Do you have a ton of leftover spaghetti, again? This Leftover Spaghetti Casserole Recipe comes together quickly and easily, can be made with ingredients you have on hand, and is cheesy and delicious!
I'm not really sure I can even call this Leftover Spaghetti Casserole a recipe. I mean, it is, but it's so easy. Basically, you just cook up some ground beef or turkey, mix it with whatever amount of leftover cooked angel hair or thin spaghetti you have, some Mozzarella cheese and American cheese slices, and your favorite marinara sauce. Bake it and dinner is ready in about 20 minutes! You can easily make it meatless if you want.
It's my husbands favorite spaghetti recipe. He started making it years before I did, but he adds a lot more cheese to it, all American, and he cooks it in the microwave. He was living alone when he started making it, and probably tried lots of leftover spaghetti recipes.
Yes, he really loves it, this small plate is all he left me to photograph!
Leftover Spaghetti Casserole
Did you ever accidentally take a week off? Probably not, that's just me, right? I got really busy last week with nothing having to do with cooking and made simple dinners like tacos and spaghetti with jarred sauce. I shouldn't have even bothered with the spaghetti, except that it finally got me around to sharing this Leftover Spaghetti Casserole idea with you.
I had already made a salad to go with the spaghetti when Amanda decided she want to make soup, also known as I make soup. I don't trust her with knives yet, and too be honest she doesn't really know how to cook other than mixing chicken broth with some herbs, so I do that for her. Wouldn't you know, my husband decided to eat only the soup for dinner.
I ended up with a pound and a half of leftover cooked angel hair spaghetti after I ate some. Did you know that approximately 11 ounces of dry angel hair equals one and a half pounds cooked? I didn't until I weighed it. I'm sure you won't have that much leftover, but that's fine. It just means more meat and cheese to go with the pasta you do have.
Since pasta is one of my favorite foods, here are some more delicious pasta dishes for you to enjoy:
Pumpkin Ravioli with Parmesan Sage Cream Sauce
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Leftover Spaghetti Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds cooked angel hair pasta or thin spaghetti
- 1 ¼ pounds extra lean ground beef
- 23 ounces marinara sauce
- 10 slices mozzarella cheese
- 8 slices American cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ tablespoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray a large casserole dish (at least 2 ½ quarts) with cooking spray.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium high heat. Cook the ground beef until completely browned, drain if necessary, then stir in the onion powder, garlic powder, and black pepper.
- Place half of the pasta in the greased casserole dish, top with half of the cheese slices, then half of the sauce. Spread the sauce evenly. Repeat with another layer. Cover with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, remove the casserole dish from the oven, uncover and stir well. Recover and place back in the oven for a least 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Notes
Nutrition
Kris says
This is like making it from the beginning not with actual left over spaghetti!?
The spaghetti should already be cooked and directions should start from taking your left overs out of the refrigerator!! JMO
Bernadette says
Hi Kris, you are correct that this isn't a recipe for what to do with leftover spaghetti with ground beef already in it. This recipe is for leftover spaghetti, whatever amount of already cooked pasta you have left, and the remaining ingredients can be adjusted for the amount of spaghetti you have left. You could even leave the ground beef out, if you prefer just a cheesy pasta bake. My husband just adds cheese and sauce and cooks it in the microwave.
Randy says
I made this with Jimmy Dean Italian sausage instead of ground meat. I sautéed a chopped yellow onion, a cup of chopped celery and a chopped red bell pepper and four cloves of chopped garlic with the sausage. I added sliced mushrooms to the sauce and let it all simmer for 30 minutes.
Jeremy says
Your directions never say when to mix spaghetti with all other ingredients so I am going on a whim and mixing it together as soon as the burger is done. Q: can I substitute olive oil with vegetable oil? I am allergic to olives.
Bernadette says
Hi Jeremy, I just looked and actually I never said when to add the ground beef. I will fix it, but yes, just layer it in with the cheese and sauce. Vegetable oil is fine!
cheryl says
I found your recipe while searching what to do with leftover spaghetti. I made this for my grand kids and we all love it. This is a keeper. Thank you so much for this easy tasty dish.
Bernadette says
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!