With layers of noodles, meat sauce and cheese, this million dollar spaghetti casserole is a meal the whole family will love. It’s easy to make, hearty and budget friendly!
If your family loves pasta recipes as much as mine do, try this Instant Pot spaghetti, goulash recipe, chicken fettuccine alfredo or mostaccioli!
Table of Contents
Why I Love This Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole
- Easy. I love easy pasta recipes that taste amazing. This million dollar spaghetti is one of our favorite casserole recipes along with tater tot casserole recipe and baked eggplant Parmesan recipe.
- Combination of flavors. It’s hearty, feeds a crowd and is the best of both baked spaghetti and lasagna. Everyone always raves about it!
- Budget-friendly. There’s nothing in this million dollar spaghetti recipe that isn’t simple. It’s spaghetti and meat sauce meets cheesy goodness.
Million Dollar Spaghetti Recipe Ingredients
Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.
- Sweet Italian sausage: If you’re buying sausage links be sure to remove the casings first, as we will be crumbling up the meat. You can also try looking for ground Italian sausage like I have used in the photo above.
- Cream cheese: Use softened cream cheese to make it easier to cream. Bring it to room temperature well in advance or learn how to soften cream cheese quickly using my go-to tricks.
- Sauce: When I don’t have any homemade marinara sauce or homemade spaghetti sauce I throw in a jar of spaghetti sauce or store bought marinara sauce.
- Ricotta cheese: This is a mild soft cheese that doesn’t have much flavor. It adds a ton of creamy texture, and is used in all kinds of pasta dishes and baked goods.
- Mozzarella cheese: Grate it fresh from a block, whenever possible. It’s tastier, melts better, and doesn’t come with added preservatives meant to prevent the cheese from clumping together.
- Italian seasoning: Here’s the easy homemade Italian seasoning blend I always keep on hand.
How to Make Million Dollar Spaghetti
Cook sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, add onion, then garlic and cook until soft. Drain fat from the meat before adding the spaghetti sauce and Italian seasoning.
In a medium bowl, mix ricotta, cream cheese, and 1/2 cup of mozzarella with 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning. Season with salt and pepper and chopped fresh basil if desired.
Place 1/2 of the cooked saucy noodles into the bottom of the prepared 9×9 inch baking dish.
Spread the cheese mixture overtop the noodles. Place the remaining spaghetti overtop the cheese layer.
Add the meat sauce over top and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella. Cover it with aluminum foil.
Put the casserole dish in oven for 35-40 minutes. Remove the foil for the last 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and everything has been heated through. Allow it to cool for 5 minutes once out of the oven before you serve it. Sprinkle with a garnish of fresh basil and enjoy!
Tips
- Tips for mincing and chopping aromatics. Knowing how to easily mince garlic or chop an onion can make cooking so much easier!
- For a golden-brown cheesy topping, place it under the broiler for 1-2 minutes in the end.
- Meat options: Substitute sausage for ground beef or ground turkey instead. Add an extra teaspoon of Italian seasoning for flavor and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Use a different kind of cheese if you’d like. A combination of mozzarella and cheddar cheese is great. You can also finish it with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese!
- Swap the spaghetti noodles with fettuccine or linguine noodles, or use your favorite medium pasta, like fusilli or rigatoni. Penne or ziti pasta works too. I know this because my Instant Pot baked ziti is also a favorite around here.
Serving Suggestions
When we do any kind of pasta night, a basket of garlic bread or my easy breadstick recipe is a must.
This million dollar spaghetti casserole is pretty filling so a chopped salad or copycat Olive Garden salad on the side is all you’d need to complete it.
For more baked pasta recipes try ricotta stuffed shells, lasagna roll ups or three cheese manicotti next!
