Spaghetti pie is the perfect dish for a kid friendly weeknight dinner or to serve to a group of hungry guests. This spaghetti pie recipe pulls together all of the best aspects of a comforting Italian classic – pasta – cheese, a zesty meat sauce, and more cheese!
Serve with a green salad tossed with Italian vinaigrette dressing and a loaf of warm garlic bread. After all, when it comes to spaghetti pie, it’s all about no fuss basics!
Spaghetti Pie Ingredient Prep
Spaghetti pie is exactly what it sounds like. A crust of spaghetti & cheese topped with our favorite Homemade Spaghetti Sauce and more cheese. The whole thing is baked until bubbly and then sliced and served like a pie.
What’s in Spaghetti Pie? Spaghetti pie casserole is layered and the flavors remind me of lasagna (but I think it’s easier to prepare).
- Crust
- The “crust” is made of noodles mixed with eggs and cheese.
- The eggs bind everything together so that you can easily cut your baked spaghetti pie into wedges.
- We use spaghetti but any long pasta will work in this recipe.
- Sauce
- This recipe uses a version of my favorite pasta sauce recipe.
- Simmer the sauce to make sure it’s thickened.
- Feel free to add in veggies like diced peppers, mushrooms and zucchini.
- Cheeses
- A ricotta layer makes this recipe creamy. Add in your favorite herbs to this layer.
- You can use cottage cheese in place of ricotta. Cottage cheese has a bit more liquid so you may like to drain it a little bit.
- If you’re in a pinch, this recipe can be made without the ricotta layer.
How to Make Spaghetti Pie
What I love best about this spaghetti pie recipe is that it’s a terrific make-in-advance dinner that can be ready at a moment’s notice. It will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days unbaked.
- Cook the spaghetti noodles al dente (they’ll cook a bit more in the oven) and toss with eggs and cheese. Press into a deep dish pie pan.
- Brown beef and stir in pasta sauce (or marinara sauce) and tomatoes. Simmer to thicken.
- Layer ricotta and meat sauce over spaghetti noodles. Top with cheese and bake.
Leftover Spaghetti Pie
Leftovers can be refrigerated about 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven until hot (time will vary based on portion sizes).
Leftovers can also be frozen in single portions for lunches. Defrost overnight in the fridge and microwave until heated through.
To Prepare Ahead of Time: Spaghetti pie is practically tailor made as make-in-advance meal for the freezer. Just prepare it as described here, but don’t bake. Instead, pop it in the freezer. When it’s frozen, take it out of the dish and transfer to a large, plastic baggie. Or, freeze it in a disposable foil pan to make clean up and gifting easier.
It can go straight from the freezer to the oven. Add an extra 30-45 minutes to the baking time. Cheesy and delicious, spaghetti pie is always welcome at the table!
More Spaghetti Favorites
- Spaghetti Carbonara – Restaurant quality made easy at home
- Homemade Spaghetti Sauce – my favorite!
- Homemade Chicken Spaghetti – so flavorful
- Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole
- Baked Spaghetti – a classic
Spaghetti Pie
Ingredients
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
Spaghetti Crust
- 6 ounces spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
Cheese Layer
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon fresh
Meat Sauce
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ small onion diced
- 14 ounces tomatoes diced, drained
- 2 cups pasta sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cook spaghetti and drain. Toss with butter. Stir in eggs and parmesan cheese.
- Place spaghetti in a greased deep dish pie plate. Press to form a crust.
- Combine ricotta cheese, parsley and basil. Spread mixture over spaghetti.
- Brown beef and onion until no pink remains. Drain any fat. Add tomatoes and pasta sauce. Simmer 10 minutes or until thickened. Spread over ricotta cheese.
- Bake 20-25 minutes. Top with mozzarella and bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cool 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian© 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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Do you use canned Parmesan or shredded in the bag for the crust?
Hi Jodi, we use shredded parmesan cheese for this recipe.
Soupy mess! It didn’t all fit in my 10 inch deep dish pie pan. It didn’t firm up after letting it rest.
Oh no, I am sorry to hear that Jo! To help your spaghetti pie firm up you want to make sure that you drain your pasta well before combining it with the crust ingredients and let the tomatoes and pasta sauce simmer for 10 minutes or until thickened to ensure it isn’t too runny for your pie. I hope those tips helps!
Yummy!…..I deviated by doubling the recipe for a 9×13 and mixing 2 eggs with the ricotta.
This recipe is easy and easily adaptable to tastes or what you have on hand.
Thanks for the recipe!
Did you adjust the cook time at all since you doubled it?
