Rich and cheesy, this simple spaghetti bolognese bake is a deliciously comforting family meal that everyone will enjoy. A rich meat sauce is tossed with spaghetti, loaded with cheese and baked to perfection. This is a must try!
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One of my favorite eats at a Casse Croute, here in Quebec, is a spaghetti gratin. You'll find it on nearly every menu here, and it's only second favorite to a wonderful poutine for me! This baked spaghetti casserole is my take on this regional dish.
Simple to make, this is ultimate comfort food. A made from scratch meat bolognese sauce is tossed with cooked spaghetti, then generously sprinkled with cheese before being oven baked.
Be sure to check out my Tortellini Pasta Bake and Ground Beef and Tomato Pasta Bake too!
Why you will love this recipe!
- Perfect for the whole family: My 15 month old loves this as much as Mum and Dad! If you've got a picky eater at home, this is definitely worth a try!
- Make ahead: This is a great dinner that you can cook once and enjoy for several nights. It's freezer friendly too!
- Budget friendly: Because this recipe is made from scratch, it's easy on the purse with cheap and easy to find ingredients as well as some pantry staples.
- Easy to make: There's nothing complicated about this recipe and it's and easy way to impress!
Ingredients
- Vegetables: Carrots, onion and garlic.
- Ground beef: I like to use medium ground beef as the extra fat adds more flavor, but lean beef will work great too (and is a little healthier!)
- Beef stock: I used a Campbell's beef stock with red wine in it for added richness. If you can't find this, you can use regular beef stock, red wine, or a mix of both!
- Pureed tomatoes and tomato paste: For a rich tomatoey sauce.
- Seasonings: Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper, sugar, Italian herbs
- Spaghetti: Cooked al dente. Use your favorite brand.
- Cheese: Parmesan and shredded mozzarella.
How to make a spaghetti bolognese pasta bake
Be sure to scroll down for the whole recipe!
- Soften the veggies in a skillet on the stovetop (photo 1).
- Add the beef and brown (photo 2).
- Add the rest of the bolognese ingredients and simmer (photo 3).
- Mix the meat sauce with cooked spaghetti (photo 4).
- Put the pasta and sauce in a casserole dish and top with cheese (photo 5).
- Bake, let rest and serve (photo 6).
Serving Suggestions
This beef spaghetti gratin is a filling meal all by itself (depending on the portion size), plus there are some veggies in there too! For a bit of variety on the plate, serve it up with a fresh salad or cooked veggies, or, go full out with some delicious garlic bread! Try pairing it with any of these sides:
Recipe Variations
This spaghetti pasta bake is super delicious as it is, but it's also easy to make it your own! It's a great recipe to use up produce you have in the fridge!
- Add different veggies: You can omit the carrot and onion if you prefer, though they do add extra flavor to the sauce. You can also add in different veggies like celery, bell peppers or mushrooms. It's a great recipe to hide veggies in if you have picky eaters!
- Different meat: I love this recipe with beef to give the dish a wonderfully rich flavor, but you could easily use ground chicken, turkey or ham.
- Make it vegetarian: Swap out the ground meat for extra veggies, or use a plant based alternative.
- Use different cheese: This recipe uses parmesan and shredded mozzerella. Cheddar, Swiss or a blend will all work great.
Make Ahead, Storage, Freezing and Reheating
Once made, this spaghetti casserole will keep well, covered in the fridge for up to 4 days. It can be reheated in the oven at 360F / 180c for 15 to 20 minutes, or portions can be quickly reheated in the microwave to serve.
The bolognese sauce can be made up to 4 days ahead of time and stored in the fridge, or you can freeze it for up to 6 months.
To freeze, for best results, assemble the pasta bake and let it cool. Cover with foil and freeze for up to 6 months. You can cook it directly from frozen, with the foil on, at 360f / 180c for 50 minutes, then uncovered for 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can thaw the pasta in the fridge overnight and cook as per the recipe.
Frequently Asked Questions
Spaghetti is definitely the best option for this recipe, but if you have linguini that can be used as well. Linguini is a flat noodle, rather than round, and slightly thicker than spaghetti.
