The following is a post from contributing writer Dawn.
This recipe is so super simple and is a favorite among my family. My eight-year old loves to make it on his night to cook. I like to keep the marinara on hand in my freezer (with and without meat) for easy, no-brainer dinners. The prepared meal also freezes well for once-a-month cooking!
Baked Spaghetti with Homemade Sauce
Ingredients
- one recipe of marinara sauce see below for recipe
- 1 1/2 pounds hamburger meat cooked
- 23 ounce can diced tomatoes
- 16 ounces whole milk mozzarella cheese
- 16 ounces pasta We use Brown Rice Penne from Trader Joe's
- additional seasonings such as basil oregano or parsley as desired
For the Marinara Sauce
- 2 28- ounce cans diced tomatoes
- 12 ounces tomato paste
- 1 cup fresh parsley 2 tablespoons dried
- 4 tablespoons fresh oregano 2 teaspoons dried
- 4 tablespoons fresh basil 2 teaspoons dried
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 4 tablespoons good quality olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 cup onion finely chopped
Instructions
For the Marinara Sauce
- Cook the onions and garlic in olive oil but do not brown. Add additional ingredients and simmer 30 minutes.
- Add hamburger meat and heat through. Allow to simmer an additional 30 minutes if desired to really let the meat flavor come out. If in a hurry, feel free to skip this step.
For the Baked Spaghetti
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Add all ingredients except cheese to a large mixing bowl. Stir well.
- Spoon into baking dishes and place slices of mozzarella on top. Sprinkle with additional seasonings if desired.
- Bake until bubbly and the cheese is melted about 25 minutes.
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Find more delicious meal ideas at the The Happy Housewife Recipe Index.
Lisa B...TheTadey says
This sounds crazy delicious. We do spaghetti type stuff all the time. I like the idea of the bigger noodles and baking it!
Jes says
Do you cook the noodles first? Didn’t see that mentioned… Sounds yummy and easy tho!