The Art of Baked Spaghetti: A Delicious Twist on Traditional Favorites

When it comes to Italian cuisine, one dish that stands out from the rest is spaghetti. This classic pasta dish has been a staple for generations, but have you ever considered giving it a twist? Enter baked spaghetti, a creative take on traditional spaghetti that's sure to impress your house guests.

To make baked spaghetti, you'll need 8 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese. This may seem like a lot, but trust us, it's essential in creating that perfect cheesy element at the center of your dish. You can also add some ricotta cheese for extra flavor and texture. But don't worry if you're lactose intolerant; there are plenty of alternatives available.

The key to making great baked spaghetti is to combine your sauce with a mixture of parmesan cheese, sour cream, and borzen. Yes, you read that right – borzen! This may seem like an unusual ingredient, but trust us, it's the secret to creating a ricotta consistency that's hard to beat.

Now that we have our cheese mixture ready, let's talk about building our baked spaghetti dish. Start by adding a thin layer of sauce to the bottom of your casserole dish. This will prevent anything from sticking and make it easier to assemble your dish. Next, toss your noodles in the sauce and begin layering them with the cheese mixture, followed by a little bit of extra sauce and some mozzarella cheese for good measure.

But here's where things get interesting – you can also add other ingredients to give your baked spaghetti an extra boost of flavor. For example, you could try adding some cheddar cheese or parmesan for added authenticity. And don't forget about the importance of a nice, golden-brown top layer. This is where the magic happens, and your dish comes together in perfect harmony.

Now that we've built our baked spaghetti, it's time to pop it into the oven. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, and let the baking begin! Depending on how hot you like your cheese, this should take around 30-40 minutes or until the top is golden brown and bubbly.

But before you dig in, there are a few things to keep in mind. First, make sure to let your baked spaghetti rest for about 10 minutes before serving. This will allow the flavors to meld together and the cheese to set. Second, consider using a combination of sauce and mozzarella on top of your pasta – it's the perfect way to add some extra flavor and texture.

Finally, it's time to taste our masterpiece! Take a big bite and see what you think – is it traditional spaghetti or baked spaghetti that's winning? In our opinion, the answer is clear: baked spaghetti is the way to go. And as for Grandma's secret sauce recipe? Well, let's just say we're keeping that one under wraps.

So there you have it, folks – a delicious twist on traditional spaghetti that's sure to impress your friends and family. Whether you're an Italian food expert or a culinary newbie, baked spaghetti is the perfect dish to add some excitement to your meal routine.

**Tips and Variations**

If you want to get really creative with your baked spaghetti, here are a few tips and variations to try:

* Use different types of cheese, such as mozzarella, parmesan, or cheddar.

* Add some meatballs or sausage for an extra protein boost.

* Experiment with different sauce recipes – from classic tomato sauce to cream-based sauces.

* Consider using gluten-free pasta if you need to accommodate dietary restrictions.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to baked spaghetti. So go ahead and get creative – your taste buds will thank you!

**A Conversation with a Cameraman**

We asked our cameraman, Wizard Kelly, for his opinion on which version of baked spaghetti was better: traditional or the twist we shared in this video. "I'm torn," he said. "The original recipe is classic for a reason, but I love how creative you guys are with adding cheddar cheese and parmesan. It's definitely a tiebreaker!"

We couldn't agree more! And as we took another bite of our delicious baked spaghetti, we knew that this dish was truly the best of both worlds.

**The Verdict**

So what do you think – is traditional spaghetti better than baked spaghetti? Or vice versa? We want to hear from you in the comments below!

