Description
This delicious Spaghetti Pie combines a rich meat sauce, creamy cheese layers, and a pasta crust baked to perfection. It's a comforting twist on traditional spaghetti, baked in a deep pie dish and topped with melted mozzarella cheese.
Ingredients
Scale
Cheese Layer
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 3 tablespoons cream cheese
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon parsley
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Spaghetti Crust
- ½ lb. spaghetti
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 eggs, whisked
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
Meat Sauce
- 1 lb. ground beef
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 24 oz. marinara sauce
Cheese Topping
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Prepare and Combine Cheese Layer: In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, salt, dried basil, parsley, oregano, and pepper. Set aside while you prepare the other ingredients. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Cook Meat Sauce: Season the ground beef with salt and pepper. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat, add ground beef and diced onions, and cook for 7-10 minutes until beef is browned and cooked through. Drain excess grease. Reduce heat to medium, then stir in garlic, hot sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and Italian seasoning. Cook for 2 minutes, then add marinara sauce. Simmer uncovered on low heat while cooking spaghetti.
- Cook Spaghetti: Boil a large pot of salted water. Add spaghetti and cook until al dente. Drain spaghetti and return to warm pot.
- Prepare Spaghetti Crust: To the drained spaghetti, add butter and parmesan cheese, tossing to coat. Add whisked eggs and toss again to combine.
- Mix Spaghetti with Meat Sauce: Stir 1 ½ cups of the meat sauce into the spaghetti mixture. Remove from heat.
- Assemble Pie: Lightly grease a deep 9 or 10-inch pie pan or 2–2 ½ quart baking dish. Press the spaghetti mixture firmly into the bottom creating a packed crust layer. Spread the reserved cheese mixture evenly over the spaghetti crust, then add the remaining meat sauce on top. The dish will be full, which is expected.
- Add Cheese Topping and Bake: Sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly over the top. Bake uncovered at 350°F for 30 minutes or until cheese is fully melted and hot. Optionally, broil at 450°F for a few minutes to brown the cheese, watching carefully to prevent burning.
- Rest and Serve: Remove from oven and let the spaghetti pie rest for 10-15 minutes to set before slicing and serving.
Notes
- For extra flavor, combine ground beef with Italian sausage in the meat sauce.
- Use high-quality marinara sauce like Rao's or Carbone for best taste.
- Low moisture, whole milk mozzarella (e.g., Galbani or Dragone) melts best for topping.
- Freshly grate Parmesan from a block, such as Belgioioso, for better flavor.
- Use Philadelphia cream cheese from a tub for better melting in the cheese layer.
- Frank's Hot Sauce is recommended as it enhances flavor without making the sauce spicy.
- This dish can be assembled ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated up to 24 hours or frozen up to 3 months. Thaw completely before baking.
- When baking from refrigerated, cover and bake for 15 minutes, then uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes.
- If covering with foil to bake, spray the foil side with nonstick cooking spray to prevent cheese sticking.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. It reheats well.
- For freezing leftovers, consider using just under ½ lb pasta to keep the dish saucy after reheating.
- Try my Crock Pot Chicken Pot Pie recipe next for more comforting dishes.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 450 kcal
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 700 mg
- Fat: 20 g
- Saturated Fat: 10 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 25 g
- Cholesterol: 90 mg
