That title is a lot of deliciousness in it right there. The best (and easiest) first day twice baked spaghetti…. and it is SO. GOOD.
Twice Baked Spaghetti
But you know, we were debating what was for dinner last week and we decided on pasta. Which we honestly hardly eat anymore since we mostly do zucchini pasta. But last week, we had a loaf of fresh bread and fresh made salad ready to go and gave in to those Italian cravings and went for the pack of lentil angel hair pasta in the cupboard.
Perfect Pasta
The perfect pasta to me? Baked (not topped) and lighter on the saucy sauce. My husband is half Italian and he should- he loves red sauce and could literally eat all of it by himself. I just like my pasta a little less saucy. So to me, even better than baked spaghetti is warmed up in the pan the next day spaghetti. There is something about it that reminds me of childhood and those warm you up leftovers that were always better than they were the first day. It is a feel good kind of dinner. Add a bit of fresh garlic bread and a salad and it is quick Italian night dinner perfection.
The best part about this dinner- is no matter if you like more sauce or less, more cheese or none, Italian seasoning or simple flavor- you can make this to your taste easily.
Though he loves a big heavy heap of sauce- my husband agrees that there is something pretty good about those leftovers- and so when he suggested pasta- I said baked spaghetti. Even better- can make twice baked spaghetti tonight? He is the chef over here and he nodded. We could cook it, mix up the sauce (rather than top with the sauce) ,sauté it a bit and then put the pan in the oven with a drizzle of olive oil & cheese on the top to brown just right. So, that is what he did.
I will admit, I am a terrible food blogger and I didn’t take a photo of the process. Because I honestly didn’t even think about sharing it here at the time. It was photogenic for an Instagram story when it was done but that was about the only photo I took. Even so, it was so delicious that I decided to go ahead and share. So, even without the usual bombardment of in the process photos- I thought I would share what he did for twice baking.
First Day Twice Baked Spaghetti
Equipment
- 1 Casserole dish
- 1 Saucepan
- 1 saute pan
Ingredients
- 1 lb Spaghetti noodles
- 1 jar Favorite Red Pasta Sauce
- 1 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup mozzarella or jack if desired
- 1 cup mushrooms- sliced
- 1 head garlic- minced
- 1 onion- chopped
- Salt & pepper to taste
- 1/4-1/2 cup Olive oil
- Italian seasoning to taste
Instructions
- Cook your pasta in water as usual. At the same time, sauté the mushrooms, garlic and onions in a pan with a bit of olive oil. In a separate sauce pan- warm up the pasta sauce. Once the sauce is warm- add the mushrooms, onions and garlic to the sauce and set aside. Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water and put the pasta into the sauce mixture and saut'e for about 10 minutes. Then pour it all into the casserole dish. Drizzle olive oil over the pasta and then pour the sauce over the pasta and mix well. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese or mozzarella with a bit of Italian seasoning on top ( to your preference)Bake for 20 minutes or until cheese is browned. Add pepper (and salt) to taste if preferred. Serve and Enjoy!
Delicious
It is seriously DELICIOUS folks. The pasta cooked in with the sauce perfectly and as you can see the cheese melted beyond. As I mentioned, we usually do a zucchini noodle vs a pasta noodle (but sometimes we walk on the wild side) We add fresh pepper to ours- we like a bit more flavor and zip but you don’t have to. And you can always substitute your favorite cheese, vegan cheese or leave off all together if you prefer. When I was a kid, I used to love to put a little butter on top after it baked- I know I shouldn’t do that now but it was pretty darn good.
And even better- we had enough leftover for three times warmed up spaghetti the next day. My husband has been known to take whatever leftovers there are and put an egg on them for breakfast. As you can imagine- he was quite happy with these leftovers. You can find 5 more favorite delicious and easy recipes for summer HERE
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Looks DELICIOUS but I have never found a jar tomatoe sauce worth eating. Can you share yours. Thanks and I love fcc
Gb
I hear you! I referenced the jar in the recipe since that is what most folks use. He often makes his own but I will ask what his favorite is and share. He always adds a lot of fresh veggies & fresh garlic to jar sauce as well though- so that may make a difference too.
cAN’T WIT TO MAKE THIS DISH cOURTNEY.
wHat a great idea!
Moni