Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs Casserole

Homemade Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs Casserole with ground turkey, mozzarella cheese and fresh parsley, a comforting dish fit for a king. 

So, the clocks have gone backwards an hour, which means that from about 4:30 pm it’s getting dark already. I know it’s silly because it happens every year, but l don’t think l was mentally prepared for that.

I mean, just weeks ago l was taking the girls out for a nice afternoon walk to the park, and it was sunny, light and bright, and still quite warm. This morning there were like 0 degrees Celsius. Not cool!

I know, November is knocking at the door, but still. This is going to be a long winter in the cold and rainy United Kingdom! We better go back to warm clothes and comfort food!

And, talking about comfort food, this cheesy baked spaghetti and meatballs casserole is just perfect for this weather now. It’s outrageously tasty, comforting, filling, cheesy, and all in all, sheer heaven.

Now, you have two options:

1. Buy ready-made meatballs, either refrigerated or frozen
2. Buy turkey mince and make the meatballs yourself

I would wholeheartedly advise you to go for option number 2. Not only it’s cheaper, but you can also season the meatballs to your own taste. And in my case, sneak in some veggies so that little ones can get even more goodness out of their meal.

Again, make the sauce yourself, you only need a tin of chopped tomatoes, which costs about £0.35 or something like that. Then, the own-brand spaghetti from any supermarket will be about £0.70, maybe less. You end up spending less that £5 to feed the whole family.

And what a dish this is! Buying ready meals will cost you triple, if not more. Plus, l guarantee you that it won’t taste as nice as this baked spaghetti and meatballs.

Take a look at the collage above, it’s super easy to put this pasta bake together. All you need to do is make the meatballs, throw them in the sauce to cook while boiling the spaghetti separately, get them all in a skillet, top with cheese, in the oven, job done!

And then you end up with this heaven on your plate. If this is not comfort food, l don’t know what it is! Even my husband loved it, and he usually rolls his eyes when he sees me cooking pasta. And meat, and cheese. Things he likes to hate in general, for being fattening. Well, not this time!

Needless to say that it was one of the very few times when we all enjoyed the dinner and ate up from the plates.  I made spaghetti and meatballs before, tried the Swedish meatballs too, but this was by far the most delicious. DAMN DELICIOUS!!

If you make a bigger portion, you can freeze some and enjoy on another occasion, perhaps when you don’t have time to make it from scratch. Either freeze the whole thing, or just the meatballs sauce, and cook the spaghetti when needed. Enjoy, you are in for a treat!

If you’ve tried this BAKED SPAGHETTI AND MEATBALLS CASSEROLE or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I’m getting up to.

5 from 1 vote

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Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs Casserole

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

45 mins

Total Time

55 mins

 

Homemade Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs Casserole with ground turkey, grated mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce, a comforting dish fit for a king.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: International

Keyword: meatballs casserole

Servings: 4 people

Calories: 203 kcal

Author: Daniela Anderson

Ingredients

For the meatballs

• 450 g ground turkey (1 lb)
• 1/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
• 1 egg
• 1 medium carrot, grated
• 1/2 red onion, grated
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/8 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley

For the tomato sauce

• 1 tin chopped tomatoes (400 g, 13 oz)
• 1 cup chicken stock (broth)
• a pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley

Other ingredients

• 1/2 grated mozzarella
• 1/4 package of spaghetti
• a knob of butter for greasing the skillet

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

1. To make the meatballs, add the ingredients listed above to a bowl, mix well and shape meatballs, depending on the size, you should get about 20.

2. In a large pan, add the chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, season with salt and pepper, and add the meatballs carefully.

3. Cook on a medium heat for about 20 minutes or until the sauce is reduced and thick, and the meatballs are cooked through.

4. You might want to stir gently half the way through to make sure the meatballs don't stick to the pan.

5. Meanwhile, bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the spaghetti according to the packet instructions.

6. When ready, drain the water and place the spaghetti in a skillet that had been greased with butter or oil.

7. Top with the cooked meatball sauce and sprinkle grated mozzarella all over.

8. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius (390 Fahrenheit).

9. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the cheese has melted.

10. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Recipe Notes

• Replace the ground turkey with beef, chicken, pork, lamb, or a mixture of any of these
• If you want to keep the meatballs simple, you can omit the grated onion and carrot.
• Click on the number of servings to see the adjusted quantity of ingredients depending on the number of servings you want.
• Click on the US Customary to see the quantities listed in cups and ounces.

Nutrition Facts

Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs Casserole

Amount Per Serving

Calories 203 Calories from Fat 36

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 4g 6%

Saturated Fat 1g 5%

Cholesterol 104mg 35%

Sodium 366mg 15%

Potassium 492mg 14%

Total Carbohydrates 10g 3%

Sugars 2g

Protein 30g 60%

Vitamin A 55.9%

Vitamin C 5.4%

Calcium 3%

Iron 9.3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.