better by serving this spaghetti casserole with garlic bread on the side? My family loves garlic bread so I look for excuses to serve it.
Spaghetti casserole is quick, easy and delicious. Give it a try!
If you enjoyed this recipe, make sure to check out our Sausage and Peppers Rigatoni Recipe and our Pesto Broccoli Pasta Recipe.
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Spaghetti Cheese Casserole
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Description
This spaghetti casserole only takes a couple of extra steps but is more special than basic spaghetti.
Ingredients
- 1 package (12 ounce) thin spaghetti
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2½ cups spaghetti sauce with mushrooms
- 2 cups (8 ounces) Cheddar cheese, shredded
- 2 cups (8 ounces) Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions
1. Cook pasta according to package directions.
2. In a large skillet, cook ground beef and onion until browned; drain.
3. Add spaghetti sauce.
4. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 to 15 minutes.
5. Drain pasta; add meat mixture and toss to mix. (This doesn’t mix very well so you will need to rearrange some of the meat in the casserole.)
6. Place half of the mixture in a sprayed 13 x 9-inch baking dish.
7. Top with half of each cheese.
8. Add remaining meat mixture.
9. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Dish will be quite full.
10. Bake 20 to 30 minutes 350°F or until heated through.
- Prep Time: 10 Minutes
- Cook Time: 20 Minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: baked spaghetti casserole with cream cheese, spaghetti casserole recipe