Cheesy and creamy baked spaghetti coated in a delicious meat sauce. Less than 10 ingredients and only 45 minutes to make!
Prep Time: 10 minutesminutes
Cook Time: 35 minutesminutes
Total Time: 45 minutesminutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients
1poundlean ground beef or turkey, or Italian sausage
1cupchopped onion
2-3clovesgarlic , minced
24ouncejar marinara or spaghetti sauce
12ouncesthin spaghetti noodles
4ouncescream cheese, softened
½cupcottage cheese, can sub ricotta cheese or sour cream
⅓cupgrated parmesan cheese, divided
1-2cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Optional: Fresh basil, S&P, Italian seasoning
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
Add hamburger to a large pan and heat over medium-high heat. Break apart with a spoon. Add onions and cook until they become soft (about 3-5 min). Then add garlic and cook a minute longer. Cook meat until browned. Salt and pepper to taste. Add in a teaspoon of Italian seasoning if desired.
Add in spaghetti sauce and let simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes.
Cook spaghetti noodles al dente, about 6 minutes. Do not overcook. Reserve 1 cup of water for pasta sauce and then drain. Add up to 1/2-1 cup of the water to the red sauce.
When the noodles are drained, add in the cream cheese and toss together. Once it has started to melt, add in the cottage cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese. Then toss together with the sauce. Then press into the pan.
Add remaining mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and parmesan to the top if desired.
Bake for 30-40 minutes.
Notes
For a thinner sauce, add in 1/2 cup of the pasta water before simmering.
To freeze: Do not bake. Combine sauce and noodles and then cool completely. Then add to a freezer container and top with remaining cheese. Label with the date, then store in freezer for up to 3 months.
To thaw: Let thaw in the fridge overnight, then cook in the oven according to directions.