Name: Lebanese Baked Spaghetti
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 8 oz. spaghetti noodles; 8 oz. ground beef; 1 med. onion; 2 tb. avocado oil; 3 tb. tomato paste; 1 tsp. seven spices; 1 tsp. salt; ½ tsp. black pepper; 1½ cups pasta water

This Lebanese style baked spaghetti is a comfort food your whole family will love. It has a simple red sauce with spiced ground beef and is baked until slightly crispy.

This tomato-based Lebanese baked spaghetti is such an easy, comforting and delicious dish. What makes this spaghetti different from the typical Italian tomato-based spaghetti is the 7-spices spiced ground beef and tomato paste/water combo in place of marinara sauce. This makes a less saucy sauce, a bit crispier and incredibly flavorful spaghetti.

How to make the sauce for Lebanese Baked Spaghetti

I personally prefer a saucier spaghetti using marinara sauce however, my kids are the exact opposite! They much prefer this spaghetti which is still loaded with protein (ground beef) but a much lighter sauce.

The ground beef is sauteed with an onion and seasoned with seven spices, salt and black pepper. For the sauce, you just need tomato paste and pasta water. Make sure to save some pasta water when cooking your spaghetti. I typically add anywhere between 1 ½-2 cups of the pasta water. You want to let it all simmer together for about 5 minutes before tossing the spaghetti with it. From there, you can serve as is or, bake it in an oven safe pan for about 20 minutes until the pasta gets a little crispy on top. Feel free to add some mozzarella cheese also.

STEP 1

Boil a large pot of salted water and add the dry spaghetti noodles. Cook until al dente (about 8 minutes). Reserve 1 ½-2 cups of pasta water. Drain and set aside.

STEP 2

In a large pan, add the avocado oil and finely diced onion. Sauté the onion for a few minutes until translucent.

Add the ground beef until the meat has browned.

Season with 1 teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon of black pepper, and 1 teaspoon of seven spices.

STEP 3

Add the tomato paste and pasta water and let simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.

Add the cooked pasta and mix to combine, add more water if you find it too dry.

Empty the spaghetti into a baking dish and baked for 20 minutes on 350F until the top is slightly crispy. Serve Warm!