I am a sucker for a really good plate of spaghetti and meatballs. I am an even bigger sucker for baked spaghetti and meatballs! I pretty much got the idea for this dish from my vegetarian roommate. That's right, my vegetarian roommate! She loves to cook with her boyfriend whenever they have the time, and her favorite meal in the whole world is spaghetti layered with marinara sauce, pesto, mozzarella cheese, and Morningstar Farm's veggie beef crumbles, which are basically the crumbled version of a really good veggie burger. She's made that dish for me before, and I can honestly say that I loved the texture of the fake beef just as much as real beef, and it has the added bonus of having way less fat and calories than ground beef.
I wanted to replicate her spaghetti by using the same elements, but with meatballs instead of the veggie crumbles. I used Trader Joe's sundried tomato and basil chicken meatballs, which have a lot less fat than beef meatballs, but if you prefer the flavor of beef, or just want to go all out, feel free to use beef meatballs instead. This is all so simple to throw together, too! Just boil the pasta, toss with a bunch of tomato sauce, top with the meatballs, pesto, and cheese and bake! I couldn't even take a picture of what it looks like on the plate because I immediately started eating - it's that good!
Baked Spaghetti with Meatballs
* This recipe fills an 8x8-inch baking pan, and could feed 4 to 6 people. You can double the recipe to fill a 13x9-inch pan and feed a whole crowd!
8 ounces spaghetti (half of a one-pound box)
2 cups tomato-basil sauce or marinara sauce
10 fully-cooked italian-style meatballs, heated through (you can find fully-cooked meatballs in the frozen section or in the refrigerated section of your grocery store)
3 tablespoons store-bought pesto
6 thin slices FRESH mozzarella cheese***
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cook the spaghetti until al dente in boiling salted water. Drain and toss with 1 1/2 cups of the marinara sauce in a large bowl. Pour the spaghetti into an 8x8-inch baking pan, top with the cooked meatballs, dot with the pesto and the remaining 1/2 cup tomato sauce, and the mozzarella slices. Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and everything is heated through. Serve immediately and enjoy!
*** Using fresh mozzarella makes a huge difference, but make sure NOT to use the kind packed in water. That will make the pasta too liquidy, and we don't want that. If you can't find fresh mozzarella that is vacuum packed, just use part-skim shredded mozzarella instead. It will taste just as good.
I wanted to replicate her spaghetti by using the same elements, but with meatballs instead of the veggie crumbles. I used Trader Joe's sundried tomato and basil chicken meatballs, which have a lot less fat than beef meatballs, but if you prefer the flavor of beef, or just want to go all out, feel free to use beef meatballs instead. This is all so simple to throw together, too! Just boil the pasta, toss with a bunch of tomato sauce, top with the meatballs, pesto, and cheese and bake! I couldn't even take a picture of what it looks like on the plate because I immediately started eating - it's that good!
Baked Spaghetti with Meatballs
* This recipe fills an 8x8-inch baking pan, and could feed 4 to 6 people. You can double the recipe to fill a 13x9-inch pan and feed a whole crowd!
8 ounces spaghetti (half of a one-pound box)
2 cups tomato-basil sauce or marinara sauce
10 fully-cooked italian-style meatballs, heated through (you can find fully-cooked meatballs in the frozen section or in the refrigerated section of your grocery store)
3 tablespoons store-bought pesto
6 thin slices FRESH mozzarella cheese***
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Cook the spaghetti until al dente in boiling salted water. Drain and toss with 1 1/2 cups of the marinara sauce in a large bowl. Pour the spaghetti into an 8x8-inch baking pan, top with the cooked meatballs, dot with the pesto and the remaining 1/2 cup tomato sauce, and the mozzarella slices. Bake for 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and everything is heated through. Serve immediately and enjoy!
*** Using fresh mozzarella makes a huge difference, but make sure NOT to use the kind packed in water. That will make the pasta too liquidy, and we don't want that. If you can't find fresh mozzarella that is vacuum packed, just use part-skim shredded mozzarella instead. It will taste just as good.
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