A baked spaghetti casserole that’s amazingly cheesy and creamy. It’s comfort food at its best, and EASIEST!
I know. It’s the day after Labor Day, we’re just about to start football season, and I post this instead of some sort of post-Labor-Day-juice-cleanse-quinoa-health-kick type recipe.
Sorry guys, but you’ll need your stretchy pants for this.
It’s pure comfort food at its best – so no. It is not diet-friendly. It is not skinny. It is not light. It’s just the best kind of spaghetti.
It’s a spaghetti casserole with layers of pasta noodles, cream cheese and sour cream, and a meaty-marinara sauce, baked to cheesy perfection.
INGREDIENTS:
1 pound spaghetti
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, diced
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
1/2 cup whipped cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9×13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and onion and cook until beef has browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drain excess fat.
Stir in crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, parsley and red pepper flakes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
In a small bowl, whisk together cream cheese and sour cream.
Add pasta to the prepared baking dish and layer with cream cheese and beef mixture; sprinkle with cheeses.
Place into oven and bake until bubbly and heated through, about 15-20 minutes.
Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.