Johnny Marzetti Casserole

You’ll love this recipe if you like baked pasta dishes like this Baked Ravioli and Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole.

The dish was first served by Teresa Marzetti at her Ohio restaurant back in the early 1900s. She named it after her brother-in-law, Johnny, and it quickly caught on because it used simple, affordable ingredients that people already had. If you’ve never heard of Johnny Marzetti, think of it as similar to American goulash or baked pasta with meat sauce.

This version makes things even easier because you don’t have to boil the pasta first — it cooks right in the baking dish along with everything else. You’ll brown the ground beef with onion and garlic for extra flavor, mix it with uncooked pasta, sauce, diced tomatoes, and cheese, then add just enough water to make sure the pasta cooks evenly.

It’s perfect for weeknight dinners, and leftovers reheat really well, making lunches or quick dinners later in the week easy.

➡️ Ingredients you’ll need

⏲ How to make this Johnny Marzetti casserole recipe

1. Preheat Oven: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) and lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
2. Brown Beef and Aromatics: In a large skillet over medium heat, cook the ground beef until it’s mostly browned (about 4-5 minutes), breaking it up as it cooks. Then add the diced onion and garlic. Continue cooking another 3-4 minutes, until the beef is fully browned and the onions are soft. Spoon out any excess grease if needed.
3. Season Beef: Stir in Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook for 1 more minute to let the seasoning bloom.
4. Assemble in Baking Dish: Pour the cooked beef mixture into the prepared baking dish. Add the uncooked pasta, pasta sauce, hot water, diced tomatoes (with juices), and some of the shredded cheddar cheese.
5. Stir Everything Together: Stir well until everything is evenly mixed and the pasta is coated. Make sure the pasta is mostly submerged in liquid (press it down with a spoon, if needed). If it’s not submerged, add a little more hot water (2-4 Tablespoons).
6. Cover and Bake: Cover tightly with aluminum foil and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes.
7. Uncover and Finish Baking: Remove the foil, carefully stir everything, then sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top. Return the dish to the oven uncovered and bake 10 more minutes, until the cheese is melted and the pasta is fully cooked.
8. Let Rest Then Serve: Let the casserole sit uncovered for 5-10 minutes to help it set (this makes scooping easier). If there’s still excess liquid, wait a few minutes longer or gently stir to help absorption. You can also return it briefly to the oven uncovered if needed. Add the optional garnishes then serve.

✨ Variations

• More Vegetables: Add diced bell peppers or sliced mushrooms when browning the beef for extra veggies.
• Protein: Mix half ground beef and half Italian sausage to give it a richer flavor.
• Creamy Texture: Stir in a few dollops of ricotta cheese before baking to add creaminess to the dish.

〰️ How to serve

• Veggies — Baked sliced zucchini, steamed broccoli, or roasted green beans.
• Bread — Cheesy garlic pull apart bread, breadsticks, garlic knots, or crusty rolls.
• Salad — Caesar salad or chopped Italian salad.

💬 FAQs

🍽 Recipe

Johnny Marzetti Casserole

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour

Yield: 8 servings

Course: Dinner

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

This Johnny Marzetti Casserole is a classic Midwestern comfort food that's especially popular in Ohio. It's a baked casserole made with ground beef, elbow macaroni, tomato sauce, and cheese. In this version, there's no need to boil the pasta first — it cooks right in the oven with everything else, making it easy and saving you extra dishes.

Ingredients 

0.5x1x2x

• ▢ 1 pound ground beef
• ▢ 1 small yellow onion, diced
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic, minced (or 2 teaspoons jarred minced garlic)
• ▢ 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon pepper
• ▢ 2 cups (8 ounces) uncooked elbow macaroni
• ▢ 1 24-ounce jar pasta sauce
• ▢ 2 cups hot water (doesn’t need to be boiling)
• ▢ 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in tomato juice, undrained
• ▢ 1 ½ cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided

Optional Garnishes:

• ▢ Freshly-cracked pepper
• ▢ Chopped fresh parsley or basil

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions 

• Preheat Oven: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Set aside.
• Brown Beef and Aromatics: In a large skillet over medium heat, cook ground beef until it's mostly browned (about 4-5 minutes), breaking it up as it cooks. Then add diced onion and garlic. Continue cooking another 3-4 minutes, until beef is fully browned and onions are soft. Spoon out excess grease if needed.
• Season Beef: Stir in Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Cook 1 more minute to let seasoning bloom.
• Assemble in Baking Dish: Pour cooked beef mixture into prepared baking dish. Add uncooked pasta, pasta sauce, hot water, diced tomatoes (with juices), and 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese.
• Stir Everything Together: Stir well until everything is evenly mixed and pasta is coated. Make sure pasta is mostly submerged in liquid (press it down with a spoon, if needed). If not submerged, add a little more hot water (2-4 Tablespoons).
• Cover and Bake: Cover tightly with foil and bake for 40 minutes.
• Uncover and Finish Baking: Remove foil, carefully stir everything, then sprinkle remaining ½ cup cheese over top. Return to oven uncovered and bake 10 more minutes, until cheese is melted and pasta is fully cooked.
• Let Rest Then Serve: Let casserole sit uncovered for 5-10 minutes to help it set (this makes scooping easier). If there's still excess liquid, wait a few minutes longer or gently stir to help absorption. You can also return it briefly to the oven uncovered if needed. Add optional garnishes then serve.

Video

Recipe Notes

Making Casserole In Advance: Assemble everything in the baking dish, cover, and refrigerate. Bake it within 24 hours, adding an extra 5-10 minutes to the covered baking time since it will be chilled.

Refrigerator Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave or covered in the oven at 350 degrees F until warmed through.

Freezing and Reheating Instructions: Let the casserole cool completely, then store it tightly covered in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating in the oven at 350 degrees F until warmed through, or microwave individual portions. You might want to add a little extra sauce or cheese if it seems dry.

Nutrition

Serving: 1.25cups, Calories: 389kcal (19%), Carbohydrates: 46g (15%), Protein: 25g (50%), Fat: 11g (17%), Saturated Fat: 6g (38%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 3g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 56mg (19%), Sodium: 402mg (17%), Potassium: 365mg (10%), Fiber: 2g (8%), Sugar: 2g (2%), Vitamin A: 218IU (4%), Vitamin C: 1mg (1%), Calcium: 177mg (18%), Iron: 2mg (11%)