Made this for dinner last night and my husband and I loved it. I wouldn’t change a thing. Will definitely be a mainstay in our house. Thanks Holly.
So glad you both loved it Spike!
can this be made in a 9 x 13 pan and how much would I increase the ingredients by
If making this in a 9×13 I would double the recipe!
I had a very similar recipe to this from an Italian cookbook I misplaced so I was happy to find this. Thank you it was great. The only difference was they added an egg to the ricotta cheese to make the consistency creamer and I added a little mozzarella and parmesan cheese to it also.
So easy and a huge hit! Used small frozen (defrosted) meatballs cut in half as a layer and jarred sauce (simmered to thicken) to cut time, and it was great. Thanks!
You’re very welcome Farryl! So glad you love this spaghetti pie recipe!
Great recipe. Used Italian herb spaghetti sauce and left out the extra tomatoes. Gluten free spaghetti turned out great – undercooked to start so it didn’t turn to mush. I think to stretch this I’ll do two pies with the same amount of meat. The kids liked the crust the best and I felt it was a little much on the meat. Served with extra parm on the side
When I was growing up, my mom used to make this and I always loved it. I’ve made it many times also, and your recipe looks identical to the way that I’ve always made it. But I have been diagnosed with Celiac disease, and I have a spaghetti squash on hand. Is there any reason that I can’t use spaghetti squash in this recipe in place of gluten free spaghetti? I would really like to make smaller, individual portions, and freeze them for later meals. Do you think that this recipe, using spaghetti squash, would work well in the freezer?
Thank you.
Hi Shelby, I think using spaghetti squash should work well. It may turn out a little runny when reheating it from frozen though. I have also personally made this with gluten-free spaghetti noodles and it turns out great.
I loved loved loved this! I confess, I made my own sauce. Hubby calls it my “kitchen sink spaghetti sauce” because I use whatever I happen to have laying around—this time, italian sausage, chopped beef (not minced), mushrooms, black olives, bits and bobs out of the vegetable drawer. Otherwise, I stuck to the recipe. Huge hit! Thank you so much!
I put it all together this morning and popped it in the fridge. I’ll put it in the oven just before supper; I’ll increase the cook time a little due to a cold start. I obviously haven’t tasted it yet, but I just know it will be good; putting all the yummy ingredients together made my mouth water. I just wanted to let you know that my 9 inch pie plate wasn’t even close to being large enough for all the ingredients. I ended up using my 8″x 8″ casserole dish. Thanks for what I know will be a great recipe.
Thanks for sharing your tip on the dish Tom! Enjoy the recipe.
LOVED THIS!!! And soooo easy!!!
Liked the Spaghetti and meatballs. Would like to try more of your recipes/
Hi, so glad you liked the spaghetti & meatballs! To receive our newsletters, you can sign up here or scroll down to the bottom of the post and you will see a signup box.
For a healthier (or gluten free version), I make this with spaghetti squash. Turns out amazing.
Made Spaghetti Pie many years ago & loved it.
I tried your Spaghetti pie, it came out really good my only problem was how to measure 6 oz of spaghetti,
So glad you enjoyed it Donna!
6 oz. would be approximately 1/3 (plus a little extra) of 1 lb. You can eyeball it, it really won’t matter. Also, after preparing the pasta mixture, I like to use a scissors to cut into smaller pieces. It is easier to fit it into pie plate.
Easy, quick, straightforward recipe good for quick & easy weekday night dinners. I doubled the cheese & threw in a couple extra noodles = doubled the results. 2 pies!!
Great idea Kimberly! Can never go wrong with leftovers of this delicious pie.
Under the ingredients, you have the 1/2 cup of parmesan listed as part of the cheese layer, but under the instructions, you say to toss it with the crust layer. Which one is correct? Just want to be sure! :)
Thanks for all the wonderful recipes! Really excited to try this one.
Yikes, it ended up on the wrong section. It goes into the spaghetti crust.
Sorry for the confusion, I’ve updated the recipe. I hope you enjoy it!
It’s no problem. Thanks for replying so quickly!
Please send me the Spaghetti Pie recipe. I tried to save it to Face Book, but it’s not working right.
You’ll find the recipe for Spaghetti Pie if you scroll down the Spaghetti Pie page, or if you hit the “jump to recipe” link at the top of the page. Enjoy Cathyleen!
It looks so amazing.
I desperately want to taste this.
Loved your recipe.
Its wonderful.
Thanks for sharing !!
Thanks Fiona!
What is 6 oz of spaghetti?
Heather, it’s 6 ounces by weight of the spaghetti noodles, before cooking. Enjoy the recipe!