Spaghetti Pie is a family favorite, turning our go-to spaghetti sauce into a delicious baked pasta! In this recipe, spaghetti meets lasagna for a quick weeknight dinner. A pasta crust is filled with meat sauce and a creamy ricotta cheese layer. It’s all baked until golden and bubbly, and sliced like a pie for serving.
We round out the meal with a fresh green salad or Italian salad, and of course, slices of toasty garlic bread.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Spaghetti Pie
Flavor: Rich and meaty, this recipe has buttery pasta baked into a ‘crust’ that’s filled with a hearty meat sauce and cheese and baked until bubbly.
Time-Saving Tip: To save time, use leftover meat sauce and pre-shredded cheeses.
Serving Suggestions: I like to serve it with warm garlic bread and a crisp Caesar or Italian salad for a fresh, balanced meal.
Prep Ahead: This pie can be prepared up to 48 hours before baking. If it is cold from the fridge, you will need to add extra baking time.
Freezer Meal: This can be prepared and frozen before baking. See recipe notes for instructions.
Total time: 60 minutes Serves: 6 Cooking method: Stovetop/oven
Difficulty: Medium, a few steps, but most are pretty simple.
Ingredient Notes
- Spaghetti: Cook the spaghetti al dente (firm) so the crust holds up well and isn’t too soft.
- Cheese: Pre-shredded cheese works well in this recipe.
- Ricotta Cheese: Use ricotta cheese or replace it with cottage cheese. If using cottage cheese, I recommend adding a beaten egg to the mixture as cottage cheese releases a bit of liquid.
- Ground Beef: Use lean ground beef or replace it with ground turkey or Italian sausage. Be sure to drain well.
- Pasta Sauce: Use any flavor of marinara sauce or red pasta sauce. Add a few crushed red pepper flakes for a little heat if you’d like.
- Variations: You can easily customize this spaghetti pie to suit your taste. Try adding sautéed mushrooms or chopped spinach to the sauce for extra vegetables, or swap the beef for Italian sausage for a bolder, more seasoned flavor.
How To Make Spaghetti Pie
- Press the spaghetti crust into a deep dish pie plate.
- Layer meat sauce, the cheese mixture, and shredded cheese
- Bake until browned and bubbly. Rest before cutting.
Leftovers & Storage
- Refrigerate: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Freeze cooled slices or the whole baked pie wrapped well for up to 4 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating. The ricotta layer may soften slightly after freezing.
More Baked Pasta Recipes
Did you enjoy this Spaghetti Pie Recipe? Leave a comment and rating below.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Spaghetti Crust
- 6 ounces spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
Cheese Layer
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 2 teaspoons dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon fresh
Meat Sauce
- 1 pound lean ground beef or Italian sausage
- ½ small onion diced
- 14.5 ounces canned diced tomatoes drained
- 2 cups pasta sauce or marinara sauce
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a deep-dish pie plate.
- Brown the beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain any fat. Add the onion and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes and pasta sauce, and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes or until thickened.
- Meanwhile, in a large pot of salted water, cook the spaghetti al dente (firm) according to package directions. Drain well.
- Place the spaghetti in the prepared pie plate. Add the butter and toss until the spaghetti is coated. Stir in the eggs and parmesan cheese. Press to form a crust.
- In a medium bowl, combine ricotta cheese, parsley, and basil. Spread the cheese mixture into the spaghetti crust. Top with the meat sauce.
- Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes. Top with mozzarella and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is browned and bubbly. Let rest 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
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.
Delicious!!! Has a lasagna taste with less work. This was so good- and I made it on a week night after work.
Grandkids loved this. I substituted Italian sausage instead of the ground beef. I will be making this again.
Fantastic!! I’ve never had spaghetti pie before. I’m known for my home made spaghetti sauce and lasagne; I followed this recipe to the letter and used gluten free Barilla spaghetti noodles, this was so darn delicious!!!!
