The 3 Types Of Sauce Ree Drummond Adds To Elevate Her Baked Spaghetti

From comforting side dishes to big breakfasts, Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond is well-versed in whipping up hearty meals. So it comes as no surprise that her baked spaghetti went viral on TikTok. In the video, she shared how she takes a simple baked spaghetti to the next level by using a trio of sauces.

Drummond's unique pasta bake is her riff on a dish called "million dollar spaghetti," which combines a meaty marinara and a creamy blend of cottage cheese, sour cream, and mozzarella along with the noodles. For Drummond's scaled-up version, she still uses a meaty marinara but she swaps out the cottage cheese mixture for a rich and creamy Alfredo sauce. Her addition to the dish is pesto, which she uses to coat the pasta before pouring in the other sauces.

While it may sound like significantly more work to use multiple sauces, Drummond actually makes it fairly easy. For the pesto, she uses a jarred version though it's easy enough to make your own basic pesto, too. Meanwhile, her Alfredo sauce comes together quickly, using just cream, butter, and parmesan as well as a pinch of salt and pepper. The lengthiest part of the process is browning the beef and sausage for the meat sauce, though that still takes less than 10 minutes. Plus, she makes the sauce a cinch to prepare by using canned tomato paste and a jarred marinara that she jazzes up with added green peppers and jalapeños. 

One key to making the best baked pasta is to ensure that the noodles aren't overcooked. For many recipes, you'll need to boil the pasta before combining the noodles with the other ingredients. To ensure that they turn out pleasantly firm, try cutting the cooking time on the package directions in half. This way, the pasta will finish cooking in the oven rather than potentially turning soggy or gummy while baking.

Many pasta bakes also call for a healthy helping of shredded cheese on top. Naturally, it will melt during the baking process but if you want to turn that cheese into ooey-gooey goodness, hike up the heat towards the end of the cooking process. In the last few minutes, simply set your oven to broil to achieve the picture-perfect results.

Finally, once you've pulled your pasta out of the oven, don't rush to slice it up and serve. If you've ever witnessed a lasagna where the layers have slid apart while being served, you have witnessed one of the mistakes when cooking the dish: not letting it cool. Instead, let your steamy dish sit for a few minutes so that the pasta can absorb any moisture that may have separated while cooking. This way, the cheese can firm up just slightly, too. Set a timer and at the 10-minute mark you can safely slice into your pasta bake without fear of it falling apart.