Johnny Marzetti, or simply marzetti, is an American pasta dish in the cuisine of the Midwestern United States prepared with noodles, cheese, ground beef or Italian sausage,^[1] and a tomato sauce that may include aromatic vegetables and mushrooms.^[2]

Johnny Marzetti originated in Columbus, Ohio, at Marzetti's, an Italian restaurant established in 1896 at Woodruff Avenue and High Street by an Italian immigrant named Teresa Marzetti.^[3][4] One of the dishes Marzetti offered her customers was a baked casserole of ground beef, cheese, tomato sauce, and noodles that she named for her brother-in-law, Johnny.^[5] Teresa Marzetti was the first person to serve the casserole Johnny Marzetti in a restaurant.^[6] Proximity to the nearby Ohio State University helped the first restaurant succeed and spread Marzetti's fame.^[7]

By the 1920s, it had become popular across Ohio and the Midwestern United States. The original restaurant closed in 1942, but a second location, opened in 1919, remained in operation until Teresa Marzetti died in 1972.^[8] Marzetti's later became known for various salad dressings, which are still produced under the T. Marzetti Company label.

Johnny Marzetti also became a popular dish in the former Panama Canal Zone, where Panamanian locals referred to the dish as "Johnny Mazetti".^[9]

In Season 3, Episode 18 of Gilmore Girls, "Happy Birthday, Baby", Johnny Marzetti casserole is referred to as "Johnny Machete", a dish ^[10] Richard Gilmore's grandmother made for him when he was feeling sad.^[11]

• List of casserole dishes
• List of pasta dishes