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This crowd-pleasing dish is made with layers of spaghetti and cheese that is smothered in a hearty meat sauce and baked until browned and bubbly.
Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Spaghetti is tossed in a savory meat sauce and topped with a creamy cheesy sauce for a hearty meal! While the ingredients are simple, this meal is delicious.
- Skill Level: This easy, beginner-friendly recipe is an easy way to feed the family!
- Serving: Million Dollar Spaghetti is a combination of baked spaghetti and lasagna and pairs well with all the classic sides: garlic bread, Caesar salad, easy arugula salad, and more!
- Freezing: This hearty casserole reheats and freezes well for future meals!
Ingredient Tips for Million Dollar Spaghetti
- Meat: I like using Italian sausage as it has lots of flavor, but in a pinch, you can substitute ground beef or ground turkey. If substituting the sausage, I would recommend adding extra seasoning to the sauce.
- Sauce: This recipe uses pasta sauce as the base to keep it quick and easy. You can use homemade marinara sauce or your favorite jar of sauce. Feel free to stir in fresh herbs!
- Cheese: The cheese layer is made with either cottage cheese or ricotta cheese. I prefer cottage cheese because I think it adds so much creaminess to the recipe.
- Pasta: Cook the pasta al dente so it holds up during baking. While I prefer to make this with spaghetti, other types of pasta work well too. Try ziti or rigatoni noodles.
Storing, Reheating, & Planning Ahead
The leftovers of this casserole reheat well! The pasta softens up a bit when reheating, but the flavor is just as good as when it was fresh out of the oven.
- Prep Ahead: This spaghetti can be made up to 24 hours ahead of time. Remove it from the fridge at least 30 minutes before baking and add 15 minutes to the baking time.
- Freezing: To freeze the casserole, wrap it in plastic wrap first, then aluminum foil. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge before baking.
More Favorite Spaghetti Recipes
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Million Dollar Spaghetti
Million Dollar spaghetti is loaded with layers of spaghetti, cheese, zesty sauce, and Italian sausage. This is an easy hearty casserole that's budget-friendly and perfect for a crowd.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces spaghetti
- 1 ½ pounds Italian sausage casing removed, or ground beef or turkey
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 48 ounces marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce, 2 jars, divided
- 3 teaspoons Italian seasoning divided
- 8 ounces cottage cheese or ricotta cheese
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese divided
- chopped fresh parsley and parmesan cheese for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta al dente according to package directions. Drain well and return the pasta to the original pot. Add 24 oz of prepared spaghetti sauce and toss to combine. Set aside.
- In a large skillet, combine Italian sausage, onion, and garlic over medium-high heat. Cook until no pink remains and the onion is soft. Drain excess fat. Stir in the remaining 24 oz of spaghetti sauce and 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning. Set aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, blend cottage cheese (or ricotta), cream cheese, sour cream, 1 cup mozzarella, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning using a hand mixer. Set aside.
- Spread half of the spaghetti in the prepared baking dish, then top with the cottage cheese mixture. Spread the remaining spaghetti over the cheese mixture. Pour the meat sauce evenly over the top.
- Bake uncovered 35-45 minutes, until the casserole is heated through, adding the mozzarella on top for the last 20 minutes of cook time.
- Rest 15 minutes before serving.
Notes
If replacing the sausage for ground beef or turkey, add additional seasoning to the sauce. For a little kick, add ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes.
This casserole can be prepared 24 hours in advance. If made ahead of time, let set at room temperature for at least 30 minutes before baking. Add 15 minutes to the baking time.
Store leftovers in a covered container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 583 | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 39g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 109mg | Sodium: 826mg | Potassium: 337mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 745IU | Vitamin C: 2.5mg | Calcium: 209mg | Iron: 1.7mg
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Casserole, Dinner, Pasta
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
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Love this recipe. Great for company or to take to someone sick.
I’m looking forward to making this recipe. Do you think gluten free pasta will work as well? Love your website
Hi Andrea, gluten free pasta should work well in this recipe. I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
Hey Holly we are going to feed about 200 people later this month. Thinking of using your recipe, it looks really good. Question: You state that there are 12 servings. Is that typically enough for an adult portion? Would you figure on a few less servings to ensure enough food. It will be served with salad. Any other tips for feeding such a large crowd?
Thanks so much!
Bill
Hi Bill, the servings are about 1 ½ cups. I have never made this recipe in that volume though! I would love to hear how it turns out.
Really tasty. Will definitely make this again.
Great recipe as is for a special meal. I love that you still have the nutritional breakdown so that we can all adjust to accommodate special dietary restrictions (salt, carbs, cholesterol). Many recipes no longer provide this information and I find it frustrating and time consuming. I bought your recipe book, totally worth it!
It’s great you find the nutritional info helpful! I’m so glad you love my book Bex (if you’re so inclined a review on Amazon would mean so much)!
If you use Italian pork sausage instead of Italian sausage with casing removed, do you still add 2 tsp. Italian seasoning?
Sure you can and yes, I would recommend keeping the seasonings the same.
I had 18 people for Christmas lunch, so I did 2x the recipe! It was delicious and I received rave reviews for the casseroles I had put together the day before and baked while the revelers were en route for lunch! Served with salad and Tiramisu for an easy Italian Christmas lunch.
Rush!! can this be frozen before baking? Making it. cleaning it up. and freezing it would really help my holiday schedule. Thank you in advance!
Yes, this freezes well. To freeze the casserole, wrap it in plastic wrap first, then aluminum foil. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge before baking—you will need to add extra baking time if it is cold from the fridge.
Hi Holly! I split this into two 9 x 6 pans because my children are picky, it’s just my husband and I who eat it. How long would you say it’s good for if I freeze it right after prepping? Thank you!!
Hi Elizabeth, it should last up to 3 months in the freezer.
hi! have you used reduced fat sour cream and/or cream cheese? any issues with using either? thanks!
Those should both work just fine in this recipe.
This is an awesome recipe and EVERY TIME I’ve served it, people have asked for the recipe. Thank you!
Could you make this in a disposable foil pan? Would it change the cook time? I want to make it for a friend having surgery and don’t want them to worry about returning/cleaning a dish. I’ve made this many times before and it’s always a hit!
It should work well in a foil pan but make sure they place the foil pan on a baking sheet for proper heat dispersement during baking.
Wonderful, Wonderful Recipe.
This is the best baked spaghetti recipe I have tried. It was well loved by my family.