This sauce is pretty quick to cook, it will take you around 30 minutes from start to finish and it simmers while the spaghetti cooks. For a richer sauce, you can simmer it for longer, but it has a lot of flavor as the recipe is written.
One of my favorite things about this spaghetti bolognese bake is how well it holds together. After baking, let it cool for a few minutes, then cut slices, like you would lasagna, to serve.
This hearty, delicious and comforting spaghetti bolognese bake really is a must try! Simple to make, the rich flavors from the meat sauce are to die for! This may not be a traditional Quebecois Spaghetti Gratin, but my gosh, it is extraordinarily tasty!
Recipe Notes and Tips
- I like to cook the meat sauce first, then let it simmer while the pasta water comes to a boil and the spaghetti gets cooked. If you are in a hurry you can prep the spaghetti at the same time as making the sauce (start boiling the water ASAP).
- Dice the vegetables fairly small so that they combine well with the pasta and sauce.
- Taste the bolognese sauce before tossing it with the spaghetti. Adjust salt, pepper and sugar to suit your tastes if needed.
- Cook the spaghetti al dente. It will continue to cook with the sauce in the oven, so don't over do it when you boil it.
- If making as a freezer meal, assemble the bake, let cool, then freeze. Cook from frozen for 50 minutes with foil and 10 minutes uncovered.
More Delicious Pasta Recipes
Spaghetti Bolognese Pasta Bake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the bolognese sauce
- 1 teaspoon oil
- 2 carrots (diced)
- 1 onion (diced)
- 2 large garlic cloves (minced)
- pinch salt and pepper
- 1 pound ground beef (lean or medium) (450g)
- ⅓ cup beef stock with red wine you can use just beef stock, just red wine, or, a mix of both! (80ml)
- 1 can pureed tomatoes (27oz / 796ml)
- ¼ cup tomato paste (4 tablespoons)
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- ½ tablespoon Italian herbs
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the spaghetti bake
- 16 ounces spaghetti (454g)
- 2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella (225g)
Instructions
To make the bolognese
- Heat the oil in a skillet on the stovetop on a medium heat. Once hot, add in the diced carrots, onion and garlic, along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook til softened, stirring occasionally.
- Push the veggies to one side of the skillet and place the ground beef in the half that's empty. Brown the beef and break it down with a spatula. Combine the beef and the veggies in the skillet.
- Stir in the beef stock with red wine, and let it bubble and cook for 5 minutes.
- Add in the rest of the ingredients for the bolognese and stir everything together.
- Turn the heat to low and let the bolognese simmer while you make the spaghetti. Stir occassionally.
Make the spaghetti bake
- Preheat the oven to 360F / 180c.
- Fill a large pot with cold water and add a generous few pinches of salt. Place on a high heat on the stovetop.
- When the water comes to a rolling boil, add in the spaghetti and cook as per the directions on the box til the pasta is al dente (around 10 minutes)
- When ready, drain the water from the spaghetti and place the spaghetti back in the large pot.
- Taste the bolognese sauce and season to taste if needed.
- Add the bolognese sauce to the spaghetti and stir so that the pasta is well coated.
- Transfer the spaghetti bolognese to a large casserole dish.
- Sprinkle the parmesan over the top, then the shredded mozzerella.
- Cover the dish with foil and cook in the preheated oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes.
- Remove the dish from the oven and let cool for 5 to 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
-
- I like to cook the meat sauce first, then let it simmer while the pasta water comes to a boil and the spaghetti gets cooked. If you are in a hurry you can prep the spaghetti at the same time as making the sauce (start boiling the water ASAP).
-
- Dice the vegetables fairly small so that they combine well with the pasta and sauce.
-
- Taste the bolognese sauce before tossing it with the spaghetti. Adjust salt, pepper and sugar to suit your tastes if needed.
-
- Cook the spaghetti al dente. It will continue to cook with the sauce in the oven, so don't over do it when you boil it.
-
- If making as a freezer meal, assemble the bake, let cool, then freeze. Cook from frozen for 50 minutes with foil and 10 minutes uncovered.
- Nutritional values are an estimate.
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