Make Ahead Baked Spaghetti

Make ahead baked spaghetti is saucy, and cheesy, and has all the things you’d want in a spaghetti and meat sauce dinner, except the long cooking time.

Put the effort in once, make up 6 meals, and save yourself all that dinner-making-time in the future.

That’s a winning recipe in my book.

Things I Love About This Make Ahead Spaghetti Meal

The Convenience: When I’ve been working all day and I’m craving a nice plate of baked spaghetti, I can be eating a dinner that tastes like I’ve been cooking all day, within 30 minutes of putting it in the oven and with minimal work.

Saves Money: It’s a great recipe to stock your freezer with (along with a few other make ahead meals like my Individual Roasted Turkey Dinner ) so when you have friends over or the kids have soccer practice and you need to get a meal into them pronto, these are quick, wholesome, and saves you money by not ordering out.

Ingredients and Substitutions

All these baked spaghetti ingredients are simple to find at the grocery store and the recipe is easily customizable to your preferences.

• Ground Beef – I like to use lean ground beef and then remove any extra grease after it’s cooked.
• Crushed tomatoes – A little more saucy than tomato sauce (and typically less added sugar), I like the texture that crushed tomatoes add to the sauce.
• Diced tomatoes – Use your favorite brand and a great added flavor tip is to use fire-roasted diced tomatoes if you can find them. They add a depth of flavor to the sauce that is just amazing!
• Spaghetti – Use good quality spaghetti/pasta. Quality spaghetti will hold up nicely through the boiling, freezing, and then reheating process. Today I technically used linguine because that’s all I had on hand at the time, so this is say to go ahead and use whatever long pasta you have in your pantry.
• Mushrooms – I always have canned mushrooms on hand because I love the texture and they’re super handy, but feel free to use fresh mushrooms instead. (Or leave them out if you’re not a mushroom fan!)
• Diced onions – Yellow onions is typical for this recipe, but onion powder will work too. Shallots can work if you like a milder onion flavor.
• Italian Seasoning– Dried herbs are perfect, but if you use fresh, use twice the amount called for in the recipe. Dried herbs have concentrated flavors over fresh ones.
• Salt and Pepper
• Parmesan and Mozzarella Cheese – These cheeses were my choice, and really, what’s spaghetti and meat sauce without parmesan cheese at least? That said, please go ahead and use your favorite cheese for this recipe. It just needs to be shredded. If you shred the cheese yourself it typically melts better where some bagged/shredded cheese is coated with a cellulose that prevents it from melting as well as if you shredded it yourself.

I encourage you to add any extra ingredients you’d like. Don’t like mushrooms? Take them out! Like red chili peppers? Add ’em in! Customize this sauce to how you think you and your family would love it!

**** All the exact ingredient amounts and detailed cooking instructions with notes are located in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How To Make Individual Baked Spaghetti Meals

Precooking the beef prevents all the grease from being included in the crock pot as you slow-cook the sauce.

1. Precook the Beef and Seasonings. – In a frying pan, start by sauteing the onions and garlic, then add the beef. Fry till it’s fully browned. Add the Italian seasonings, salt and pepper, and then transfer to the crock pot.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients – Add the crushed tomatoes, mushrooms, and diced tomatoes. Mix well.

3. Slow-cook the sauce. – Put the lid on the crock pot and cook on low for 6-7 hours or on high for 4-5.

4. Prepare the pasta. – About 15 minutes before the cooking time ends, boil the pasta to al dente, according to the package directions. You want it “toothsome” so when you go to reheat this make-ahead meal, the pasta will be just perfect.  Drain and then add the pasta to the crock pot and mix well.

5. Portion the meals. – Divide the portions amongst the containers evenly. I used 1 lb Foil Loaf Containers with Lids in case you are interested. Let the containers cool down for about 20 minutes.

6. Top with Cheese. – Top with as much parmesan and mozzarella as you would like. 

7. Freeze. – Place the plastic lid on the meal and pop it in the freezer for when you’re ready to use it.

Customize Your Baked Spaghetti

You can use ground chicken as well. To stretch both proteins a bit further, you can add a cup of cooked (canned) lentils too!

No crock pot? No problem! Go ahead and cook the sauce and pasta on the stove top. It just won’t have that slow-cooked, well-developed flavor but it will still be delicious!

Prepping and Freezing Your Baked Spaghetti Freezer Meals

I love using the foil containers because they’re handy, and great for baking in the oven because they can go from freezer to oven in a pinch.

I also love the clear lid they come with so you can easily see what’s inside.

Be sure the portioned-out dinners are cooled before putting on the cheese or it may melt from the residual heat. Place them on a baking sheet and into the fridge for 10 minutes to cool them quicker.

This is an optional step in freezing but I like to freeze the filled containers with the lids on, and then when fully frozen, I’ll take them and place them in a freezer-friendly gallon ziplock bag, just to keep them from any freezer burn even longer. Freezing them this way holds them great for 6-8 months.

Reheating Frozen Individual Baked Spaghetti Dinners

I like to try and thaw them beforehand. If I know I have a busy day, I’ll take one out and put it in the fridge in the morning and by dinner time, it’s usually thawed.

Microwave: Transfer the contents into a bowl (if you freeze in foil containers) and reheat in the microwave for 4-5 minutes, depending on the strength of your microwave. Sprinkling some extra cheese on top before it goes into the microwave is also optional.
Oven: Remove the plastic top and place it into a preheated (350F) for 25 – 30 minutes.
Toaster Oven: Remove the plastic top and place it into the toaster oven that’s been preheated to 350F. Bake for approximately 18 – 20 minutes. Depending on your toaster oven, it may cook a bit faster than the conventional oven.
From Frozen: Follow the guidelines above regarding oven times, but cook for an extra 10 – 12 minutes.

You’ll know when your baked spaghetti is cooked when you see some sauce bubbling and the cheese on top is melted and golden.

Trust me when I say that these make-ahead meals of baked spaghetti will be a hit in your household! Take out four portions, or take out one, it’s perfect for whatever you need. If you REALLY want to, and you know you’ll be feeding two at a time, then simply use a larger container to freeze a portion big enough for two people!

I hope that you enjoyed taking a peek at this recipe today! I’m all about keeping things simple, and that would include easy make-ahead meals.  With a WEE bit of planning ahead of time, you can enjoy meals that will save you tons of time in the future. Thanks for stopping by The Salty Pot today!

*******DON’T FORGET TO PIN THIS MAKE AHEAD MEALS: BAKED SPAGHETTI RECIPE TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD TO SAVE FOR LATER!! *******