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.
Excellence
Why thank you Josip!
Thank you for this amazing recipe! I absolutely LOVE this it. I’m always making this for family and friends. Have you ever baked this recipe in a foil pan?
Hi Sasha, I have not but I would imagine it would turn out fine. If using a foil pan make sure to put it on a sheet pan when baking to properly conduct heat and make it easier to handle.
Is there something I can replace the cream cheese with, or can I just leave it out all together
thanks
Kelly
Hi Kelly, we have only made this recipe as listed, but other readers have replaced the cream cheese with ricotta cheese with success. Let us know how it turns out!
Has anyone used Thin Spaghetti noodles in this dish yet?
I do not use thin spaghetti noodles because they get too mushy, I have used fettuccine, ragatta (the best) and reg. Spaghetti.
Great suggestion Catherine, those would be delicious noodles to use.
Loved the spagetthi casserole dish!
So happy you loved it Sandi!
Love the latest & greatest
Thanks Shelly!
My family loves the Million Dollar Spaghetti
It is by far the most requested meal EVERY week
That is awesome Traci! So happy to hear that.
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe! I used rigatoni instead of spaghetti just to soak up more sauce. I have been making it for a few years now and thought it was finally time to say thank you!
So glad to hear this is a family staple for you Tiffany! We love this recipe too! Great idea with the rigatoni!
Made this recipe last weekend and finished it up last night. There’s only the two of us so I shared with our neighbors. The left overs tasted even better than the first serving! It is the best baked pasta recipe I have found. Yes – it’s heavy to lift but lighter to eat than most lasagna type recipes. Will certainly make again!
Glad you all enjoyed it Mardi!
I made this dish. However, I screwed up and only used 1 jar of sauce and poured it over top of the whole dish. Boy! Did I think it was going to be a failure. Was I ever wrong. This was DELICIOUS! I used pureed tomatoes, 1 jar of sauce, 4 links of Turkey Italian sausage -2 hot and 2 sweet. I also sauteed fresh spinach and finely chopped zuchinni. I added a can of whole black olives on top of the second layer of spaghetti, then the meat sauce and cheese. This combination is just totally addictive. I also used 1/2 cottage cheese and 1/2 ricotta cheese. Next time I will use less pasta, and more veggies. Or totally take out the meat. I took it to work for my coworkes to enjoy. It was a hit.
THANK YOU for a wonderful and delicious recipe!
You’re welcome Danielle! We are happy it worked out for you!
NEED RECIPE FOR MILLION DOLLAR SPAGHETTI
Hi Nellie, if you scroll towards the bottom you will find the recipe!
My entire family loved it! My 4 year old asked me to make this in place of spaghetti and lasagna for the rest of our lives! And she’s the picky eater.
I am so glad this casserole was well received with your family Jennifer!
I’ve been making this recipe for the last year for my family and they love it. This time I tried it on a large scale for our Food Bank Volunteers today. It was a huge hit! Thank you!
I use both beef and sausage and I do my sauce the day before in a crock pot.
I am so glad everyone loved it Lori! It’s one of our favorites too. Those sound like great additions!
I love the idea of all the different cheeses and butter in this recipe. That is what sets it aside from other original pasta casseroles or dishes. My friend recommended this recipe to me. I will say that my 13 by 9 pan was a little small for this dish. But no complaints here. I will just use a bigger pan next time. It seems like every other recipe that I make I have to at least double the ingredients. Thank you for such a delicious recipe!
I am so glad you enjoyed the spaghetti casserole Janelle!
Family favorite! Today is my sons 12th Birthday and I had asked him what he wanted for his birthday dinner, he blurted out, “million dollar spaghetti!”- :-)
I am so glad your family enjoys this recipe Jaclyn! Happy Birthday to your son!
A family favorite!
I am so glad your family has enjoyed this recipe Jaclyn!
Very tasty recipe. If you have the time, it’s even better if you make your own sauce (e.g. crushed/diced tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil, cook the beef/pork in it, let it simmer for awhile).
Great suggestion Richard, so glad you loved it!
Hi, Can I replace the sausage with ground beef?
I think that will work just fine Hillary!
Alright, pressure is on, I am making this tonight for a covered dish supper! Looking forward to bringing a dish that disappears! I shall update you on the gamble of bringing a new dish!
Hope everyone loved it Steph!
Very good. It was a little too much Italian seasoning taste for me so next time I’ll use ground beef. It’s creamy and tasty and has many possibilites for changing it up for personal tastes. Thanks for a keeper recipe!
Thank you Pearl!