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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Love love love this! I didn’t have the mozzarella cheese on hand and it was still fabulous.
Thank you Kathleen for sharing this!
This turned out wonderful!! I added more shredded cheese for the top layer. It looked beautiful when I took it out of the oven and taste amazing. Thanks for sharing!
Is it possible to make this vegetarian and leave out the meat?
Should anything be tweaked, if so?
TIA
Hi Julia, this recipe should have similar results without the meat without tweaking anything. We would love to hear how it turns out for you!
Absolutely delicious! Since I was making for 2 people I halved the recipe and still have plenty of leftovers! My mom who is picky eater said this is a keeper. Have enjoyed all your recipes so far.
If I make it ahead of time, do I have to bake it or can I assemble all ingredients, refrigerate then bake the next day?
Hi Stacia, you can assemble and then refrigerate. When ready to bake, remove the casserole from the fridge to warm up while the oven is preheating.
I want to be sure if I m correct about two jars of spaghetti sauce …. 48 ounces each or two together 48 or 24 ounces each jar?
Hi Terri, it is 48 ounces in total. So 2 x 24 ounces jars would be perfect.
Million Dollar Spaghetti recipe is Very Good! This is a great recipe and very easy to tweak to additional veggies, parmesan, mushrooms, or what ever you like! I loved the butter on the bottom and on top of the pasta layer. It provided richness and additional flavor. I too layered my sauce up just a tad to prevent dryness. Baked covered at 350 for 30 min. Most excellent! Thanks for another great recipe! Well done!
In the oven now! 2nd time I’ve fixed this recipe and we love it!
Yum! Live in the Middle East so of course had many substitutions, including feta for the cottage cheese, yogurt for the sour cream. And it still turned out delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Absolutely love this recipe. Have made many times and get asked for recipe or to make again every single time. It is amazing!
This recipe was very good! I sprayed the bottom of the pan instead of using the butter. No issues with the noodles sticking. I will definitely make this again!
Good flavor but the proportions are off. There was way too much of the cream cheese mixture and it kind of ruined the dish for my family.
Reduce the cream cheese mixture by at least a third and the recipe would improve drastically.
Oh no, I am sorry to hear that! You can definitely reduce the cream cheese to your liking.
spaghetti was delicious!
Is all of the butter really needed? What is the reason for it? I’m worried about the additional fat on top of what comes from the sausage.
The butter on the bottom keeps it from sticking as well as adding flavor throughout.
We’ve had this recipe printed and it’s a go-to for our family! I first made it for my pregnant daughter in law who wanted nothing but cheese. She absolutely loved it and requested I make it every time she visited. I do have to make it every once in awhile with Alfredo sauce as my Husband has horrible acid reflux and can’t handle many pasta sauces but he does put up with the reflux more often then not because he says it’s perfect the way it was written!
So happy to hear how much your family loves this casserole Krista!
The spaghetti in the pictures already looks sauced in the 9×13” dish, (the pictures clearly shows the noodles having been doused in some sort of tomato sauce) but the instructions say to not pour on meat / pasta sauce until the end.
Do the noodles go into the dish naked?
(If yes, then I suggest better pictures). If no, then the instructions are unclear.
Yes Lulu, in step 2, after cooking the pasta, the instructions say to drain well and return pasta to original pot. Add 1 jar of prepared spaghetti sauce and combine. Then the 2nd jar of sauce is used with the meat.
Nothing was unclear. Maybe re-read for context again? Holly isn’t going to say it, but I will, because you were wrong.
The recipe calls for 2 jars of sauce. One in the noodles and one for the meat.
I made this a few weeks ago while staying at my kids house after their second child was born. Everyone went back for at least seconds and some went back for thirds! I just got a request to make it again, which makes me very happy. Thank you!
Love the recipes
Everyone loved it! Was kinda sketchy about the butter and cottage cheese, but made as stated and it was soo good! Served with a nice green salad and garlic bread. Great comfort food
Was good, made a ton. Gave some to my mom and she gobbled it up. Husband liked it too. Left overs tomorrow. Yum!