More Italian Pasta Recipes
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Million Dollar Spaghetti
Video
Ingredients
- ¾ pound sweet Italian sausage , casing removed
- ½ yellow onion , chopped
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning , divided
- 1 (24-ounce) jar spaghetti sauce or marinara , divided
- 8 ounces dry spaghetti noodles
- ½ cup ricotta cheese , can sub cottage cheese or sour cream
- 4 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese , divided
- Salt and Pepper
- fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×9-inch baking dish or spray lightly with nonstick spray.
- Make spaghetti sauce. In a large skillet over medium heat, cook 3/4 pound sausage, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink. Add 1/2 chopped yellow onion and cook 3 to 5 minutes, or until softened. Stir in 3 cloves garlic and cook 1 minute longer. Drain fat, and stir in 1/2 jar spaghetti sauce and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Bring to a light simmer and then season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Cook noodles. While the sauce is simmering bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook 8 ounces spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and return to pot. Stir in remaining 1/2 jar spaghetti sauce.
- Ricotta mixture. In a medium bowl, mix 1/2 cup ricotta cheese, 4 ounces cream cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning until combined. Season with salt and pepper. Add in freshly chopped basil if desired.
- Layer. Place 1/2 of the noodles evenly in the bottom of the baking dish. Spread the ricotta cheese mixture over the top of the noodles. Place the remaining 1/2 of the noodles over the top of the cheese mixture. Pour the spaghetti meat sauce over the top. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup mozzarella. Cover with foil.
- Bake. Bake 35 to 45 minutes, removing foil last 10 minutes, until heated through and cheese is bubbly. You can broil for 1-2 minutes if desired (watch carefully). Remove from oven and allow to cool 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle fresh basil over the top before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Recipe FAQs
It’s pretty simple really. It’s given that name because of how delicious it is! The layers of rich, saucy, cheesy goodness in million dollar spaghetti casserole taste like a million bucks!
Yes, this makes a great freezer meal! Prepare it in a foil pan up until the point just before baking. Cover it with foil (you can also add a layer of plastic wrap before it, to avoid freezer burn) and keep it frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight and remove the plastic wrap before baking.
Yes! It’s a great make-ahead dish. You can either double the recipe and prepare one for freezing using the directions above or if you’re cooking ahead of time for a busy week store in the refrigerator for a few days until ready to bake.
Keep any leftovers stored in the fridge for up to 3 days in an airtight container. The pasta may have absorbed some of the sauce, so you may need to add a little bit more marinara sauce to loosen it up.
Categorized as: Casseroles, Dinner, Freezer-Friendly, Freezer-Friendly, Italian, Nut-Free, Pasta, Pork, Valentine's Day
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
I’m wondering if I make this in a 9×13 if I double ALL the listed ingredients ( except for the meat as you suggested)
Does it change the baking time?
And if I’m taking it somewhere the next day should I wait to bake it until I arrive or just reheat it there ?
Yes, double all of them. I would just bake a few minutes longer, shouldn’t need much more. You could do it either way, but if you have the time, I’d wait to bake it :)
I made this for dinner & it was a huge hit for my entire family- even my child who claims to not like lasagna. It was easy to put together on a school night & made for great leftovers the next day. Definitely adding to the rotation!
Easy, delicious, and leftovers are perfect! Thanks for another great meal!!
Excellent!
Glad you loved it, Nola. Thanks for sharing!
This recipe is really amazing! Perfect for any occasion! Thanks a bunch for this very tasty spaghetti recipe! Will surely have this again! Highly recommended!
Thanks for sharing, Allyssa. This recipe really lives up to its name.
I made this recipe for my Dad and he went crazy for the creaminess from all the different cheeses. Two thumbs up!
I am glad this was a success, Stefanie. Sounds like your dad is a lover of cheese! I am right there with him.
Baked Spaghetti is a family favorite! Your recipe was very similar to ours and a real hit! We really enjoyed it. Thank you for sharing!
Thanks for sharing, Glenda. I am glad you found a new favorite recipe.
Fabulous!!!!!
Thanks, Kay!
Looks delicious! Have you ever tried it with gluten free pasta?
I have not, but that should work! :)