Baked Spaghetti with Ricotta
I found this recipe for baked spaghetti with ricotta on Cinnamon Spice & Everything Nice and had to make it immediately. I loved the idea of baking spaghetti with a layer of ricotta then topped with mozzarella, olives, and tomato slices. This easy baked spaghetti casserole recipe was fun to make, smelled amazing while it baked, and was flavorful and delicious! We all loved this recipe, even my daughter who doesn’t like cheese.
How to Make Baked Spaghetti with Ricotta
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat an 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
Cook the spaghetti in salted water, per instructions.
While the pasta is cooking, combine the ricotta cheese, basil, minced garlic, egg, Parmesan cheese, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Mix well until thoroughly combined.
Drain the pasta then place it back into the pot it was cooked in. Add the spaghetti sauce and mix until evenly coated. Place half of the spaghetti into the baking dish. Spoon the ricotta cheese on top of the spaghetti and leave an inch border around the edges.
Cover the ricotta mixture with the remaining spaghetti. Sprinkle the top with mozzarella cheese, olives, and tomato slices. Season the tomatoes with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste then sprinkle with a bit of Parmesan cheese.
Place into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 oz of whole wheat spaghetti cooked per instructions
- 2 ½ cups of marinara sauce
- 10 oz of ricotta cheese
- 2 tbsp fresh basil chopped
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 1 egg
- 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
- Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper to taste
- 1 cup of fresh mozzarella grated (more if desired)
- 2 tbsp black olives sliced
- 1 tomato sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Coat an 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cook the spaghetti in salted water, per instructions.
- While the pasta is cooking, combine the ricotta cheese, basil, minced garlic, egg, Parmesan cheese, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste. Mix well until thoroughly combined.
- Drain the pasta then place it back into the pot it was cooked in. Add the spaghetti sauce and mix until evenly coated. Place half of the spaghetti into the baking dish. Spoon the ricotta cheese on top of the spaghetti and leave an inch border around the edges.
- Cover the ricotta mixture with the remaining spaghetti. Sprinkle the top with mozzarella cheese, olives, and tomato slices. Season the tomatoes with sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste then sprinkle with a bit of Parmesan cheese.
- Place into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy.
Ok, this looks amazing and such a great and easy weeknight meal. It’s like a simplified lasagna. Love it!
Sounds really good!
Pam, I love this. It looks delicious and I am sure it is.
Mmmmmm this sounds perfect. Have a good weekend Diane
Hi Pam,
Another great combination of delicious flavours and a very mouthwatering plate of food!!
Cheers and hope you have a sublime weekend,
Lia.
This looks delicious, Pam! I can see why this was a hit with your family (and even your daughter who doesn’t like cheese-yeah! ). 😉
oooo that looks excellent Pam….but everything you make looks excellent!!! My family would love this. I have thought about doing it with leftover spaghetti but not with fresh. Definitely going to try it.
I have bookmarked this recipe too as I also love the combination.
This looks like a great make-ahead dinner and a fun, unique twist on lasagna!
I was going through my pinterest boards just yesterday and this recipe caught my eye! You making it is a sign that I also need to make it and SOON.
I’ve always wanted to try baked spaghetti! This combo with the ricotto sounds amazing, and I’m sure this will produce lots of work-lunch leftovers for me! 🙂
I have been craving a cheesy baked casserole!
This looks so cheesy and great!
Baked spaghetti is so delicious and comforting. I can only imagine that a layer or ricotta takes it over the top!
my husband would LOVE this! I am so pinning it to his pinterest board, yum.
you know you have a winner when you are excited to eat it the next day! this looks so good, i love that topping!
Pasta dishes are always welcome in our household and this one sounds and looks very tasty! It’s even a great idea to use left over spaghetti! 🙂
OMG! This dish is full of goodness. I’m bookmarking this recipe and will try it coming weekend! Can’t stop staring at the first picture, it looks so yummy 🙂
Ooh this looks like the best pasta dish I’ve seen in a long time! I love meals that make delicious leftovers I can bring to lunch the next day 🙂
My nephew loves spaghetti and asks me to cook some every time he comes for a visit. Naturally I wanted something new for him and I’m so glad I stumbled upon this recipe. Such a flavorful yet easy pasta recipe.
Yum this sounds great!
Italian recipe ! Very good !
I love the way this looks! I am going to try it soon. I make baked pasta all the time but have never tried baked spaghetti.
Great idea. It’s spaghettasgna? lasagnetti? Forget it…it’s good!
I made this dish for our friends last night! I changed it up a little. For the meat I used ground turkey and the other half I used Jimmy Dean Sausage. It was amazing!!!!! Everyone loves it! I made a huge pan of it and its almost gone! I highly recommend this recipe!!! And everyone loved the tomatoes!!!!!!!!! And it’s very easy! Thank you!!! It was a huge hit!!!
I have some black olive and ricotta sitting in the fridge and needed a idea, then magically I came across this recipe. Perfect! Pinned to make soon!
I made this tonight. Oh my, it was soooooo good! My husband and I loved it.
Thank you for the recipe. I’m a big fan of your blog and love your cooking!