Wondering what to do with spaghetti leftovers? This southern baked spaghetti turns your old noodles into a wonderful new casserole dish that the whole family will enjoy. Cheesy, flavorful, comforting, and delicious.
Making baked spaghetti with leftover spaghetti is one of the ways I can keep from leftovers being wasted in this house, and it tastes even better than the first night. Or at least, that's what my husband tells me.
With this leftover spaghetti casserole, you can make a brand new dish to serve up to the family without getting tired of the same old things being served too often. This recipe works really well with Homemade Ragu Spaghetti Sauce!
Why This Recipe Works
- Great for several servings of pasta. This recipe is very forgiving for the amount of leftover spaghetti you can have. If you have 3-6 servings of spaghetti, the recipe should turn out just fine!
- Minimal ingredients. You don't need much to pull this recipe together, just some leftover spaghetti with sauce, seasonings, eggs, cheese, and bell pepper.
- Simple steps with little effort. This is a great recipe for anyone not looking to put in a lot of effort. Just combine everything and pour it into a casserole dish before baking. Then add some cheese and bake until bubbly.
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🥘 Ingredients
Leftover spaghetti with sauce- You will need several servings of leftover spaghetti. This is great for those nights you bake up too much! If you want to use freshly made spaghetti, do 1 jar of sauce, 1 pound noodles, and 1 pound cooked ground beef.
Italian seasoning- For added flavor.
Crushed red pepper flakes- A small kick of heat really makes the flavors nice, but you can omit them if desired.
Green bell pepper- You will need a bell pepper for added color and crunch. Leave the seeds out if you want this dish mild, or leave some in if you want your casserole to be spicy.
Eggs- This is a binding agent and will help to hold everything together.
Shredded parmesan cheese- This adds a wonderful flavor to the dish.
Cottage cheese- We prefer to use cottage cheese instead of ricotta because the texture is easier for the picky kids to handle.
Cheddar cheese- Adds a nice color and contrast in flavor.
For specific quantities, see the recipe card below.
🍽 Equipment Needed
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🔪 Instructions
Check out how to make southern baked spaghetti with these simple step-by-step instructions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the inside of a 9x13 baking dish and set it aside.
Add all of the ingredients to a large mixing bowl.
Mix well to combine. Make sure no streaks of eggs remain, or else you'll end up with scrambled eggs in your casserole.
Pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish.
Top the pan with foil. Place the pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove the pan from the oven. Take off the foil.
Top the casserole with shredded cheese so that it is well covered.
Bake in the oven for another 10 minutes, until melted and bubbly.
Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
🧾 Substitutions
Ricotta cheese. Cottage cheese can be used instead if you do not have or do not wish to use ricotta cheese. My family has some aversions to the texture of ricotta, so I often swap it out for cottage cheese, which works great because it's almost always on hand.
Green bell pepper. You can use fresh or frozen green bell pepper (or any color bell pepper). Frozen bell pepper will cook up softer than fresh, but cooked fresh bell pepper adds a nice crunch. If desired, you can saute the fresh bell pepper a little to soften it before adding it to the spaghetti.
Cheddar cheese. I used cheddar cheese because I felt like it would pair nicely with the bell pepper. You can use mozzarella cheese or a combination of cheddar and mozzarella. Even an Italian blend of shredded cheeses would be nice here.
📖 Variations
If you don't have leftover spaghetti and want to make it fresh for this southern baked spaghetti recipe, then go right ahead! I'd recommend one average sized jar or can of pasta sauce, 1 pound of noodles, and 1 pound of cooked ground beef or sausage.
You can adapt this recipe to suit your own tastes by adding in chopped onion, more marinara sauce, meats, or even diced pepperoncini.
🍴 Recipe Tips
We use the eggs and ricotta (or cottage cheese) to bind the spaghetti noodles together as they bake. It also helps to rehydrate the noodles and keep the dish from feeling too dry.
🍳Reheating
To reheat this pasta in the microwave, place a serving onto a plate and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until warmed through.
To reheat the pasta in the oven (like for several servings), bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes.
