Spaghetti Pie Bake
Elevate your dinner game with a classic pasta recipe that’s as easy as it is delicious – the Baked Spaghetti Pie!
This innovative twist on traditional spaghetti takes comfort food to new heights, featuring layers of perfectly cooked spaghetti intricately woven with a flavorful meat sauce, all embraced by a heavenly medley of cheeses.
This Recipe For Spaghetti Pie Is Perfect For The Whole Family!
This Spaghetti Pie recipe is a unique twist on the classic spaghetti, transforming it into a show-stopping pie of savory goodness. Imagine layers of perfectly cooked spaghetti intertwined with a rich and flavorful meat sauce, all bound together with a luscious blend of cheeses.
As it bakes to golden perfection, this dish creates a mesmerizing mosaic of flavors that will have your taste buds doing a happy dance. Baked Spaghetti Pie brings a touch of elegance to your dinner table without sacrificing any of the comfort food qualities we all crave!
If you’re feeling really ambitious, make this recipe with my recipe from homemade meat sauce!
What is Spaghetti Pie?
Spaghetti Pie is an easy Italian inspired family dinner made with a base of baked spaghetti in a pie dish and filled will delicious red meat sauce and topped with cheese! It boasts classic Italian flavors like garlic, peppers, onions, and seasoning!
Baked Spaghetti Pie Ingredients
- 80-85% ground beef
- green bell pepper
- small yellow onion
- marinara sauce
- spaghetti
- large egg
- Parmesan cheese
- Italian seasoning
- garlic powder
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- fresh parsley or basil for garnish
Substitutions For Spaghetti Pie
- Meat – Feel free to omit the ground beef for a vegetarian option. Or add more flavor by using ground Italian sausage, veal, or a mix. You could also chop up Italian meatballs to use in place of the ground beef.
- Vegetables – Feel free to use another kind of bell pepper in place of the green pepper. You can also omit the onions if you’d like. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can add in some sun dried tomatoes, mushrooms, or olives.
- Cheese – I don’t recommend leaving the parmesan out of the spaghetti mixture because it does add flavor and helps bind the spaghetti together so it holds it’s shape when sliced. However, you can omit the mozzarella on top. Freshly grated mozzarella will melt better than bagged shredded cheese because it doesn’t have a preservative coating on it. This is my favorite rotary grater – easy to use and clean!
- Sauce – Try using my homemade marinara recipe if you aren’t a fan of store bought. Also, I love mixing a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of ricotta cheese into the sauce mixture to give it that baked ziti taste!
I love it when I find a recipe that is instantly a classic, the kind of meal you cook on chilly weeknights and Sunday afternoons.
A dish that’s easy, takes less than a half hour to prep and comes out of the oven smelling like perfection.
How To Make Spaghetti Pie
The spaghetti is cooked to al dente and then tossed with egg, parmesan cheese, and garlic powder.
Then it’s spread on a pie plate where it awaits the marinara that’s been simmered with ground beef, peppers, and onions.
Top it off with shredded mozzarella cheese and freshly chopped parsley.
Finally, it’s baked until it’s all melty and delicious! Serve it up with my Blue Cheese Garlic Bread or Cheesy Breadsticks!
Spaghetti Pie Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Do not rinse the pasta after cooking, simply drain it in a colander. You want the pasta to be hot to help bind and cook the egg coating and the starch on the pasta will help the sauce cling to it.
- I like to use a ceramic pie dish for this recipe, but you can also use a round cake pan or even a smaller baking dish to cook this in. Just note that if you are making it ahead of time, it’s easiest to use a metal dish for reheating.
- I love adding red pepper flakes to the pasta mixture to add more flavor!
- If you’re not a pepper fan, you can leave them out, but I love the crunch they add to the pie.
- You may also have a bit of leftover meat sauce, depending on the depth of your pan; save it for later in the week!
Try this Chicken Spaghetti Recipe for dinner, too!
How To Store This Easy Recipe For Spaghetti Pie
Leftovers can be stored in the refrigerator for up to three days. I recommend either transferring to an airtight container or wrapping the pie with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
Spaghetti Pie Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound 80-85% ground beef
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 24 ounces marinara sauce
- 8 ounces spaghetti
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- fresh parsley or basil for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Add 1 pound 80-85% ground beef to a large skillet and brown over medium-high heat. Once browned, add 1 green bell pepper and 1 small yellow onion (both chopped) and simmer over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until the beef is thoroughly cooked and the vegetables are tender. Drain any excess fat.
- Add 24 ounces marinara sauce to the beef mixture and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Meanwhile, cook and drain 8 ounces spaghetti according to the package instructions for al dente.
- Once the pasta is done cooking, beat 1 large egg in a large bowl and add in the ½ cup Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and ½ teaspoon garlic powder. Toss the spaghetti in the egg mixture until evenly coated.
- Spray a 9 or 10-inch pie plate with cooking spray and add in the pasta. Use your hands to gently work the spaghetti into a crust and up the sides of the dish.
- Spoon the meat sauce mixture over the pasta.
- Sprinkle with 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese and bake for 20 minutes.
- Garnish with fresh parsley or basil. Slice with a sharp knife and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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Can it be prepared in advance?
Yes, it can. Prepare the spaghetti and sauce and add to the pie dish but don’t bake it. Wrap and store in the fridge until ready to enjoy (up to 24 hours), then pull it out and bake it.
I recommend making in a metal pan if making ahead or letting the ceramic pie dish come to room temperature for 1 hour or so before baking so you don’t risk the dish cracking.
How long does it keep in the fridge after cooking?
About 3 days.
Can it be frozen before cooking?
Yes, you can prepare the dish up until the point of baking, then wrap with plastic wrap and then a double layer of aluminum foil and store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Can it be frozen after cooking?
It can but you risk it being overcooked and dried out once reheated.
Spaghetti Pie Casserole FAQs
Yes. It’s important that the pasta is just al dente because it will continue to cook in the oven. If you overcook the pasta before baking it can get mushy and not hold shape once sliced and have an unpleasant texture.
Try adding more vegetables like mushrooms, spinach, or sundried tomatoes. Or you can add ricotta cheese to the mixture.
The spaghetti is precooked to al dente, so it’s already “done” before it hits the pan. We are baking it in a egg and cheese mixture to firm it up into the shape of a crust. The second bake is really just so the spaghetti binds together and the cheese on top of the pie melts.
If you didn’t drain your pasta well enough or you used a really watery marinara sauce, it could become watery. I like to use either Rao’s Marinara or Classico marinara if I’m not making my homemade recipe.
You’ll want to bake this uncovered.
More Pasta Recipes
- Spaghetti and Meatballs
- Antipasti Pasta Salad
- Bacon and Broccoli Alfredo
- Baked Ziti
- Parmesan Garlic Linguine
Let’s Connect!
If you’ve tried this recipe, please let me know how you liked it in the comments below and leave a review. I love hearing from you!
Don’t forget to tag me – @sugarandsoulco – on Instagram and Pinterest with your photos or join our Sugar & Soul Show-offs Community and share them there, where you can join our recipe challenges!
This recipe was originally published in March 2016 and was updated with fresh photos in January 2024.
