Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti

Baked pasta dish that combines cooked spaghetti with a tomato-meat sauce thickened with cream cheese

Prep Time5

Cook Time40

Total Time45

Course: Pasta

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: cream cheese, spaghetti

Servings:

Calories: 889kcal

Author: Daisy Merano

Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions. Set aside.
1 lb. spaghetti
Heat oil in a pot and then add the ground beef. Cook until brown.
2 teaspoons cooking oil, 1 lb. ground beef
Add the onion and Italian seasoning. Saute for 2 minutes.
1 medium yellow onion, 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Pour the spaghetti sauce into the pot. Stir and let boil. Cook between low and medium heat for 20 minutes.
24 oz. spaghetti sauce
Add the cream cheese. Stir until it well blended. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8 oz. cream cheese, Salt and ground black pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 320F.
Combine spaghetti and sauce in a large bowl. Add half of the parsley. Toss to blend. Make sure that the spaghetti is coated with sauce.
1 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Arrange in a baking tray and top with remaining parsley. Bake fake for 10 minutes.
Remove from the oven and serve.

Use al dente pasta. This helps the noodles hold up better once baked. If the pasta is too soft from the start, it may turn mushy in the oven. Salt your water generously, it’s the only chance to season the noodles directly.
Cream cheese must be soft. Let it sit at room temperature while the sauce simmers. Cold cream cheese takes longer to melt and may leave lumps. You can cube it ahead of time to help it break down faster once added to the sauce.
Avoid overbaking. The goal is to warm it through, not to cook it further. A 10-minute bake is enough to blend the ingredients without drying the spaghetti out. Watch for slight bubbling at the edges as your signal to take it out.
Use foil for leftovers. This pasta reheats well the next day. Cover it with foil before putting it back in the oven, or reheat slices in the microwave with a damp paper towel on top to keep moisture in.
Feel free to adjust the sauce. If your spaghetti sauce is too thick or concentrated, you can splash in a few tablespoons of water or pasta water to loosen it. The cream cheese also thickens the mixture, so starting slightly loose works better than a dry base.