🥗 Side Dishes
We like to serve this dish with some classic favorite side dishes like garlic bread and salad. This Air Fryer Frozen Garlic Bread is one of our favorites because it's so fast and simple!
⏲️Make Ahead Instructions
You can arrange this casserole in a baking dish and top with foil before placing it in the fridge up to 24 hours in advance, or freezing up to 4 months in advance.
Place the casserole in the fridge to thaw overnight if frozen. When ready to bake, place the casserole dish on the counter for 1 hour as the oven preheats so that you don't risk breaking the dish (especially important if a glass baking dish is being used). Bake as directed.
💭 FAQs
You can keep any leftovers from this dish in a well covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Yes, to cut down on time and effort, you can use store-bought shredded cheese. Just note that the store-bought cheese may not melt as smoothly as freshly shredded cheese.
Not sure if it's baked all of the way? That's okay! Because the meat is already cooked we really just want the noodles warmed and the eggs to be safely cooked as well. When the internal temperature of the casserole reaches 165 degrees F on an instant read thermometer, it's safe to consume.
More great casserole recipes to check out soon
- Tater Tot Casserole With Corn (Hotdish)
- Walking Taco Casserole
- Sausage Green Bean Potato Casserole
- Easy Hashbrown Casserole
📖 Recipe
Southern Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 3-6 servings Leftover spaghetti, with sauce ($0.00)
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning ($0.30)
- 1 teaspoon Crushed red pepper flakes *optional ($0.10)
- 1 Green bell pepper, seeded, diced *optional ($0.72)
- 2 large Eggs, beaten ($0.16)
- ½ cup Shredded parmesan cheese ($3.15)
- 24 ounces Ricotta cheese or cottage cheese ($2.58)
- 2 cups Cheddar cheese (8oz brick), shredded ($1.98)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease the inside of a 9x13 baking dish and set it aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine all of the ingredients until well mixed. Make sure no streaks of eggs remain or else you'll end up with scrambled eggs in your casserole.
- Pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish.
- Top the pan with foil.
- Place the pan into the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven. Take off the foil.
- Top the casserole with shredded cheese so that it is well covered.
- Bake in the oven for another 10 minutes, until melted and bubbly.
- Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. Enjoy!
Notes
Substitutions
- Ricotta cheese. Cottage cheese can be used instead if you do not have or do not wish to use ricotta cheese.
- Green bell pepper. You can use fresh or frozen green bell pepper (or any color bell pepper). Frozen bell pepper will cook up softer than fresh, but cooked fresh bell pepper adds a nice crunch. If desired, you can saute the fresh bell pepper a little to soften before adding it to the spaghetti.
- Cheddar cheese. I used cheddar cheese because I felt like it would pair nicely with the bell pepper. You can use mozzarella cheese or a combination of cheddar and mozzarella. Even an Italian blend of shredded cheeses would be nice here.
How to make with fresh spagehtti
If you don't have leftover spaghetti and want to make it fresh for this southern baked spaghetti recipe, then go right ahead! I'd recommend one average sized jar or can of pasta sauce, 1 pound of noodles, and 1 pound of cooked ground beef or sausage.Recipe Tips
- You can keep any leftovers from this dish in a well covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- You can use store-bought shredded cheese. Just note that the storebought cheese may not melt as smoothly as freshly shredded cheese.
- Not sure if it's baked all of the way? That's okay! Because the meat is already cooked we really just want the noodles warmed and the eggs to be safely cooked as well. When the internal temperature of the casserole reaches 165 degrees F on an instant read thermometer, it's safe to consume.
Reheating
- To reheat this pasta in the microwave, place a serving onto a plate and microwave for 1-2 minutes or until warmed through.
- To reheat the pasta in the oven (like for several servings), bake in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes.
Make Ahead Instructions
- You can arrange this casserole in a baking dish and top with foil before placing it in the fridge up to 24 hours in advance, or freezing up to 4 months in advance. Place the casserole in the fridge to thaw overnight if frozen.
- When ready to bake, place the casserole dish on the counter for 1 hour as the oven preheats so that you don't risk breaking the dish (especially important if a glass baking dish is being used). Bake as directed.
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