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.
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Made this tonight exactly as recipe stated – loved it – would certainly make this dish for guests
I am so glad you liked this recipe!
I made this a few nights ago and being so good we had no problem eating it each night till gone. My husband said this is a restaurant dish!! His highest praise for a dish. So good! I looked at my 9 by 13 pans and thought I better get out the Pyrex Khaki 9 by 13 one which is about 4 1/2 inches deep and so glad I did. It was filled to the top. I used cottage cheese when I made it. Reheating- I put it in my double boiler pan with the insert that has holes and lined it with foil. Steaming the portions was perfect. This recipe is not heavy to the stomach, really light considering all the goodies in it. Just the 2 of us and we ate it till every bite was gone and loved it!! I would serve this to dinner guest with no reservations at all.
I’m so glad your family loved it!
I love this recipe! I cut the recipe in half and used a spring form pan, cut like a pie. You see all the beautiful layers.
Sounds lovely Mary! So glad to hear that you love it!
Absolutely Delicious!!!
This is our go to meal now! I use the veggie noodles since trying to get a 5 year old to eat veggies is difficult and we love it! Everyone who tries it is amazed by it! Thank you for such an awesome recipe!
This was delicious! Teenagers loved it as well!
Made the spaghetti casserole for the first time. Family absolutely loved it.
Thank you.
How much would I need to alter this recipe if I use two pounds of Italian sausage and meatballs?
This recipe has only been tested as written.
Have you ever made it with two pounds of sausage? If so, what adjustments were made? What do you recommend if morw meat is added
This recipe has only been made as written. If you try it with 2lbs sausage, please let us know how it works out!
I made it a couple of days ago and I used 2 pounds of sausage. I cooked it, and nothing else, to render out the fat and water and I drained it. I put it on the scale again and I have 1 1/2 pounds of cooked meat. I didn’t change any thing else in the recipe. To me it just made the meat layer a bit more dense. It tasted just as good as it had before so I can’t say it made a great difference, just meatier.
I made this last night for the first time and it came out great . My hunnybun is a picky eater and he loved. Thank You for sharing
Could this be made with spaghetti squash or spiralized zucchini?
That sounds like a yummy way to add more veggies!
I made this and it made a ton! I fed 5 adults and two children… And there were leftovers! It was good the first night that I made it, but the leftovers were amazing the next day! Definitely a new favorite.
I love leftovers too! So glad you and your family liked it!
I made this and my family loved it! It’s very filling and it makes a huge dish, so we will be having left overs for a while. My husband is a farmer and even chose to take it on the tractor today.
I’m so glad your family loved it Misty!
I made this last night and it was a huge hit!! Absolutely delicious
This was very good, my husband & I really liked it!! I wish I would’ve cut the recipe in half, since there’s only the 2 of us, but it’ll be great leftovers for days
I don’t care for Italian sausage so I used Andouille sausage….yum!! I did use Cottage cheese instead of ricotta, because I already had it.
Would recommend this recipe for sure, I’m trying to share it on Facebook too
I love cream cheese, but the cheese layer was so thick and overpowering that nobody would eat it until I scraped it off. The second time I made it I used Ricotta, one egg, Italian seasoning, parsley flakes, mozzarella and parmesan. It was MUCH better. This doesn’t need an inch thick layer of dairy!
This was pretty tasty, however we found it to be too creamy and I even forgot to add the cottage cheese. Great base recipe that I feel I can modify with some healthier things and we can still enjoy.
Made this tonight as it sounded soooo good! I thought the ricotta/cream cheese/sour cream mixture was extremely overpowering. You couldn’t even taste the tomato sauce over the cream cheese. I double checked the ingredients to see if I put too much but no, I did it as listed. I would advise cutting that part in half. I think then it would be delicious.
Made it today for dinner! Fantastic! MMMMM…
I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe Shannon!
Yes and it was great!