Even though it’s simple, spaghetti is probably my favorite pasta dish of all time. There’s just something so comforting and delicious about eating this classic dish! Even though I’m more than happy eating a big bowl of spaghetti with marinara sauce (or spaghetti with meatballs), I decided to spice up the traditional spaghetti by baking it and adding a special ingredient – cream cheese.
This dish might be an upgraded version of spaghetti, but even still, it’s incredibly quick and easy to throw together. Plus, while it’s baking, you can wash all the dishes and save yourself some time after dinner to relax or get other things done!
In this recipe, I used ground turkey breast to make it a bit more filling, however it can easily be made without meat. Or, you could also use ground chicken, ground beef, shredded chicken breast, or any other type of meat that you’d like. Or, if meat isn’t your thing, simply leave it out to keep this a vegetarian dish!
I chose to use Banza pasta, which is pasta that’s actually made from chickpeas instead of wheat. And yes, I promise you that it tastes good. Plus, it’s loaded with lots of fiber and plant-based protein, making it a great replacement for regular pasta. I also used the Garlic and Herb flavor of cream cheese from Melanie’s Medleys, which I thought would add much more flavor than using plain cream cheese. However, plain cream cheese would work just as well – just add any additional spices or seasonings to make sure it’s not too bland!
As I said, this dish is super easy to throw together, and you can do a lot at once to multi-task and make it come along even quicker! Start by boiling a pot of water for the pasta, and then while that’s going, start browning the turkey breast (or cooking whatever meat you choose to use).
After the ground turkey is done and is completely browned, turn off the heat and add all but a little of the pasta sauce. Then, once the pasta is cooked, add in the cream cheese and stir it up until the cream cheese has melted.
I chose to use jarred pasta sauce because I was in a rush, but using homemade sauce is another great option! If you do decide to use jarred pasta sauce, just make sure you’re using a sauce with clean ingredients and no added sugar! I used Rao’s, which is my go-to sauce of choice because it’s made with real ingredients – nothing processed or unnecessary. If you can’t find Rao’s in your store, another great option to look for is Victoria’s, which has very similar ingredients to Rao’s – clean and simple.
Just to put things into perspective, here are the ingredients in Rao’s and Victoria’s vs. the ingredients found in some other very common pasta sauces:
Rao’s: Italian whole peeled tomatoes, olive oil, onions, salt, garlic, basil, black pepper, dried oregano.
Victoria’s: Whole tomatoes, onions, olive oil, salt, garlic, basil, spices
Ragu: Tomato puree (water, tomato paste), crushed tomatoes in puree [crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, calcium chloride, citric acid], soybean oil, extra virgin olive oil, salt, sugar, dehydrated onions, spices, natural flavors.
Prego: Diced tomatoes in juice [diced tomatoes, tomato juice, calcium chloride, citric acid], tomato puree (water, tomato paste), basil, sugar, extra virgin olive oil, onions, salt, garlic, spices, natural flavors.
Added sugars can sneak up in tons of foods and food products that you might not even think contain sugar, and marinara sauces or pasta sauces are one of the most common products with sugars added. Therefore, it’s very important to pay attention and read your food labels when you’re at the store browsing for new products.
After the pasta is mixed with the cream cheese and the turkey breast is mixed with the sauce, combine the two pots and mix them all together.
Instead of adding all of the sauce to the pasta mixture, I decided to reserve a little bit of the sauce to spread on the bottom of the pan so the pasta wouldn’t get dried out. Because nobody likes dry pasta!
Next, I added the pasta mixture to the dish, spread it all out evenly, and got ready to stick it in the oven.
But not before adding some extra cheese on top! I chose to use shredded mozzarella, but really any cheese would work here (Parmesan, Romano, Provolone, etc.)
After that, it was into the oven it went for about 20 minutes. Since everything is already cooked, you really only have to leave it in the oven for a few minutes to melt the cheese on top. However, if you leave it in for a little longer, the cheese will get more melty, the cream cheese will melt a little more and blend with the other ingredients, and it will get a little bit crispier (but not too crispy!)
Once the dish came out of the oven, it was smelling so good that my mouth started to water! I was ready to dig right in, but unfortunately it was still piping hot and I didn’t want to burn my tongue!
I let it cool down a little bit before slicing into it, and then it was time to dig in. And boy, did it taste just as great as it smelled!
- 1 lb. ground turkey breast
- 16 oz. spaghetti or linguine (2 boxes of Banza)
- 1 (24-oz.) jar pasta sauce (or 3 cups homemade marinara sauce)
- 1 tsp. each: oregano and basil
- 1 TBSP dried parsley flakes
- 1 (8-ounce) tub Melanie's Medleys Garlic & Herb Cream Cheese
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Lightly grease a 9x13” pan and set aside.
- Add a little bit of olive oil to a large skillet and turn the heat to medium. Add the ground turkey breast and cook until browned and no longer pink, being sure to break up the chunks as you go.
- While the ground meat is cooking, heat a large pot of water and start cooking the pasta.
- Once the pasta is cooked, drain it and add it back to the empty pot.
- Once meat is cooked, add the spices and all but about ½ - ¾ cup marinara sauce. Stir to combine.
- Combine the meat/sauce mixture with the pasta/cream cheese mixture and stir to combine.
- Place the reserved ½ - ¾ cup marinara sauce in the bottom of the greased baking dish. Add the pasta/meat mixture on top, spreading it out evenly, and then top with shredded cheese.
- Bake (uncovered) for 25-30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and top is browned.
