This Slow Cooker Baked Spaghetti is such a treat compared to regular our spaghetti night!
This post sponsored by RAGU but all opinions are mine alone.
Do you have spaghetti weekly at your house? My family does, and it can get boring. This Slow Cooker Baked Spaghetti Casserole is a perfect way to make spaghetti night spectacular.
I remember my mom making spaghetti weekly, and she would simmer the pasta sauce and meat all-day on the stove top, walking by and stirring every so often.
With the slow cooker, ground beef and Ragu Homestyle sauce, I can get my mom’s simmered all day tasting sauce without having to stir until I’m ready to serve.
How I make this spaghetti dinner extra special is by making it a casserole by topping the slow-cooked sauce and noodles with a cream cheese and ricotta mixture, AND I add mozzarella cheese too!
How to make Baked Spaghetti:
You will need these ingredients:
- Ragu Homestyle Pasta Sauce
- Ground beef
- White onion
- Garlic
- Salt
- Oregano
- Basil
- Spaghetti noodles
- Cream Cheese
- Ricotta
- More Salt
- Mozzarella Cheese
Directions:
- Brown the meat in a skillet on the stove top. After the beef has started to brown add the onion and garlic and cook until the beef has no pink. Drain the fat.
- Add the oregano, basil, and salt to the meat, stir.
- Add the beef and sauce into the slow cooker.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours.
- When the cooking time is up, prepare the spaghetti noodles as directed on the box. Drain and add the noodles to the sauce in the slow cooker. Stir.
- In a small bowl combine the ricotta, cream cheese, and salt. Dollop this over the noodles in the slow cooker, then spread out evenly.
- Sprinkle over the mozzarella cheese. Replace lid and cook for 20 minutes more on low.
What to serve this with:
- Garlic bread or breadsticks
- Fresh green salad and dressing
Which Ragu Homestyle sauce would you use for this recipe? I am going to try the roasted garlic sauce next time I make this, how good does that sound? The sauce hugs the pasta perfectly since it is thick. I hope you enjoy this meal as much as my family does! Have a great week!
Equipment
- Slow Cooker- 6 quart or larger
Ingredients
- 48 oz. RAGÚ® Pasta sauce
- 1.5 lbs. ground beef
- ½ cup diced white onion
- 1 minced garlic clove
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp.dried oregano
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 lb. spaghetti noodles see below for cooking instructions, these don’t get cooked or added until after the sauce cooks for 6 hours
Cheese topping after sauce cooks:
- 4 ounces cream cheese 1/2 cup
- 1 cup ricotta
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Pour the jars of sauce in to the slow cooker. In a large skillet set over medium-high heat, brown the meat and onions together. After the meat is browned add the garlic, cook for a minute a longer. Drain the fat. Add the salt, oregano and basil and stir. Pour the meat onto the sauce in the slow cooker and stir.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- After the cooking time is up, cook the noodles as directed on the package in boiling water on the stove-top. I cooked my noodles for exactly 8 minutes after adding them to the boiling water. The noodles will cook a bit more after adding them to the slow cooker.
- Drain the noodles and add them to the meat sauce in the slow cooker. Stir, then flatten the noodles in an even layer.
- In a small bowl combine the cream cheese, ricotta and salt. The cream cheese will be in small chunks, but that is fine.
- Dollop the cream cheese/ricotta mixture over the spaghetti, then use a spatula to even it out over the spaghetti. Add the mozzarella cheese.
- Cover and cook for an extra 20 minutes on LOW.
- Serve and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post sponsored by RAGU but all opinions are mine alone.
I made this and it was delish!! I also added some mushrooms (finely diced) and a couple of bay leaves and only the ricotta…the flavour was amazing and the beef was so tender!! A keeper for sure!!
I cook my ground beef in my crock pot first with my spices and onion. Then I add my sauce. My cooked noodles and cheese. Etc.
This is the best spaghetti I’ve ever had. It’s a hit at slumber parties for my daughter and her friends and it’s great for potlucks. It does take a lot of time but it’s worth it. I find it takes longer than 20 minutes after the cheese addition. We usually let it go for an hour or two to ensure it’s nice and gooey. But I do have a crockpot from like 15 years ago.
Great tip, It could go a little longer without anything bad happening, just makes it hotter and bubbly.
Thank you it was a hit last night. My son doesn’t come often so when he does I like to make it special. He told me he was in the mood for spaghetti with meat balls. I asked if he would opt for spaghetti with ground beef instead and he agreed. I made it and him and my little ones are it all up… I loved it myself. My husband wasn’t a fan but he is not a cheese lover. So WHATEVER… lol
Anyhow thank you for sharing and making our night special because my son absolutely loved it.
Just mixed the meat in the sauce
The anticipation is killing me there is no doubt it will come out delicious
Has anyone tried it with ground turkey instead of beef? Thanks.
Yes it comes out delicious!
While I liked this recipe, the prep work is the same as regular spaghetti and would have been easier to just do the prep and bake it in the oven. Pre cooking everything kind of ruined the whole crock pot idea. It was a very good meal but just think easier doing it in the oven.
Flavors are enhanced with the slow cooking! More economical to use the slow cooker than to use your big oven!
Can you make another mixture with just mozerella cheese and cream cheese somehow? I’m stuck st home for the weekend and don’t have ricotta at the moment. I can’t wait to try this thank u
Yes, I think that will work fine!
Hi! I’m SO excited to try this! I only have 1 pound of hamburger meat. I was thinking maybe trying to just use 1 and a half jars of sauce but still cooking for the full time? Do you think that would be okay?
I think it should be fine!
I made this recipe for an Italian themed luncheon at the school where I work Teachers are generally very good cooks and these meals are always wonderful. Everyone asked for the recipe! That’s a big 5 stars!!!! Thanks for all your recipes. I haven’t tried anything that wasn’t delicious
Happy to hear that Joleen, this recipe is one of my favorites. Makes so much and the leftovers heat up great.
How do you suggest reheating?
We heat in the microwave. Sorry I don’t have a fancier answer!
Thanks! I am not fancy either! I am going to try putting it on the warm setting on the Crock-Pot but, if not hot enough, will also use microwave!
Thinking of freezing half of it. How long would I need to cook it in the oven after it defrosts?
I’m unsure. I’m guessing 30 minutes.
I rolled this in a flour mixture and deep fried it.
Awesome! I bet that was great.
I will try to make this recipe for my son today. I hope he will like it.
What would you suggest doing if you wanted to make this a freezer meal? Thanks for the help!
Just do the sauce and meat in a baggie. Then add everything else after cooking.
I have a 4-quart crock-pot not a 6-quart….how would you reduce the recipe so it would fit?
Is it possible to cook it on high for 3 hours instead? I want to make it tomorrow but I forgot to buy the sauce tonight and will purchase tomorrow. I hope you get back to me in time!
Yes I think that would be just fine!
Could you use other pastas? Like Ziti or Regatoni?
yes! Be sure to pre-cook it and use a 16 ounce box still.
How do you reduce the size of the recipe? My son just bought me a crock pot (haven’t had one for several years) and being divorced, I am mostly cooking for myself so we picked out a 4 qt… And unless there is a recipe to work from I tend to be useless!!
Could this recipe be cut in half
I don’t see why not Brittney, I would cut down the cooking time though.
What a delicious meal. after adding the cheeses I placed everthing in a casserole dish and baked on 400 degrees for 20 minutes