The Scoop
Hosting, Leveled Up!
We’ve all been there: staring at a random pound of ground beef and a couple of pasta boxes, praying we can pull off a miracle before guests walk through the door. This 8-Layer Bake is that exact miracle. It’s the ultimate kitchen flex, turning humble pantry staples into a cozy, cheesy, textured masterpiece that feels effortlessly sophisticated.
If you’re feeding a crowd at a housewarming or throwing together a casual weekend dinner, this recipe does all the heavy lifting so you can actually enjoy your own party.
Ingredients
- 3 cups dried medium noodles, such as egg or fettuccini
- 1 pound ground beef
- 2 (8-ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/3 cup onion, chopped
- 1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, cooked and well-drained
- 1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a 2-quart casserole dish or a 2-quart square baking dish.
- In a large pot of salted, boiling water, cook the noodles to al dente, according to the package directions.
- Drain the noodles and set aside.
- While the noodles are cooking, in a large skillet, cook the beef, while crumbling, until it is no longer pink, about 5-7 minutes. Drain the excess grease.
- Stir the tomato sauce, the basil, the sugar, the garlic powder, the salt, and the pepper into the beef and bring to a boil.
- Reduce the heat and simmer the beef mixture, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
- In a medium mixing bowl, use an electric hand mixer to beat the sour cream and the cream cheese together on medium speed until smooth.
- Stir the milk and the onion into the sour cream mixture.
- In the prepared casserole dish, layer 1/2 of the cooked noodles, 1/2 of the beef mixture, 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture, and the spinach.
- Top the spinach with the remaining beef mixture and then the remaining noodles.
- Cover and chill the remaining cream cheese mixture until needed.
- Cover the casserole dish with lightly greased foil and bake until it is heated through, about 45 minutes.
- Uncover the casserole dish and spread the remaining cream cheese mixture over the top of the casserole.
- Sprinkle the cream cheese mixture with the cheddar cheese.
- Bake the casserole, uncovered, until the cheese melts, about 10 minutes.
- Let the casserole stand for 10 minutes.
- Serve.
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