Fazioli’s (an Italian fast-food chain) used to be my all-time comfort food way back in the day. They served baked spaghetti in little aluminium containers with a foil lid that revealed all the glorious melted mozzarella when pulled back. And if you had time actually to go in and dine, someone would carry around a basket with hot garlic breadsticks and offer you one, about every 2 minutes. I remember in high school; we’d see how many breadsticks we could collect before they’d stop asking. Good times.
One bite, and you’ll agree traditional spaghetti is boring in comparison. The original baked spaghetti recipe is long lost, but I’ve tried various blends of cream cheese, sour cream, and even cottage cheese over the years. Cream cheese won every time because it melts beautifully into the sauce, making it thick and rich. Lean turkey is our meat of choice, but ground beef would be just as delicious.
And before you draw conclusions and think it’s just like lasagna, it’s not even close! Well, maybe it’s near only because it has noodles and sauce.
Full-Bodied Turkey Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
Spaghetti Ingredients
16 ounces spaghetti
1 pound ground turkey (minced turkey) - 93%
½ large onion - finely chopped
1 dash Italian herbs (oregano, rosemary, thyme, and sometimes basil and parsley)
1 dash salt
26 ounces Neapolitan Sauce or Pasta sauce Southern Hemisphere (Tomato Sauce in North America)
Cheese Mixture Ingredients
1 large egg
3 ounces cream cheese - fat-free in room temperature
¾ cup Mozzarella cheese - more between layers if desired
¼ cup parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook spaghetti noodles according to package for al-dente. Meanwhile, begin cooking turkey and onions over medium heat in a medium-sized skillet.
- Drain and return to pan. Sprinkle in some Italian seasoning and salt. Add jar of spaghetti sauce and stir to combine. Turn heat to low.
- Mix cream cheese in a bowl with egg until it’s creamy. Stir in both kinds of cheese and set aside.
- Place a few spoonfuls of meat sauce in a lightly greased 9×13 casserole. Begin by layering 1/3 of the spaghetti noodles in a casserole dish. Top with a few dollops of the cream cheese mixture across the noodles; top with a few spoonfuls of sauce spreading to cover lightly. Begin another layer of noodles, cheese, and sauce. Finish with sauce and extra mozzarella on top.
- Bake the spaghetti covered with foil at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes.
Nutrition
Turkey Baked Spaghetti
Print RecipeIngredients
- Spaghetti Ingredients
- 1 16-ounce package of spaghetti noodles
- 1 pound of 93% lean ground turkey
- 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
- A dash of Italian seasoning and salt
- 1 26-ounce jar of spaghetti sauce
- Cheese Mixture Ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 3 ounces of fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
- 3/4 cup of mozzarella cheese (more between layers if desired)
- 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Cook spaghetti noodles according to package for al-dente. Meanwhile, begin cooking turkey and onions over medium heat in a medium-sized skillet.
- Drain and return to pan. Sprinkle in some Italian seasoning and salt. Add jar of spaghetti sauce and stir to combine. Turn heat to low.
- Mix cream cheese in a bowl with egg until it’s creamy. Stir in both kinds of cheese and set aside.
- Place a few spoonfuls of meat sauce in a lightly greased 9×13 casserole. Begin by layering 1/3 of the spaghetti noodles in a casserole dish. Top with a few dollops of the cream cheese mixture across the noodles; top with a few spoonfuls of sauce spreading to cover lightly. Begin another layer of noodles, cheese, and sauce. Finish with sauce and extra mozzarella on top.
- Bake the spaghetti covered with foil at 350 for 20 to 25 minutes.
