Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs
Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs – Spaghetti and meatballs may not seem like the most labor-intensive dinner, but you still have to get out several pots and pans to boil the pasta, bake the meatballs, and warm up the sauce.
This recipe cuts out all of the pots and separate cooking times by brilliantly cooking everything together in one casserole dish. (Really!)
You’ll want to choose normal spaghetti, not angel hair, which will cook too quickly and turn to mush by the time the meatballs are done.
The dish gets topped with fresh basil leaves, but we recommend serving it with a salad tossed in vinaigrette to add some extra greens to your meal.
Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs
For this one-dish wonder, everything cooks together—no separate sauté pan for meatballs, saucepot for marinara, and pasta pot for spaghetti.
Everything goes uncooked in the oven and, in less than an hour (plenty of time to toss a fresh green salad), you have a ready-to-serve family favorite.
Use your homemade marinara or open a jar of your favorite brand; you can’t go wrong with this no-fail, company-worthy dinner.
Heat oven to 400° F. In a large bowl, combine beef, panko, milk, eggs, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper.
Mix well and form into 18 meatballs.
Whisk marinara sauce and 1 cup water in a 2½-quart baking dish until well blended.
Add spaghetti and stir to evenly coat in the sauce, arrange in an even layer, and then top with meatballs and basil sprigs.
Cover and bake, gently stirring once or twice, until pasta and meatballs are cooked through, 50 to 60 minutes.
Top with the cheese and broil, uncovered, 6 inches from heat until the cheese melts and some meatballs are lightly browned, about 5 minutes.
Garnish with basil leaves and serve with salad.
Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe
1 ½ pounds ground beef
1 cup seasoned panko bread crumbs
¾ cup whole milk
2 large eggs, beaten
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 cups marinara sauce (32 ounces)
12 ounces spaghetti, broken in half
3 sprigs basil, plus leaves for garnishing
8 ounces fresh mozzarella, sliced
Green salad, for serving
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