This Baked Spaghetti Pie Recipe is another simple make-ahead meal
I feel rich when I have extra pans of food in our freezer. (Here are more easy make-ahead meals.) I often save them for when I just can't crank out a meal that day–it feels like a safety net for more-than-normal nutty evenings. It's also nice making extra or keeping extra on-hand for friends when they're sick or just had a baby. 🙂
Someone gave me this baked spaghetti pie recipe when we got married, so it's an oldie but a goodie. Just spaghetti by itself is a fast meal already, but this make-ahead version is even faster when you only need to pop a pan into the oven!
Baked Spaghetti Pie Recipe
Please note this recipe makes THREE 9x13 pans so you can have extra for the freezer. Single recipe amounts are in parenthesis.
Ingredients
Pasta mixture:
- 2 – 2 1/2 pounds of your favorite spaghetti pasta, cooked (3/4 pound or so for one batch) We like Einkorn pasta or spelt pasta, or you could use rice pasta if your family is gluten-free
- 6 well-beaten eggs (2 eggs) Pastured eggs are best
- 3 Tablespoons garlic powder (1 Tablespoon) This will give it a lot of flavor, use more or less to your taste
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded (1/3 cup)
- 6 Tablespoons soft or melted butter (2 Tablespoons)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (1/2 teaspoon) Use more to your taste
Herb mixture:
- 3-8 ounce blocks of cream cheese, softened (8 oz.) OR use homemade cream cheese, it's very simple to make!
- 3 cups sour cream (1 cup)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (1/2 teaspoon or more to your taste)
- 1 teaspoon pepper (1/3 teaspoon or more to your taste)
- 3/4 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme (1/4 teaspoon)
- 1 Tablespoon fresh or dried oregano (1 teaspoon)
- 1 Tablespoon fresh or dried basil (1 teaspoon)
Optional:
- 3 big bunches fresh spinach (washed, dried, chopped) (1 big bunch)
Ground Beef Mixture:
- 3 Tablespoons butter (1 Tablespoon)
- 2 onions chopped (1 onion)
- 2-2 1/2 pounds ground beef or ground sausage is optional (leave it out for a meatless meal) (3/4-1#) Here's where to find healthy meat if you don't have a good local source
- 3-24 ounce jars of your favorite homemade or store-bought organic pasta sauce (1 jar)
- More seasonings to your taste: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder
For the top:
- 1-2 cups per pan of whatever shredded cheese you have on hand --we like mozzarella
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to directions on the box.
- Preheat the oven to 350*. Butter/spray your baking pans. Cook onions & butter in a pot, add ground beef--as it cooks/browns, break it up into smaller pieces. Add pasta sauce and seasonings, set aside.
- Once the pasta is done, strain, then in a big bowl stir together the ingredients for the pasta mixture. Form into a “crust” in the pans.
- In another bowl stir together the herb mixture, then spread over the pasta.
- Spread the optional spinach around the top.
- Spread the meat sauce mixture around the top.
- Add the shredded cheese all over the top, and bake uncovered in a 350* oven for 20-30 minutes or until center is hot and cheese is melty and golden browned.
- Let set 10-15 minutes before eating so it's easier to cut and lift the servings out.
Notes
Making extra pans for the freezer?
Don't add the cheese on top yet AND don't bake it yet...
Cover well and freeze; the day you want to serve, give it a few hours on the counter to thaw and then add the cheese and bake as described above. Of course, I don't always remember to get it out of the freezer ahead, so in that case, bake at 225* for 90 minutes or so until the middle is hot, and then turn it up to 350* and add the cheese to melt on top. (Before freezing, I'll put the cheese in a baggie and tape it to the top of the pan otherwise I won't have any on baking day or I'll forget it if I'm taking the spaghetti pie to a friend's house!)
My *actual* baked spaghetti pie photo is below, but it's not as good as the other one I found. Trust me though, it tastes so good!
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Annette Rupert says
Another hit by Kelly! My husband has always liked spaghetti pie, but it hasn’t been one of my favorites. This one was different…The cheese mixture made it really yummy.
KitchenKop says
Hi Annette, thanks SO much for your feedback!!!
Kelly
Tina says
Sounds wonderful! Make ahead on the weekend for dinner on Tuesday/Wednesday night. Also, I bet a half pound to a full pound of browned Italian Sausage (from pastured pigs, of course) sprinkled on top before the sauce would be good also!!! Thanks for the idea!
KitchenKop says
Thanks for the reminder! I made this during Lent, but it can easily be made with meat, too, I just adjusted the recipe. 🙂
Kelly