In the end, it's all about personal preference. But one thing is for sure: baked spaghetti is a game-changer when it comes to Italian cuisine. So go ahead and give it a try – we promise you won't be disappointed!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: entoday two of the most popular recipes on my channel are going Head to Head I'll be making traditional spaghetti and baked spaghetti meet me in the kitchen let's make it happen first things first let's get in here and prep these ingredients if you're making baked spaghetti or traditional spaghetti it all starts with a great sauce and that's what we're about to make right now all right so getting started with our produce we're going to go ahead and dice up two onions and two bell peppers we also have a ton of Basil we got some roasted garlic all of those things are going to really enhance the flavor of this sauce all right so once those onions are diced we're going to do the same thing with the bell pepper bell pepper is totally optional for those of you guys that don't like it or don't want it in your sauce that's how I grew up eating it and I enjoy a little bell pepper in my sauce so that's what we're going with today if you want to just go onion and garlic that's cool I like roasted garlic for this recipe just because it adds a little extra flavor but if you want to use fresh garlic or minced garlic that works fine as well quick reminder guys that all the specific measurements and ingredients for this recipe can be found in the description box below so don't forget to check that out all right so today the sauce is going to be the same for each recipe so I'm basically going to make a double batch of my traditional sauce that I always make we're going with 2 lb of ground beef feel free to use whatever meat substitute you like we're going to heat this over medium high get a little oil in the pan and we're going to Brown up the meat I like to cook the meat before the veggies that way you get good caramelization on the meat and the steam that comes from the veggies will kind of like start to steam the meat and it'll get all gray we want some nice caramelized pieces for texture and color so medium high heat I like to press it down so it's making good surface area contact with that skillet that's going to give us that myard reaction which basically is you know the caramelization the Searing process just kind of flatten it out a bit now as the meat is cooking I like to use my spatula to kind of begin breaking it up a little bit you can use a uh potato masher or something like that to do this as well just make sure you break it up nice and small it'll break up during the cooking process anyway we're to go ahead and begin seasoning this so I'm going down with my allpurpose seasoning you could also use a blend of salt pepper garlic onion powder things like that or if you want to keep it real simple just salt and pepper we're also going to add a little Italian seasoning we got some fresh herbs going in here as well some red pepper flakes just for a little heat totally optional guys just a pinch and then once that meat gets nice and brown and seared we're going to go ahead and give it a good mix season it a little bit more and then get those vegetables in there all right so once we have our 2 lb of ground beef with a little bit of a head start we're going in with two onions and two bell peppers again guys this is double the recipe for my traditional sauce if you're choosing one of the other to make today just use half of this recipe unless you want extra sauce this stuff freezes really good so not a bad idea to go ahead and make the whole thing let's give that a good mix we'll let those veggies sweat down a bit we're also going to go ahead and add in our roasted garlic continue to season get a little tomato paste in there and then de glaze with some red wine that roasted Garlic's nice and soft it's going to cook down right into the sauce beautifully now next up we're going to go in with a little bit of Italian herb paste this is a product you can find at most grocery stores in the produce section a good 2 tbspoon of that and then we're also going to add about 3 tbspoon of tomato paste give that a good mix allow everything to kind of come together your house is be smelling amazing from that roasted garlic the onions the peppers in my opinion pasta sauce like this is something that you don't want to rush you want to kind of take your time with it really allow those flavors to build that's really where the Magic's at I got the skillet smoking hot right now that's because I when that wine hits the bottom I want to release all of the fond off the bottom of the pot a good/ cup of red wine going in and a full cup for the chef so once you add the red wine you want to allow this to cook off for a bit so we're going to bring that to a rapid boil 2 to 3 minutes all the alcohol will cook off leaving behind the delicious flavor and that's when we'll start adding in our tomato products all right so so far we haven't introduced much salt to this other than what's in the allpurpose seasoning right now I'm going to add some boan if you have beef buan that's ideal but chicken bullan will work as well that's going to add some MSG which is a flavor enhancer and quite a bit of sodium so that's going to act as our salty element along with the MSG going to coat the pet nicely have the guest want in another serving but that's what you want to see you really want to cook this down guys that's what you want to see right there don't rush this step right here because this is where all the flavor is building all right so right now I feel like I'm on the set of Good Fellas with this big pot of gravy but we're making two batches of spaghetti today so we're going to go ahead and add in the basil I like to add it whole that way we can fish it out we'll steal all of its flavor and two bay leaves we'll let that simmer for about an hour or two or as long as you got the patience for and then let me know in the comments if you put sugar in your spaghetti sauce or not me personally I'll be adding a little bit in about an hour when I was growing up you couldn't have spaghetti without a little garlic bread so