Name: Skillet-Baked Spaghetti
Total time: 45 min
Cuisine: ItalianEurope
Ingredients: 12 ounces 90-percent lean ground beef; 4 ounces Italian sausage (see note), casings removed; 4 garlic cloves , minced; 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes; 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano; 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes; 8 ounces spaghetti , broken into rough 2-inch pieces; 2 cups water; 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; 1/4 cup heavy cream; 6 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil; 1 cup shredded Italian cheese blend

Why This Recipe Works

Baked spaghetti seems like an easy dish, but boiling pasta, cooking the meat, making a meat sauce, transferring everything to a casserole dish, and baking requires too many pots and too much time for a weeknight meal. We wanted to make the meat sauce, cook the pasta right in it, and broil the topping to a golden brown—all in one pan. For our Skillet-Baked Spaghetti, we employed the test kitchen's technique of cooking the pasta in the skillet along with the sauce. Breaking the spaghetti into 2-inch pieces helped the pasta cook more evenly, and allows more to fit in the skillet. We added a few cups of water to the mixture to help the pasta cook more evenly and to keep the sauce from drying out. The meat sauce became diluted when we added water for the pasta, but we fixed that by swapping out some of the beef for Italian sausage to give the sauce more depth and complexity. Using a blend of shredded Italian cheeses like Parmesan, Asiago, and mozzarella gave our baked spaghetti a crust with a contrast of flavors and textures.

Before You Begin

You will need either 1 large or 2 small links of Italian sausage for this recipe. If using hot Italian sausage, use just 1/8 teaspoon of red pepper flakes.

Instructions

Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat broiler. Cook beef and sausage in large ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium heat, breaking up meat with wooden spoon, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain meat on paper towel-lined plate and pour off fat from skillet. Return meat to skillet. Add garlic, pepper flakes, and oregano and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Stir in tomatoes, spaghetti, water, and salt. Cover and cook, stirring often, until spaghetti begins to soften, about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to simmer, covered, until spaghetti is al dente, about 7 minutes.

Stir in cream, basil, and 1/3 cup cheese. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and broil until surface is spotty brown, about 3 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes. Serve.