Hi Holly! I’m going to make 24 servings of the spaghetti pie and I plan to make your homemade pasta sauce because it looks like an excellent recipe to use! Would you say I should make 24 servings of your homemade pasta sauce to go with it? Thank you!
Our homemade marinara sauce makes 8 cups and this recipe needs 2 cups. For 24 servings you would need to make 4 spaghetti pie (since each pie is 6 servings). So you should only need one batch of the homemade marinara sauce. I hope that helps, Angie!
This helps immensely! I appreciate your quick response and I can’t wait to try this recipe. I will be sure to rate your recipe once we get around to making it next month for our daughter’s birthday party. Thank you so, so much!
Turned out great I put a twist on and added diced mushrooms,green peppers and fresh garlic into the meat mixture was excellent
Delicious! Because I am a vegetarian, I used my own recipe for tomato-based pasta sauce using tvp instead of meat. I also used cottage cheese instead of ricotta. Otherwise, I followed your recipe exactly and it was a hit with everyone. Thank you.
Oh my goodness, I made this last night for dinner and it was out of this world. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Will definitely try this recipe
Let us know how it goes for you, Rick!
Delicious and easy!
Do you know if this will freeze well? Looking for several freezer friendly meals.
thank you
This dish freezes well Elaine. Enjoy!
This was amazing!!! Usually I make spaghetti pie with cottage cheese however I had ricotta on hand so I used it. I also made my meat sauce ahead of time. Perfectly easy and absolutely delicious!!! All of your recipes are amazing!!! Thanks Again Stephanie
Thank you so much for the kind words Stephanie. I am so glad you are enjoying the recipes!
can you prep this ahead of time and then bake within 24 hours?
Yes, just prep and refrigerate until ready to bake then follow the baking instructions. You will find instructions on how to prepare it ahead of time and freeze it in the write up above the recipe!
This is one of my favorites. I use cottage cheese, which I rinse in cold water and pat dry in place of the ricotta. It is the perfect easy home style dinner.
We’re making this for the first time with leftover good quality gluten free spaghetti spaghetti and homemade tomato sauce. Hubby is skeptical but my granddaughter is going to love it!
I’ve made this several times and it just gets better. This time I’m using cottage cheese in place of ricotta and colby jack in place of mozzarella. I also added fresh spinach, mushrooms and red onions. Bob appetite
Mic drop! This is AMAZING!!! Super easy and delicious. I make my own tomato sauce and freeze and pull out when I need it. This recipe is perfect with it! Thank you!
Yummy yummy yummy!!
My husband really loves this too!
It being only the 2 of us. now, I made 3/4 amounts of recipe, in my smaller pie pan.
I don’t know if it’s my oven, but i think it is, but i had to cook it 10 minutes longer before I put the mozzarella on top, and cook it 10 instead of 5 minutes after that.
I’m going to buy an oven thermometer and check it out, as its not the first recipe that had taken longer.
I added minced garlic to the ground beef and veggies mix.
I eliminated the canned tomatoes, and just used a can of spaghetti sauce.
I used Italian Seasonings, instead of the listed herbs.
Because that’s what I had in my meager pantry!!!
This recipe is a keeper!!
Thank you!
We love this recipe. In a pinch I substitute the tomatoes and sauce with jar spaghetti sauce. I also add the mozzarella at the beginning of baking because we like it a deep golden.
Sounds great
Question: I have leftover spaghetti in the refrigerator I plan on using….should I put it in boiling water to reheat it, or just use it cold to mix it with the eggs and other crust ingredients?
No need to reheat first Vicki. Enjoy!
When I was 19 years old as a single mom, I proudly used a version of this recipe from the “Better Homes and Gardens” cookbook as my first official dinner party for my parents. I was so proud. Yes, a bit sad, but 19, c’mon. I haven’t had it since! I’m now 50, and my grandkids are going to love this recipe now that I thought to look it up again. Thank you!
I love that memory, Tara! Thanks for sharing it with us. Can’t wait to hear what your grandkids think of our version!