Million Dollar Spaghetti is a cheesy baked pasta layered with tender spaghetti, a creamy cheese filling, savory meat sauce, and plenty of melted mozzarella. This cheesy baked spaghetti is made for sharing and makes an easy, hearty dinner for family or guests.
Round off the meal with a simple green salad and homemade garlic bread.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Million Dollar Spaghetti
- Flavor: Zesty marinara, savory Italian sausage, and three creamy cheeses give every layer rich, savory flavor.
- Why Make It: It delivers the layered look of an easy homemade lasagna without arranging individual noodles.
- Make Ahead: Assemble this up to a day ahead and keep it refrigerated until ready to bake. It makes dinner easier when feeding family, bringing a dish to a potluck, or serving a crowd.
Cook Time: 1 Hr 25 Mins Servings: 12 Cooking Method: Sauté and Oven
Ingredient Notes
- Spaghetti: Cook the pasta until al dente, as it will continue cooking in the oven. Swap in any medium pasta, like penne, rigatoni, or rotini.
- Italian Sausage: Ground beef or turkey work well too, but season the meat more generously to build the same depth of flavor as Italian sausage.
- Marinara Sauce: Choose a sauce you already enjoy because its flavor carries through the entire casserole. Or try making a homemade marinara sauce instead.
- Cottage Cheese: Cottage cheese makes the center creamy while adding a little structure to the layers. Replace with ricotta for a smoother, more traditional lasagna-style filling.
- Cream Cheese: Let the cream cheese soften to room temperature so it blends smoothly with the other filling ingredients without lumps.
- Sour Cream: Use full-fat sour cream for the richest, creamiest texture.
How to Cook Million Dollar Spaghetti
- Cook the pasta, and stir in the marinara sauce.
- In a skillet, sauté the sausage, onions, and garlic.
- In a bowl, prepare the cheese filling (full recipe below).
- In a casserole dish, add the spaghetti, then layer with the cheese mixture and more spaghetti.
- Top with the meat mixture, sprinkle with cheese, and bake.
Save Those Million Dollar Leftovers
- Keep leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Reheat individual portions in the microwave until heated through, or cover and warm them in a 350°F oven.
More Pasta Casseroles
Did you enjoy this Million Dollar Spaghetti Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Million Dollar Spaghetti
Million dollar spaghetti layers saucy pasta, savory Italian sausage, and a rich cream cheese filling under plenty of melted mozzarella. It's an easy, hearty casserole made to feed a crowd.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces spaghetti
- 1½ pounds Italian sausage casing removed, or ground beef or turkey*
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 2 (24 ounce) jars marinara sauce or spaghetti sauce, 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 for 35 to 45 minutes, until the casserole is heated through, adding the mozzarella on top for the last 20 minutes of the cook time.
- Rest for 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 it 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 refrigerator 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.
Great recipe! I made it vegetarian by replacing the meat with 24 ounces of sliced mushrooms, 2 diced green bell peppers, 1 teaspoon of fennel seed, 1 teaspoon of Hungarian paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon of red chili flakes. Turned out awesome!
I love your recipe, but I was wondering if I can make it with chicken?
I haven’t tried it but don’t see why not. I would recommend cooking the onion and garlic until softened with a little bit of oil. You can stir about 3-4 cups of shredded cooked chicken into the sauce, you may find you need a little bit of extra sauce as the chicken may absorb the sauce a little more than the sausage would. Let us know how it goes!
Made this for work potluck and it was a huge hit. I also made it without baking and the cheeses cuz I was hungry and didn’t want to wait. I don’t think I will go back to any spaghetti recipe other than this. I did add mushrooms and bell peppers as I love veggies. Thank you for sharing this recipe
Are the freezing directions for baked or unbaked?
You can do either Peggy, but typically I freeze it unbaked.
Fabulous! Just wow! I made the spaghetti just as instructed, the only change I made was to mix the cooked spaghetti with the meat sauce before layering. Husband loves this, will be making this again soon for company.
Thank you!
Will this recipe work without ricotta or cottage cheese?
You can but it won’t be as creamy or tangy. You could try replacing it with a couple ounces of cream cheese and sour cream instead if you wish. I would love to hear how it turns out for you!
Million $ Spaghetti is fab. I think in the half recipe should have 24oz of Marana Sauce to be 12oz in pasta and 12oz in sausage recipe. I used the 13×9 pan but was too large for the recipe. So, if a 13×9″ pan equals 117″, then I need a pan that is half size, 59sq inches pan? Is this correct?
Jo, a devoted fan of “Spend with Pennies”!
Hi Jo, I would use an 8×8 pan if you are halving the recipe. I hope that helps!
We all like to have a glass or two of wine while cooking, Jo. But we avoid commenting afterwards.
the way I laughed reading this comment.
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.