About
Ultimate Baked Spaghetti is no frills and no stress; just you, your friends and loved ones, and a baking dish filled with a classic spaghetti and meat sauce dinner! The meat sauce is rich, sweet, bright, and savory... the perfect complement to tender noodles and melty Italian cheeses! Mmmm, Ultimate Baked Spaghetti takes the fuss and stress out of a great pasta dinner and replaces it with just plain-old-good-eats!
Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce) package spaghetti
- 1 pound ground chuck
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (24-ounce) jar marinara sauce
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped, divided
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly shredded, divided
- kosher salt, to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese, freshly shredded
Directions
Step 1 -Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2 -Coat a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
Step 3 -In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook the spaghetti to al dente, according to the package directions.
Step 4 -Drain the spaghetti.
Step 5 -In a large skillet over medium heat, add the ground chuck and cook, while crumbling, until it is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes.
Step 6 -Drain the excess grease from the skillet, then transfer the cooked ground chuck to a plate and wipe out the skillet.
Step 7 -In the same skillet over medium heat, add the oil and the butter and heat until the butter has melted.
Step 8 -Add the onions to the butter-oil mixture and cook, while stirring, until they are soft and translucent, about 4-5 minutes.
Step 9 -Add the minced garlic to the onions and cook until just fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Step 10 -Add the cooked ground chuck, the marinara sauce, 1 tablespoon of the chopped basil, and 1/4 cup of the grated parmesan cheese to the onion mixture and stir until it is well-combined.
Step 11 -Season the sauce mixture with the salt and the pepper.
Step 12 -Add the cooked spaghetti to the sauce mixture and stir and toss until the spaghetti is well-coated.
Step 13 -Transfer the spaghetti mixture to the prepared baking dish.
Step 14 -Sprinkle the top of the spaghetti mixture with the mozzarella cheese and the remaining parmesan cheese.
Step 15 -Bake the spaghetti mixture until the cheese has melted and the spaghetti is heated through, about 20-30 minutes.
Step 16 -Serve the spaghetti mixture garnished with the remaining chopped basil.
