Meatball Casserole

Meatball casserole is a comforting and hearty dish that combines pasta, juicy meatballs, and melty cheese for an easy-to-make meal perfect for any occasion.

Prep Time5

Cook Time45

Total Time50

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: Meatball Casserole Recipe

Servings:

Calories: 604kcal

Ingredients

1 pound dried pasta (like ziti, rotini, penne, etc)
28 to 32 ounces frozen meatballs, thawed
24 ounces marinara sauce
3 cups low sodium beef broth
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 ½ cups mozzarella cheese, freshly shredded
Fresh parsley, optional garnish

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Spray a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray.
Pour the dried noodles, meatballs, pasta sauce, broth, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, and red pepper flakes into the dish.
Stir around and try to push the pasta down so it’s mostly covered by the sauce/liquid.
Tightly cover in foil and bake for 40 minutes.
Remove from the oven and see if the pasta is cooked to al dente. If it isn’t, cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Once the pasta reaches al dente, remove from the oven and top with the mozzarella cheese.
Keep the foil off and return to the oven for about 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly and melted.
Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired.

Notes

You can make this using homemade meatballs as well, just make sure they’re cooked through first.
Freshly shredded mozzarella cheese melts nicer than pre-shredded.
Use a good quality marinara sauce for best tasting results.
Use your favorite meatballs as this dish will taste best to you.
You can substitute chicken or vegetable broth in place of beef broth. If you use beef meatballs use beef broth or if you use chicken meatballs use chicken broth, ideally.
If you don’t use low-sodium broth your dish may end up too salty.
You can halve this recipe and make it in a 9x9 or 10x10 baking dish.
Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Oven temperatures vary and may need to be recalibrated periodically to ensure they are accurate. Make sure to check your casserole at the lower end of the recommended cooking time.

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