Love lasagna, but love the ease of spaghetti even more? You’ll go crazy for this Spaghetti Lasagna – the perfect comfort food for a cold night!
This is a sponsored post by Hunt’s tomatoes. All opinions are my own.
Baby, it’s cold outside!
Really, though – I am so not a winter person. It’s ironic, considering I live in Utah, where it sometimes feels like winter lasts 6 months of the year. I’m usually good at tolerating the cold and the snow until Christmas. Because everyone wants a white Christmas, right? But once January 1st hits, I’m ready to start thinking of spring.
The one thing I do love about the cold, though, is the comfort food. I’m all about the comfort food. And luckily, my family is as well.
We are pasta loving people. We pretty much love it in every shape and form. Sometimes, I’ll give my kids the choice of what kind of pasta to have. But they rarely agree. That’s when I thought – why settle for one recipe when you can combine 2?
This Spaghetti Lasagna is a fun twist on a traditional lasagna. You have many of the normal lasagna ingredients – pasta sauce, ricotta cheese, meat – but instead of using lasagna noodles, I went for spaghetti noodles. Because my kids will always eat spaghetti.
This recipe is actually quite simple. You first make a meat sauce. I use both ground beef and Italian sausage because I like the depth of flavor you get from using both beef and pork. To make the sauce, you combine the meat with tomato paste for a deep, rich tomato flavor. I know I talked about these Recipe Ready Tomato Paste packets from Hunt’s a couple of months ago, but I am still obsessed. There are 2 tablespoons of paste per packet, which is what most recipes call for. There is so much less waste because with a can of tomato paste, you have to find a container to store the leftovers, and if you’re like me, that container always gets lost in the depths of the fridge. I also love knowing that Hunt’s tomato paste is non-GMO and comes from fresh, California tomatoes. These packets are one of my favorite pantry staples now!
I also add in some Hunt’s Pasta Sauce to the meat sauce for ease (and it’s delicious!).
You can’t forget the cheesy part of the lasagna, so ricotta cheese is combined with some cream cheese, Parmesan and an egg to help hold it all together. Since spreading the cheesy layer isn’t as easy using spaghetti noodles instead of the lasagna noodles, I decided to just stir it all in with the cooked spaghetti, and it worked perfectly.
A few layers of the cheesy noodles and the meat sauce, as well as some Mozzarella cheese, then into the oven it goes until it is hot and melty and delicious.
This fun version of spaghetti and lasagna is comfort food at its best. Comforting, delicious, and family friendly – you can’t lose with this Spaghetti Lasagna!
More Lasagna Recipes
Chicken Lasagna with Green Chile and Cheese
Skillet Lasagna
Lasagna Roll Ups
American Lasagna
Lasagna Soup
Spaghetti Lasagna
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb ground beef
- 1/2 lb Italian sausage (casings removed)
- 1 small onion (diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 package 2 tablespoons Hunt’s Recipe Ready Tomato Paste
- 1 24- oz can Hunt’s Garlic and Herb Pasta Sauce
- 3 1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (divided)
- 12 oz dry spaghetti noodles
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 4 oz cream cheese (softened)
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- 8 oz grated Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
- Combine the beef and sausage in a large skillet and cook over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. When it is almost browned, add the onion and continue to cook until the onions are soft and the meat is browned and cooked through. Add the garlic and cook an additional 30-60 seconds. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute or two. Stir in the pasta sauce along with 2 teaspoons of the Italian seasoning. Bring to a bubble, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the noodles until al dente.
- In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, cream cheese, egg, and Parmesan cheese, along with the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning. Add the cooked noodles and stir to combine.
- To assemble, place 1/2 of the noodle mixture in the bottom of a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Top with 1/2 of the sauce, then 1/2 of the Mozzarella cheese. Repeat the layers with the remaining ingredients.
- Bake in the preheated oven until warmed through and the cheese has melted, about 25-30 minutes. Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Hunt’s tomatoes. The opinions and text are all mine.
Karly says
Why choose between my two favorite classics when I can have both, right!? This looks too good- saving right now!