Pizza Baked Spaghetti (Updated)

I'm back with another update of an old, well-used recipe, one more on the list of recipes I "stole" from work way back in high school. Last time I posted this recipe I was unable to include photographs and since it's been quite awhile (over two years) since I first posted the recipe I thought it could use an update.

Probably one of Fazoli's most popular dishes is the baked spaghetti. It's a simple spaghetti marinara topped with mozzarella and then run through the conveyor oven until the cheese is melted and bubbly. Every so often they would have a special item on the menu, pizza baked spaghetti, which had added sausage crumbles and pepperoni.

I never ate the pizza baked spaghetti when I worked there, but I did borrow the idea when I moved out on my own and started making it in a large batches as a family meal using Yaya's spaghetti sauce which already contains sausage. One of the cool things about this recipe is that it's so easy to make it your own. You can add whatever pizza toppings you like on your pizza. I have made this with green peppers, mushrooms, and black olives, my favorite pizza toppings, but most of the time I stick with Aaron's favorite, plain pepperoni.

This spaghetti is a crowd pleaser. It's loaded with bubbly, brown cheese and delicious homemade sauce and of course, crispy pepperoni. It's the perfect alternative to your regular spaghetti night.

Pizza Baked Spaghetti

Source: Adapted from Fazoli's recipe

1 recipe Yaya's spaghetti sauce (or 1 jar of your favorite sauce)
16 oz spaghetti
2-3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 Tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated
30-40 slices pepperoni
other pizza toppings (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and spray a 9x13 baking dish (I made 1/2 the recipe so mine is in an 8x8 dish this time) with vegetable oil spray. Cook your sauce according to the recipe and the spaghetti according to the package directions.

Drain the pasta and transfer it in an even layer to the bottom of the baking dish.

Spoon the sauce evenly over the spaghetti. You may not use all of your sauce, especially if you're using the homemade sauce. The recipe seems to make slightly more than needed for 1 lb of spaghetti.

Sprinkle about 1 1/2-2 cups of the mozzarella over the sauce.

Add your toppings in an even layer. We just had pepperoni this time. Add the remaining mozzarella to partially cover the toppings and sprinkle with the Parmesan.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, until the cheese is browned to your liking.

Serve warm with salad and garlic bread if desired.

Turkey Lasagna

It's a Valentine's Day tradition for Aaron and I to have lasagna for dinner. It's the meal I made for our first Valentine's Day together, and our second, and a handful in between as well. It's one of my favorite meals to make for special occasions because the layers are impressive but the process (while time consuming and messy) is very simple.

Basic Marinara Sauce

For spaghetti I almost always use Yaya's spaghetti sauce. It's hearty, meaty, and perfectly seasoned. But when a recipe calls for spaghetti sauce I like to use something a little more simple.

Fluffy Rosemary Garlic Knots

Finally another bread recipe! I had gotten out of the habit of making bread for awhile. It used to be relaxing but then it became a bit of a chore and would wear me out. It's time consuming, takes up the entire counter, and if I don't get started early enough we wind up waiting for the bread to bake while dinner gets cold.

Lazy Alfredo Sauce

I have several Alfredo sauce recipes and most of them could be classified as lazy, but this one is really the easiest one I've ever tried. I have a one recipe where you cream together softened butter and Parmesan cheese with a mixer and add cream that I thought was as simple as it could get. Then I came across this recipe which is basically the same except there's no need to waste your time with the bowl and the mixer.

Sausage and Cheese Tortellini Soup

It's cold, y'all! At 11:30 at night it's 26 degrees outside. And I live in Tennessee! I don't mind the cold, I actually prefer it to the heat, especially the muggy, humid heat we get here. Bailey doesn't seem to mind the cold either but we have two cars with the heat somewhat on the fritz. Aaron's truck has no heat at all and mine only has defrost or it blows at your feet. I guess that's better than last year when the defrost didn't work but it makes it hard to take Bailey anywhere when she can't wear a coat in the car and it takes forever (and a ton of gas) for the car to warm up.

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana (copycat)

When Aaron and I first met we ate out often. We frequented Applebee's, Chili's, Ruby Tuesday's, and one of my favorites, Olive Garden. Aaron's order was predictable. Almost everywhere we went he ordered chicken tenders and fries, but at Olive Garden that was not an option. He doesn't like salad (or anything in it except for croutons) and he's not a fan of minestrone or pasta y fagioli, but one night he tried their other soup (I know they have chicken gnocchi soup now but at the time they did not), the Zuppa Toscana.