we're going to go ahead and make that for both versions here so while the sauce is simmering I'm going to go ahead and get some melted butter add a little roasted garlic some seasoning some fresh parsley slice a baguette and get that in the oven so as far as the bread goes we're using a nice baguette today you can slice it on a bit make the pieces a little bit longer you can slice it more traditionally I like to slice mine at an angle serrated blade is what you want to use for bread then we're just going to smear on that good old garlic butter right onto our bagette and that's going to go right into the oven so it's golden brown and beautiful now when I was a kid we would just did this on some Wonderbread with a little butter and some garlic powder but today the resources are a little bit in better shape thankfully but nothing wrong with the little white bread and your spaghetti all right guys we got the world's best spaghetti sauce on the back burner simmering away to Perfection and now I'm going to show you my cheese mixture that goes with the baked spaghetti think of this kind of like a ricotta layer on a lasagna but it's a lot better we got a half cup of sour cream to that we're going to add one whole block of borses and garlic and herb cheese absolute cheat code for your mashed potatoes your Shak cuder board and for your baked spaghetti loaded with flavor little bit on the pricey side sometimes you can catch it on sale for like five bucks if you do stock up on it that whole blocks going in we're going to add a whole head of roasted garlic as well next up we're going in with about a cup of grated par paresan cheese you use the fresh stuff or store bought if you're feeling a little lazy like me today don't judge me one cup of that going in some fresh chopped parsley a little buan some AP seasoning or salt and pepper and some Italian seasoning last but not least we're going to add about 6 to 8 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese it's going to add a nice cheesy element into the middle of your spake spaghetti give you that nice cheese pull when you go to present this for your house guests they'll be all impressed left their lactose intolerant so now we're just going to get in there with our spatula and fold everything together all right so what you want to see is like a ricotta consistency it's kind of what we made with the borzen and sour cream blend in my opinion don't hate me for this way better tasting than store-bought ricot cheese that may be controversial but so is a lot of stuff that I say so sue me this is going to go right in between the layers of spaghetti go in the oven it's going to bake beautifully all right guys all the ingredients are ready the oven is preheated at 350° I'm going to go ahead and prep our casserole dish to do that we're going to add a little bit of sauce to the bottom so so nothing sticks this is how Grandma used to do it so I'm not asking no questions nice thin layer at the bottom and then we're going to toss our noodles in the sauce and begin building our baked SP dish all right guys so at this point it's just a pasta baked same as baked ziti lasagna anything like that we're to go ahead and layer our noodles with the cheese mixture that we made a little bit of extra cheese a little bit of extra sauce and it's going to be delicious let me know in the comments if you ever had baked spaghetti let me know if you like baked spaghetti or traditional better we're going to find out today which one is the best so just a nice light layer of sauce in the middle got sauce on the bottom too so it'll be plenty te Saucy you'll be plenty Saucy too if you drink as many glasses of wine as I did in the making of this video all right next up that fantastic cheese mixture just going to dollop that on there kind of spread it relatively thin doesn't have to be perfect guys it's going to melt down so if you can't get it a nice even layer it's not a big deal then we'll come in with another layer of noodles all right so once everything is layered in there beautifully like you see right here we're going to top it with a little cheese now my Italians in the comments are going to lose their mind when they see this cheddar but that's how I used to do it when I was coming up I like the color and cheddar tastes good I don't care what you say got mozzarella in there as well for a little bit more authenticity you hit with some Parmesan cheese if you want to as well but either way well you can't go wrong just top it with a little cheese in the oven at 350 for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown beautiful and bubbly and this is the part why I say brace yourself for a trademark money shot say it with me guys looking good the only thing left to do is get in here for a taste test but before we do that please take a quick second to subscribe to the channel make sure you hit that Bell to a notifications as well all right guys so with the traditional version of spaghetti you got two options you can either mix the sauce together or plate the sauce on top of the pasta that's how my wife likes it I like mine mixed together we went with a combination of the two here for presentation let me know in the comments what you prefer one other Pro tip you want to let your baked spaghetti rest for about 10 minutes before you dig in speaking of digging in is time let me know in the comments which version you think is the best thises biged spaghetti look tough to beat it also looks piping hot it's the layer that that cheese layer really brings it home for me but going with Old Faithful traditional it's been around forever for a reason let's see what we got it's tough It's a draw it's a draw I don't know what else to say got get the cameraman's opinion y'all the tiebreaker I got to get in there and try it I know you ain't got to cut but hey Wizard Kelly Y'all I know you ain't got a cut hey BL me out though get in there and try it now where my head at here grab a make a happen joint and action that's a big bite my brother that's a real big bite hey y Le this one out hold on let me get out this this a long time parental advisory oh man that's tough that's tough going bake going bake bake I can see why somebody