Johnny Marzetti Casserole

This Johnny Marzetti Casserole is the Ohio classic of ground beef, elbow macaroni, tomato sauce, and cheddar baked together in one dish. In my version the macaroni goes in uncooked and cooks right in the oven in the pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, and hot water, so there is no pot of noodles to boil or drain. You brown the beef with onion, garlic, and Italian seasoning, stir everything together in a 9×13-inch baking dish, cover it with foil, and bake. It comes out saucy and cheesy, serves 8, and takes about 80 minutes, most of it hands-off in the oven.

The name ties it to Marzetti’s, the Columbus restaurant Joseph and Teresa Marzetti opened in 1896, though no one has found the dish on one of the restaurant’s old menus. It 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.

The reason you don’t have to boil the pasta first is the liquid. The pasta sauce, the juice from the diced tomatoes, and 2 cups of hot water are just enough to cook the macaroni under the foil, so press the pasta down until it is mostly covered before the dish goes in the oven. The cheddar gets stirred in before baking and sprinkled on top for the last 10 minutes.

It works well for a weeknight dinner, and the leftovers reheat well for lunch or another quick dinner later in the week. If you like baked pasta, my Baked Ravioli and Easy Tuna Noodle Casserole are two more to try.

➡️ Ingredients you’ll need

⏲ How to make this Johnny Marzetti casserole recipe

This is an overview of the recipe’s instructions. The full instructions can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

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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 1 cup 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 ½ cup of 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 10 minutes to help it set (this makes it easier to serve). 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 some ricotta cheese in before baking for a creamier casserole.

〰️ 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

🍴 Make This Next

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• Broccoli Casserole – Cheese melts into every bite.
• Buffalo Chicken Casserole – Spicy cheese pull for dinner.

🍽 Recipe

Johnny Marzetti Casserole

Author: Sara Nelson

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Yield: 8 servings

Course: Dinner

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This Johnny Marzetti Casserole is the Ohio classic of ground beef, elbow macaroni, tomato sauce, and cheddar baked in one 9×13-inch dish. The macaroni goes in uncooked and cooks in the oven in the pasta sauce, diced tomatoes, and hot water, so there is nothing to boil first. It serves 8 and takes about 80 minutes, most of it in the oven.

Ingredients 

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• ▢ nonstick spray or oil, for greasing the baking dish
• ▢ 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
• ▢ aluminum foil, for covering the baking dish

Optional Garnishes:

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

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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 10 minutes to help it set (this makes it easier to serve). 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: Do steps 2 and 3, browning the beef with the onion and garlic and stirring in the Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper, then cover and refrigerate that mixture on its own for up to 24 hours. Do not add the uncooked pasta, hot water, sauce, or tomatoes until you are ready to bake, because dry pasta sitting in the liquid overnight absorbs it and the no-boil method stops working. When you bake, do step 1 to preheat and grease the dish, then skip to step 4 and carry on from there, adding 5-10 minutes to the covered baking time if the beef went in cold.

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: 348kcal (17%), Carbohydrates: 31g (10%), Protein: 21g (42%), Fat: 15g (23%), Saturated Fat: 7g (44%), Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.4g, Cholesterol: 56mg (19%), Sodium: 816mg (35%), Potassium: 589mg (17%), Fiber: 4g (17%), Sugar: 7g (8%), Vitamin A: 586IU (12%), Vitamin C: 12mg (15%), Calcium: 210mg (21%), Iron: 3mg (17%)