Million-dollar spaghetti is a creamy, cheesy, budget-friendly casserole that's so easy to make.
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.
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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
Did you enjoy this Million Dollar Spaghetti? Leave us a rating and comment below!
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.
More Must-Try Casseroles
I added mushrooms,red pepper and black olives to this ……amazing!!!!!
Those sound like fantastic additions Mayetta!
This dish looks good, and I’m gonna try it in a few days………….
I hope you enjoy it!
Have it in the oven now…. can’t wait!
Let us know how it turns out!
When making ahead, do you bake it before refridgerating or just assemble and bake when serving?
You can assemble and refrigerate this recipe before baking.
I don’t like cottage cheese could I substitute something else and what would you recommend if so
You can use ricotta cheese.
can’t wait to try this !
Made this for dinner with just ground beef and the kids devoured it. Thanks!
I’m so glad your family enjoyed this recipe!
Made this tonight everyone loved it. I disagree with the amount of servings. I believe it should be 10-12 instead of six.
I’m so glad your family enjoyed this recipe!
have you baked it and then frozen the leftovers? i just made it and it is delicious! i just didn’t know if you’d experimented with that.
Yay! I’m glad you liked it! Freezing the food can take away the texture and flavor that makes our recipes tasty!
All those recipes look wonderful. Thank you for sharing!
Is this really only 6 servings? Just seems like it would serve more people.
I will definitely be making this dish. I imagine that I’ll use a pound of quality Chuck Beef and a half pound, or so, of bulk Italian Sausage. I may add some Mushrooms, and julienned pimientos. Have to wait until we can dig out of the snow though. Thanks, the recipe looks great!
could you use hamburg instead of sausage,
Yes you can.
What does the butter?
The butter on the bottom keeps it from sticking as well as adding flavor throughout.
Do you have a favorite jar sauce that you like to use in this recipe?
I often use the Kirkland pasta sauce from Costco or Classico. Any type will work great i this recipe.
Yummy! Can you please add the size baking dish in the directions?
Great suggestion, I’ve added it.
I gotta try this! It looks wonderful. Thank you for sharing.
Outstanding! I used half ground turkey and half spicy italian turkey sausage because it was what I had on hand. I followed the rest of the recipe exactly. I can easily say this was the best dish I have tried in a very long time. Winner all the way! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I am so glad you liked this recipe, Pat!
This recipe “Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole” sounds great. My question is the directions say to add the Italian seasoning in 2 different places, with the meat and also with the cheese mixture, however it does not say divided after the amount of Italian seasoning. So I’d like to know the right amounts. Thank you and I’ll be checking out your blog also. Thanks, Ginger
Great question. I would add 2 teaspoons to the tomato mixture and 1 teaspoon to the cheese mixture. I have updated the recipe. Enjoy!!
What size baking dish?
This will fit in a 9×13 pan.