would go traditional though got to traditional the sauce is singing more right yeah it's more flavor dynamic in this onetoday two of the most popular recipes on my channel are going Head to Head I'll be making traditional spaghetti and baked spaghetti meet me in the kitchen let's make it happen first things first let's get in here and prep these ingredients if you're making baked spaghetti or traditional spaghetti it all starts with a great sauce and that's what we're about to make right now all right so getting started with our produce we're going to go ahead and dice up two onions and two bell peppers we also have a ton of Basil we got some roasted garlic all of those things are going to really enhance the flavor of this sauce all right so once those onions are diced we're going to do the same thing with the bell pepper bell pepper is totally optional for those of you guys that don't like it or don't want it in your sauce that's how I grew up eating it and I enjoy a little bell pepper in my sauce so that's what we're going with today if you want to just go onion and garlic that's cool I like roasted garlic for this recipe just because it adds a little extra flavor but if you want to use fresh garlic or minced garlic that works fine as well quick reminder guys that all the specific measurements and ingredients for this recipe can be found in the description box below so don't forget to check that out all right so today the sauce is going to be the same for each recipe so I'm basically going to make a double batch of my traditional sauce that I always make we're going with 2 lb of ground beef feel free to use whatever meat substitute you like we're going to heat this over medium high get a little oil in the pan and we're going to Brown up the meat I like to cook the meat before the veggies that way you get good caramelization on the meat and the steam that comes from the veggies will kind of like start to steam the meat and it'll get all gray we want some nice caramelized pieces for texture and color so medium high heat I like to press it down so it's making good surface area contact with that skillet that's going to give us that myard reaction which basically is you know the caramelization the Searing process just kind of flatten it out a bit now as the meat is cooking I like to use my spatula to kind of begin breaking it up a little bit you can use a uh potato masher or something like that to do this as well just make sure you break it up nice and small it'll break up during the cooking process anyway we're to go ahead and begin seasoning this so I'm going down with my allpurpose seasoning you could also use a blend of salt pepper garlic onion powder things like that or if you want to keep it real simple just salt and pepper we're also going to add a little Italian seasoning we got some fresh herbs going in here as well some red pepper flakes just for a little heat totally optional guys just a pinch and then once that meat gets nice and brown and seared we're going to go ahead and give it a good mix season it a little bit more and then get those vegetables in there all right so once we have our 2 lb of ground beef with a little bit of a head start we're going in with two onions and two bell peppers again guys this is double the recipe for my traditional sauce if you're choosing one of the other to make today just use half of this recipe unless you want extra sauce this stuff freezes really good so not a bad idea to go ahead and make the whole thing let's give that a good mix we'll let those veggies sweat down a bit we're also going to go ahead and add in our roasted garlic continue to season get a little tomato paste in there and then de glaze with some red wine that roasted Garlic's nice and soft it's going to cook down right into the sauce beautifully now next up we're going to go in with a little bit of Italian herb paste this is a product you can find at most grocery stores in the produce section a good 2 tbspoon of that and then we're also going to add about 3 tbspoon of tomato paste give that a good mix allow everything to kind of come together your house is be smelling amazing from that roasted garlic the onions the peppers in my opinion pasta sauce like this is something that you don't want to rush you want to kind of take your time with it really allow those flavors to build that's really where the Magic's at I got the skillet smoking hot right now that's because I when that wine hits the bottom I want to release all of the fond off the bottom of the pot a good/ cup of red wine going in and a full cup for the chef so once you add the red wine you want to allow this to cook off for a bit so we're going to bring that to a rapid boil 2 to 3 minutes all the alcohol will cook off leaving behind the delicious flavor and that's when we'll start adding in our tomato products all right so so far we haven't introduced much salt to this other than what's in the allpurpose seasoning right now I'm going to add some boan if you have beef buan that's ideal but chicken bullan will work as well that's going to add some MSG which is a flavor enhancer and quite a bit of sodium so that's going to act as our salty element along with the MSG going to coat the pet nicely have the guest want in another serving but that's what you want to see you really want to cook this down guys that's what you want to see right there don't rush this step right here because this is where all the flavor is building all right so right now I feel like I'm on the set of Good Fellas with this big pot of gravy but we're making two batches of spaghetti today so we're going to go ahead and add in the basil I like to add it whole that way we can fish it out we'll steal all of its flavor and two bay leaves we'll let that simmer for about an hour or two or as long as you got the patience for and then let me know in the comments if you put sugar in your spaghetti sauce or not me personally I'll be adding a little bit in about an hour when I was growing up you couldn't have spaghetti without a little garlic bread so we're going to go ahead and make that for both versions here so while the sauce is simmering I'm going to go ahead and get some melted butter add