Pasta of the Month: Sun Dried Tomato Basil Spaghetti Bake

Anyone else itching for warm summer days already? We can’t wait – which is why we’re celebrating the flavors of summer, tomato and basil, with this month’s Pasta of the Month recipe: a deliciously creamy sun dried tomato basil spaghetti bake.

This rustic pasta dish is packed with the potent flavor of sun dried tomatoes and brightened with fresh basil and lemon for a taste of summer in every bite. Baked in the oven for easy, hands-free cooking, our sun dried tomato basil pasta is one you’ll want to come back to over and over again.

And the best part about this baked spaghetti recipe is that it comes together in just about 35 minutes, making it the perfect easy weeknight dinner!

What Is The Point Of A Pasta Bake?

After seeing baked spaghetti all over Instagram, we knew we had to try it for ourselves. Here’s what we discovered:

• The pros: Tossing everything into one dish and popping it in the oven makes for an easy weeknight dinner if you want hands-free cooking and little cleanup.
• The cons: A spaghetti bake does take a longer time to cook than if you were to boil pasta on the stovetop and make a quick sauce to go with it. It’s also hard to be patient when your whole kitchen smells amazing.

So, the point of a pasta bake like this recipe is to make dinner super easy if you want hands-free cooking and very little cleanup!

Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil Spaghetti Bake Ingredients

All you need to make this sun dried tomato basil spaghetti bake recipe is a few simple ingredients:

• Spaghetti
• Crushed tomatoes
• Sun dried tomatoes in oil
• Water
• Garlic
• Dried basil
• Dried oregano
• Salt
• Fresh basil
• Heavy cream
• Lemon
• Parmesan cheese

We recommend using julienne-cut sun dried tomatoes in oil, so you don’t have to do any prep work before adding them to the sauce. However, you can use whole sun-dried tomatoes and roughly chop them up, or pulse them a few times in a food processor if you’d prefer smaller chunks.

You might be wondering why we use both dried basil and fresh basil in this recipe. The dried basil goes into the sauce, adding to the base flavor of the dish. The fresh basil gets stirred in after baking for additional flavor and a pop of color. Fresh basil has much more flavor than dried basil, but if you were to use it in the sauce it would end up drying out in the oven and losing a lot of its flavor. So we recommend using dried basil for sauces that bake in the oven for a while, and saving the expensive, flavorful fresh basil for finishing touches.

For the best flavor and texture, we recommend buying a block of parmesan cheese and freshly grating it over the pasta. You’ll taste the difference, and it’ll make you feel like you’re dining at a fancy Italian restaurant!

How To Make Sun Dried Tomato Basil Spaghetti Bake

This is hands-down the best baked spaghetti recipe, because all you have to do is combine the sauce ingredients in a baking dish, add the spaghetti, bake, and stir in a few finishing ingredients at the end. No boiling the pasta ahead of time, no complicated instructions, and just one dirty dish to clean up after dinner. It doesn’t get much easier than that! 

Here’s how to bake sun dried tomato basil spaghetti in the oven:

1. First, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish.
2. Next, add the crushed tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, water, garlic, dried basil, dried oregano, and salt to the baking dish. Stir gently to combine.
3. Then, add the spaghetti to the baking dish, making sure to fully submerge it in the sauce and spread it out to fill the entire dish.
4. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil, then bake for 15 minutes. Then, remove the foil and bake for another 15 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente.
5. Remove the pasta from the oven and stir in the heavy cream, fresh basil, and a light squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
6. Finally, top generously with freshly grated parmesan cheese, and serve hot.

The trick to making spaghetti in the oven is to completely submerge the noodles in a large amount of sauce. Baking the pasta covered tightly with foil allows the sauce to boil while keeping the moisture trapped, which helps to cook the spaghetti without it drying out. Then, you’ll finish baking the pasta without the foil to help reduce the sauce a bit and finish cooking the noodles.

Serving Suggestions

Like any good pasta recipe, our sun dried tomato basil spaghetti bake goes great with a side salad, garlic bread, or Italian bread and dipping oils. We personally love to combine a little bit of extra virgin olive oil in a small bowl with some grated parmesan and red pepper flakes, like you’d often find at an Italian restaurant, and serve fresh bread with it for dipping!

Since this spaghetti bake comes together in one baking dish, you can easily serve it family style at the dinner table if you wish. Just bring the whole baking dish to the table with a pair of tongs and a large spoon, and let everyone help themselves.

Storing and Reheating Baked Spaghetti

If you have a baking dish with a lid, you can store leftover spaghetti bake right in the dish you made it in. Otherwise, transfer the leftover pasta to an airtight container. Store in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Reheat single servings of spaghetti bake in the microwave for about 1 to 2 minutes, stirring halfway through. You can partially cover it to help keep some of the moisture in while reheating.

Spaghetti Bake FAQs

Can you put sun dried tomatoes in spaghetti sauce?

Absolutely! This spaghetti bake recipe gets most of its flavor from the sun dried tomatoes in the sauce. They add a potent tomato flavor and a unique, chunky texture to an otherwise creamy pasta dish.

Do you have to pre cook pasta for a pasta bake?

No, you don’t have to pre cook the pasta for our spaghetti bake recipe. By adding the dry noodles to a large amount of sauce and partially baking it covered with foil, you’re essentially boiling the pasta inside the oven.

How do you keep baked spaghetti from drying out?

To keep baked spaghetti from drying out, don’t pre cook the pasta and make sure to fully submerge the dry noodles in a large amount of sauce. Additionally, keeping the baking dish covered with foil for part of the cooking time will trap moisture and prevent the spaghetti from drying out.

It’s time to remove the foil – why doesn’t my spaghetti seem cooked?

Don’t worry if the spaghetti doesn’t seem cooked when it’s time to remove the foil! It shouldn’t be – because if it was fully cooked, then you would end up overcooking the pasta while trying to reduce the sauce. You bake the spaghetti covered at first to help soften the noodles and let them soak up tons of moisture. But then the noodles will continue to cook as you uncover the dish and allow the sauce to reduce.

What if I don’t have a 9×13 baking dish?

If you don’t have a 9×13 baking dish, choose a baking dish that is long enough to fit the dry spaghetti without having to break it, and deep enough to fit all the ingredients with room to stir (at least 2 to 3 inches). But if you don’t own a 9×13 baking dish, we highly recommend you buy one! This standard size dish comes in handy for tons of recipes. If you need a recommendation, we absolutely love our glass OXO baking dish since it’s freezer, oven, and dishwasher safe and comes with a lid for easy food storage.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Our sun dried tomato basil spaghetti bake is creamy and decadent, yet full of the bright flavors of spring and summer. It’s the perfect pasta dish to bridge the gap between seasons.

With just about 5 minutes of prep time and 30 minutes in the oven, making pasta for dinner doesn’t get much easier than this! Let the oven do the heavy lifting and enjoy time with your family instead of tending to the stove.

Try our sun dried tomato basil spaghetti bake recipe and let us know what you think by rating, commenting, and sharing below!