Hearty Baked Spaghetti Casserole

Ingredients:

1 lb cooked spaghetti
8 oz cream cheese
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
1 lb ground beef
1 jar marinara sauce
Cooking spray
Parmesan cheese
Parsley (optional)

Directions:

Place the cooked spaghetti into a large mixing bowl. Add cream cheese, Italian seasoning and garlic powder to the bowl. Stir the ingredients until they are evenly mixed.

In a medium-sized non-stick skillet, cook the ground beef until it is completely browned. Drain the oil and return to the skillet. Pour the jar of marinara sauce on top of the beef and then mix thoroughly while allowing the sauce to briefly simmer.

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray. Dump half of your ground beef mixture into the dish. Spread evenly. Add all of the spaghetti on top of the sauce. Finally, add the remainder of the ground beef sauce on top of the pasta. Spread evenly.

Sprinkle a layer of Parmesan cheese on top of the casserole.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and then garnish with parsley. Use a spatula to cut the casserole in squares, similar to a lasagna.

The best thing about this recipe is that it requires no prep time. Chopping vegetables is time consuming, but you won’t have to worry about that to create this mouth-watering meal. We also love that you can walk away for 30 minutes while the casserole bakes. It makes it easy for busy parents to tend to other household demands while simultaneously preparing dinner.