a little roasted garlic some seasoning some fresh parsley slice a baguette and get that in the oven so as far as the bread goes we're using a nice baguette today you can slice it on a bit make the pieces a little bit longer you can slice it more traditionally I like to slice mine at an angle serrated blade is what you want to use for bread then we're just going to smear on that good old garlic butter right onto our bagette and that's going to go right into the oven so it's golden brown and beautiful now when I was a kid we would just did this on some Wonderbread with a little butter and some garlic powder but today the resources are a little bit in better shape thankfully but nothing wrong with the little white bread and your spaghetti all right guys we got the world's best spaghetti sauce on the back burner simmering away to Perfection and now I'm going to show you my cheese mixture that goes with the baked spaghetti think of this kind of like a ricotta layer on a lasagna but it's a lot better we got a half cup of sour cream to that we're going to add one whole block of borses and garlic and herb cheese absolute cheat code for your mashed potatoes your Shak cuder board and for your baked spaghetti loaded with flavor little bit on the pricey side sometimes you can catch it on sale for like five bucks if you do stock up on it that whole blocks going in we're going to add a whole head of roasted garlic as well next up we're going in with about a cup of grated par paresan cheese you use the fresh stuff or store bought if you're feeling a little lazy like me today don't judge me one cup of that going in some fresh chopped parsley a little buan some AP seasoning or salt and pepper and some Italian seasoning last but not least we're going to add about 6 to 8 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese it's going to add a nice cheesy element into the middle of your spake spaghetti give you that nice cheese pull when you go to present this for your house guests they'll be all impressed left their lactose intolerant so now we're just going to get in there with our spatula and fold everything together all right so what you want to see is like a ricotta consistency it's kind of what we made with the borzen and sour cream blend in my opinion don't hate me for this way better tasting than store-bought ricot cheese that may be controversial but so is a lot of stuff that I say so sue me this is going to go right in between the layers of spaghetti go in the oven it's going to bake beautifully all right guys all the ingredients are ready the oven is preheated at 350° I'm going to go ahead and prep our casserole dish to do that we're going to add a little bit of sauce to the bottom so so nothing sticks this is how Grandma used to do it so I'm not asking no questions nice thin layer at the bottom and then we're going to toss our noodles in the sauce and begin building our baked SP dish all right guys so at this point it's just a pasta baked same as baked ziti lasagna anything like that we're to go ahead and layer our noodles with the cheese mixture that we made a little bit of extra cheese a little bit of extra sauce and it's going to be delicious let me know in the comments if you ever had baked spaghetti let me know if you like baked spaghetti or traditional better we're going to find out today which one is the best so just a nice light layer of sauce in the middle got sauce on the bottom too so it'll be plenty te Saucy you'll be plenty Saucy too if you drink as many glasses of wine as I did in the making of this video all right next up that fantastic cheese mixture just going to dollop that on there kind of spread it relatively thin doesn't have to be perfect guys it's going to melt down so if you can't get it a nice even layer it's not a big deal then we'll come in with another layer of noodles all right so once everything is layered in there beautifully like you see right here we're going to top it with a little cheese now my Italians in the comments are going to lose their mind when they see this cheddar but that's how I used to do it when I was coming up I like the color and cheddar tastes good I don't care what you say got mozzarella in there as well for a little bit more authenticity you hit with some Parmesan cheese if you want to as well but either way well you can't go wrong just top it with a little cheese in the oven at 350 for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the top is golden brown beautiful and bubbly and this is the part why I say brace yourself for a trademark money shot say it with me guys looking good the only thing left to do is get in here for a taste test but before we do that please take a quick second to subscribe to the channel make sure you hit that Bell to a notifications as well all right guys so with the traditional version of spaghetti you got two options you can either mix the sauce together or plate the sauce on top of the pasta that's how my wife likes it I like mine mixed together we went with a combination of the two here for presentation let me know in the comments what you prefer one other Pro tip you want to let your baked spaghetti rest for about 10 minutes before you dig in speaking of digging in is time let me know in the comments which version you think is the best thises biged spaghetti look tough to beat it also looks piping hot it's the layer that that cheese layer really brings it home for me but going with Old Faithful traditional it's been around forever for a reason let's see what we got it's tough It's a draw it's a draw I don't know what else to say got get the cameraman's opinion y'all the tiebreaker I got to get in there and try it I know you ain't got to cut but hey Wizard Kelly Y'all I know you ain't got a cut hey BL me out though get in there and try it now where my head at here grab a make a happen joint and action that's a big bite my brother that's a real big bite hey y Le this one out hold on let me get out this this a long time parental advisory oh man that's tough that's tough going bake going bake bake I can see why somebody would go traditional though got to traditional the sauce is singing more right yeah it's more flavor dynamic in this one\n"