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.
This is excellent as written. No changes necessary.
Will definitely be making this especially after so many great reviews…have tons of company here at the beach and need something I can make before going to the beach, come home and pop it into the oven.. just wondering why so much butter, a stick of butter … really necessary??
No, butter isNOT necessary. I did not use any. Just put some sauce on bottom of dish.
I’ve always went by this recipe, NOT exactly. But I’ve been on keto and there’s keto friendly noodles that I buy and sauce. I use ground beef instead also but everything is love about this recipe. My boyfriend tells me it’s just cause I LOVE cream cheese so much. ❤️
I have everything I need to make this except for cream cheese. Do you think I can do without it?
Hi Bobbie, you could replace it with additional cottage or ricotta cheese. It will change the flavor but I think it will still taste delicious!
Do you think you could make this recipe 48 hours ahead of time and put it in the fridge instead of 24? Or should I freeze it? Seems silly to freeze it just to have to get it out to thaw in a day?
I’ve made this recipe before and we all love it, want to make it for my family coming this weekend!
I think making it 48 hours ahead should be just fine. The pasta can soak up the sauce as it sits so you’ll want to ensure you cook the pasta al dente (very firm) and perhaps make it a little bit more saucy.
The meat sauce will last about 4 days in the fridge so you could even make it and keep the parts separate and assemble the day of (or day before) baking. I hope that helps! Let us know how it goes!
I plan to make ahead and freeze for another day. Do I cook it entirely in the oven before freezing? Thanks!
Prepare and assemble the recipe and it can be frozen before baking. Thaw in the fridge 24 hours before baking.
I’ve been making this for about two years now (ground beef instead of sausage) and its literally the talk of the neighborhood. I have to share with my parents, neighbors and friends. My kids and husband go crazy for it and I started to double the ingredients to make two batches at a time. I make it about once a month/twice and it’s absolutely our favorite dinner.
I’m so glad everyone has loved it!
So good! Can I share a pic?
We would love to see a picture of your dish Sabrina! Tag us on Instagram @spendpennies
This is awesome!!!
I love every recipe from you I have ever made.
I am making your spaghetti bake tonight. But I am cutting it in half. Just the 2 of us
Very good! I agree with what someone else mentioned that it was a little time consuming. I also had to frequently revisit the recipe to get all the steps, and even then I accidentally layered the ingredients in the pan wrong. It still turned out good! There just wasn’t the distinct cheese layer in the middle because I accidentally made 2 layers of it instead of one. I would also advocate adding a little more sauce if you like a saucy spaghetti. Mine wasn’t dry, but I just like extra sauce. I will definitely make it again with a couple tiny tweaks. Thank you for this recipe!
Yes, after the first like four times I made it, it took me time. But now I make it following no recipe or referring to photos. I don’t even have to measure. All memory now.
How do you think Million Dollar Spaghetti would do made in a casserole size crock pot? Would like to make this camping. We have electricity—no oven.
Hi Nancy, we haven’t tried this recipe in a crockpot but it should work. Let us know how it turns out!
Interested if you made it in crock pot, I would like to try it that way. I am a big fan of crock pots.
Loved this recipe! I used 1 lb each of mild Italian sausage and ground Chuck. I also used almost the full 66 oz jar of Ragu chunky sause (I hate dry baked spaghetti). Also ended up using 8 oz each of both mozzarella and the Italian blend cheeses. Turned out AMAZING!
Made this tonight for my hubby, 1 year old and in laws. They loved it and went back for seconds. My hubby said it was a little too much Italian seasoning but said it was definitely a remake. So next time I’ll cut the Italian seasoning in half. Also I used ground beef because that’s what we had at home. It was a little time consuming but that’s because I had to look at the recipe on my phone every step.
So happy you all loved it Alyssa! It is such a delicious recipe.
What is the green herb sprinkled on top? TY
Parsley! It is such a pretty garnish Amber :)
Wanting to learn new recipes
Really excellent recipe! I don’t normally go for casserole-type dishes, but this was great. I like to make a meat sauce to go with cheese-stuffed shells and always end up with plenty of leftover sauce. I wanted something other than shells and better than regular spaghetti and this recipe fit the bill! I cut the recipe in half and it fit perfectly in an 8×8 dish. Delicious!
The Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole is great and a family favorite! Thank you for sharing❤️
Before you put the dish in the oven.. should it be covered with tinfoil? Doesn’t say in the recipe. Thanks!!
This is baked uncovered.
Yes it’s best to cook with foil regular time then take foil off and bake for 10 to broil cheese
What do you do with the second jar of spaghetti sauce?
One jar is added to the pasta in step 2.
One jar is added to the meat sauce in step 3.
So u buy two 24 oz of spaghetti sauce
Yes.