Baked spaghetti is the way to have your pasta these days! It has all the layers including spaghetti, cottage cheese, meat sauce, and mozzarella. This is the perfect dish to make when family and friends come over during the holidays this year.
It’s cold you guys. We have been cooped up in our house all day watching the snow continue to fall and the wind is howling like it usually is. It’s time for pasta!
The dinners at our house transition from all the soups to all the pastas. I don’t even mean to do it but it happens. When the cold initially hits, I think soup but when the freezing temps and wind come into play forget it- pasta is going to be on the menu.
I don’t fix it that often during the summer but it sure sounds great during the winter at least once a week. And I like trying some things beyond the traditional spaghetti to keep things interesting.
This is how this baked spaghetti comes together:
- Cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and combine with butter, parmesan and eggs.
- Cook the ground turkey and onion together. Drain and add the marinara sauce and salt and pepper.
- Layer a greased 9×13 with the spaghetti mixture, cottage cheese, meat sauce, and mozzarella and repeat.
- Bake at 350℉ for 40 minutes covered, and bake another 10 minutes uncovered. Top with fresh basil.
Combining the pasta with eggs, butter, and parmesan creates this creamy layer of pasta that is unbeatable. This layering reminds me of lasagna and yet this is a fun spin on regular old spaghetti that will make the whole family love every bite. Well, unless you have really picky kiddos like I do then 2 out of 3 don’t want anything to do with it. So in their case I have to separate out the meat for one of them and the other one just likes the meat so there you have it. Oh, but my oldest couldn’t get enough of this baked spaghetti and went back for more.
That’s real life at our house every day.
One thing to point out- even though no one in our house is that fond of cottage cheese besides me they don’t mind it at all in this baked spaghetti dish! It seems to add to the creaminess of the baked spaghetti and I prefer cottage cheese in my lasagna and this baked spaghetti over ricotta cheese.
I love the simplicity of this meal and yet it’s so delicious and a great recipe to make during the holidays when there are more people to feed. All the layers make for a perfect dish. You will want to make it over and over this winter.
Easy Baked Spaghetti with Ground Turkey
Ingredients
- 16 oz whole grain thin spaghetti
- 1 lb ground turkey
- 1 small yellow onion chopped
- 24 oz marinara sauce
- 3/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 2 cups cottage cheese
- 3-4 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- fresh basil chopped for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Cook spaghetti according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
- While pasta is cooking, cook ground turkey in a large skillet over medium high heat. Drain and add onion. Cook another 5 minutes or until onion has softened. Stir in marinara sauce and salt and pepper.
- Combine the eggs, butter and Parmesan cheese in a large bowl. Add cooked pasta and toss to combine.
- Spray a 9x13 dish with non-stick cooking spray. Add half of the spaghetti mixture to the dish. Follow with half of the cottage cheese, half of the meat sauce, and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. Cook for 40 minutes, covered. Remove foil and cook another 10 minutes. Add fresh chopped basil prior to serving.
