Spaghetti Alfredo
The TikTok spaghetti Alfredo went viral for a reason! Rich and layered with tons of flavor, this baked pasta layers an easy homemade Alfredo sauce with tomato sauce and ground meat or sausage for a dinner recipe the entire family will love.
🍝 What Makes This Recipe So Good
- Spaghetti Alfredo combines two of the best flavors into one saucy, cheesy irresistible baked pasta. Red spaghetti sauce, mixed together with a dreamy and homemade Alfredo sauce. It’s hearty, satisfying, and something that the whole family will love!
- It’s easy to make! Just cook your pasta, meat, and Alfredo sauce. Then, all you have to do is mix, layer, and let the dish bake in the oven! The result is an incredibly satisfying baked pasta dish, ready in under an hour.
- It yields a large number of servings, which makes it a great and affordable way to feed guests! Serve it with a side salad and garlic bread to give a full, restaurant-quality meal.
👩🏼🍳 Chef’s Tips
- You can use any ground meat you have on hand, or whatever is on sale at your local grocery store for this recipe. We used ground beef here, but ground pork, turkey, chicken, or Italian sausage would be delicious as well. For vegetarians, Impossible brand or Beyond ground “meat” would be perfect in this Spaghetti Alfredo.
- You don’t have to make your own Alfredo sauce! You can totally use a jar of Alfredo sauce if you want to shorten the prep time, or if you just have one on hand that you want to use.
- This is a great meal-prep option! Cook everything according to the recipe, but split it between two baking dishes. Bake one for the evening, and you can freeze the other! Just be sure to store it in an airtight container, or if freezing in an oven-safe foil pan, be sure it is properly sealed. Thaw overnight and bake according to recipe instructions.
🥘 More Delicious Recipes You’ll Love
- Baked Ziti Pasta
- Creamy Veg-All Casserole with a Buttery Cracker Topping
- Chicken Fajita Casserole
- Chicken Costoletta (Cheesecake Factory Copycat)
- Creamy Crockpot Chicken and Rice
- Chicken Stroganoff
- Spicy Alfredo Sauce
- Turnip Green Soup
- Walking Taco Casserole
- Firebirds’ Chicken Pasta Copycat Recipe
- Spaghetti Soup
- Fried Spaghetti (Made From Leftovers!)
Spaghetti Alfredo
This easy baked pasta dish layers homemade alfredo sauce with tomato sauce and ground meat for a dinner the whole family will love.
- large pot
- large wooden spoons
- colander
- 9×13 baking dish
- Large skillets
- tongs
For the Spaghetti
- 16 cups water
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 pound dry spaghetti
For the Meat Sauce
- 1 pound lean ground meat of choice (beef, pork, turkey, chicken, or sausage)
- 1 cup diced yellow onion
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 24-ounce jar tomato pasta sauce
For the Homemade Alfredo Sauce
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick; cut into small pieces, at room temperature)
- 2 cups heavy cream (at room temperature)
- ½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper (more or less to taste)
- 1 teaspoon salt (more or less to taste)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 2 cups grated parmesan cheese (at room temperature)
For the Spaghetti Alfredo
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella (at room temperature)
Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit. Position oven racks so that baking dish sits in center of oven during baking.
For the Spaghetti
Fill large pot with [wprm-ingredient text=”16 cups water” uid=”15″]. Place pot on stovetop over medium-high heat and bring water to rolling boil. Once water begins to boil, add [wprm-ingredient text=”1 tablespoon sea salt” uid=”16″] and stir to incorporate.
Bring salted water to rolling boil. Once boiling, add [wprm-ingredient text=”1 pound dry spaghetti” uid=”0″]. Cook spaghetti according to package instructions, reducing cook time on packaging by 1 minute.
When spaghetti is al dente, remove 2 to 4 tablespoons water from pot if desired and set aside. Pour pasta and remaining water into colander.
Drain pasta well, then transfer pasta to baking dish and spread pasta out into one even layer. Set baking dish aside.
For the Meat Sauce
Place large skillet on stovetop over medium heat. Add [wprm-ingredient text=”1 pound lean ground meat of choice” uid=”1″], [wprm-ingredient text=”1 cup diced yellow onion” uid=”2″], and [wprm-ingredient text=”2 teaspoons minced garlic” uid=”3″] to skillet. Cook, stirring and breaking up ground meat as needed, until meat is no longer pink.
Once meat is cooked, add [wprm-ingredient text=”1 24-ounce jar tomato pasta sauce” uid=”4″] to skillet and stir to incorporate.
Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until sauce has thickened, approximately 3 to 5 minutes. If desired, stir in small amounts of reserved pasta water to thicken sauce more. Continue stirring sauce occasionally while preparing alfredo sauce.
For the Homemade Alfredo Sauce
Place second large skillet on stovetop over low heat. Add [wprm-ingredient text=”8 tablespoons unsalted butter” uid=”5″] and [wprm-ingredient text=”2 cups heavy cream” uid=”6″] to skillet. Gently stir constantly until butter has melted.
Once butter has melted, add [wprm-ingredient text=”½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper” uid=”7″], [wprm-ingredient text=”1 teaspoon salt” uid=”8″], and [wprm-ingredient text=”1 teaspoon garlic powder” uid=”9″]. Continue stirring to incorporate seasonings.
Remove skillet from heat and let mixture cool slightly, then add [wprm-ingredient text=”2 cups grated parmesan cheese” uid=”10″]. Stir gently until parmesan is incorporated and beginning to melt, then return skillet to low heat. Continue stirring until parmesan is completely melted and sauce has thickened, approximately 2 to 3 minutes.
For the Spaghetti Alfredo
Pour alfredo sauce into baking dish with spaghetti. Stir or toss noodles in sauce until completely covered, then spread spaghetti and sauce into even layer, covering bottom of baking dish completely.
Top spaghetti layer with prepared meat sauce, spreading sauce evenly across top of spaghetti and covering pasta completely.
Sprinkle [wprm-ingredient text=”2 cups shredded mozzarella” uid=”11″] evenly across top of meat sauce layer, covering sauce completely.
Place baking dish in preheated oven. Bake spaghetti alfredo 20 minutes or until mozzarella is melted and bubbly.
Once mozzarella is ready, carefully remove baking dish from oven and set aside. Let dish rest 3 to 5 minutes, then divide into preferred portions and serve warm with desired sides.
- If you have it in your budget, I recommend buying fresh parmesan and fresh mozzarella, then grating and shredding them yourself. The pre-packaged cheeses can cost less up front, but you sacrifice flavor and quality since they contain starches and fillers to prevent clumping. Those additives can also keep the cheeses from melting well and may make the sauce taste gritty or grainy.
- Alfredo Sauce: You’re welcome to use jarred alfredo sauce instead of making your own!