Chicken Parmesan Meatballs

I had never been a huge fan of meatballs until about 4 years ago. I'm not particularly fond of ground beef except in chili or hamburgers, I've always loathed meatloaf, and the thought of eating reheated leftover meatballs used to turn my stomach. Of course all of this was before I tried the mozzarella stuffed meatballs from Annie's Eats. They made me rethink my whole outlook on meatballs which is why I finally decided to try these.

Baked Ravioli

If you're looking for a quick, simple dinner this is it! The whole thing comes together in about ten minutes and then just needs a bit of time in the oven.

Pizza Lasagna Roll-ups

Finally! After over two weeks without posting a recipe I'm back on track.

I've been trying to make this recipe for several weeks. It kept getting pushed back because I either wasn't in the mood to cook it or Aaron wasn't in the mood to eat it.

If you've never made lasagna roll-ups now is the time to try them.

Taco Stuffed Shells

I would have to call this meal Tex-Mex/Italian fusion. It's a satisfying combination of Italian pasta and Tex-Mex taco meat smothered in cheese with salsa in place of the marinara sauce.

Chicken Parmesan Sliders

I very rarely get to have a sandwich for dinner and even when I do it's not the kind of sandwich where you just slap some meat and bread together and eat. No, if I'm going to have a sandwich for dinner it's going to be something more sophisticated.

Crock Pot Italian Chicken and Pasta (updated)

Don't worry, I haven't changed the recipe a bit. It's just that the photographs for the original post were so blurry that I wanted to give this recipe a second go. It is one of my favorite recipes. I make it once a month and I wouldn't change a thing.

Lazy Baked Ziti

If you have all day to work on dinner (making homemade sauce and such) I would recommend going with Pioneer Woman's version of Baked Ziti. However, if you don't have the time for all that (or if you're feeling particularly lazy) this is a great alternative.

Garlicky Pasta with Tuscan Chicken

You know those recipes you see and you keep going back and thinking One day I'll have the courage and energy to try that one? This is one of those recipes.

I read the ingredients list and thought it sounded like a meal that I used to order at Olive Garden. Garlic and herb chicken with broccoli. Lightly breaded chicken served over pasta, tossed in a light garlic, white wine, and Parmesan sauce with crisp broccoli.

Spaghetti Pie with Laughing Cow Cheese

I could probably make spaghetti 100 ways, 100 days in a row and not get tired of it. I love Yaya's spaghetti. Add some cheese and pop it in the oven and it's a whole different meal. Top it with pepperoni and you've got pizza baked spaghetti. Switch out the sausage for ground beef or turkey, turn the meat into meatballs, or fry up some chicken to go alongside the pasta... all acceptable modifications.

Chicken Lasagna Roll-ups

Apparently I finally caught up on my sleep last night. Thank goodness because after sleeping 10 hours last night if I had to take another nap today I was going to have to make an appointment with the doctor.

Since I managed to stay awake during nap time I had dinner ready when Aaron walked in the door. We've had these lasagna roll-ups before, but the only recipe I've posted was for the Alfredo version. The recipe is so versatile though. I've made them with beef, vegetarian with spinach and cheese, and even with ground turkey.

Garlic Chicken Farfalle

I rarely use bottled sauces or marinades, but I made an exception this week because I couldn't bring myself to pass up this fabulous recipe. Upon reading it I thought it sounded simple but with a strong combination of flavors.

Yaya's Spaghetti (updated)

I was planning on posting the new recipe last night but I was so worn out I just passed out as soon as Bailey was in bed and the kitchen was clean. Plus, when I thought about it I realized that I had never done a proper post for Yaya's spaghetti recipe. The first time I posted the recipe I did not have a decent camera, only my iPod which takes terrible pictures. (Truthfully my new Windows phone takes better pictures than my Canon does).

Baked Ziti

If you are looking for a hearty meal that will feed an army this is the meal for you!

And what a great post to start off 2014.

Honestly, with only the three of us eating (I usually count 2 1/2 since Bailey eats about half as much as us) our leftovers lasted four days! (I will probably cut the recipe in half next time.) I was particularly pleased with the way this meal turned out considering that Aaron doesn't like chunks of tomatoes in his food and I don't care for ricotta cheese.