Pizza Baked Spaghetti

I’ve been looking for a pizza spaghetti bake recipe for a while now.  Odd, yes, but true, it must be something about living in the Midwest, I felt I must have such a recipe in my rotation.  I found this recipe while out visiting my parents (I actually stole it from one of my mom’s cook books).   It is awesome.  Dave and Ajax both loved it and it made a ton.   Bonus!

  • 12 oz. uncooked spaghetti (I used whole grain pasta which made me pretend this was healthier than it was)
  • 1 lb Italian pork sausage
  • 2 jars (14 oz) pizza sauce (I thought 2 jars was way too much, so I only used one and a quarter – I had the quarter jar left over from something else.  I think you could get away with 1 jar though) – (Oh, I also just used regular red pasta sauce, nothing fancy)
  • 1 package (6 oz) diced pepperoni (I only used 1/2 a package of pepperoni – cut them in half to make the package last longer)
  • 1 cup ricotta cheese (I used cottage cheese instead)
  • 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (I only used 1/4 cup cheese because that’s all we had)
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (I used about 1 cup of cheese, not 2)
  • Heat oven to 350. Spray 13×9 inch baking dish with cooking spray.   In dutch oven, cook and drain the pasta as directed (break up the pasta into thirds before adding it to the water).   Use the minimum cook time.  Return spaghetti to dutch oven.
  • Meanwhile, in 10 in skillet, cook sausage (I also added a diced onion to the sausage) over medium heat, till no longer pink and drain.   In dutch oven, toss spaghetti, sausage, pizza sauce, and pepperoni.
  • In medium bowl, mix ricotta and Parmesan cheeses and eggs.  Spoon half the spaghetti mixture into baking dish.  Dollop w/ cheese mixture; spread evenly over top.   Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.   Top with remaining spaghetti mixture.  Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese.
  • Bake uncovered 30 to 35 min. or till bubbly.