Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole

Million Dollar Spaghetti Recipe

If you love easy pasta recipes that taste amazing, this million dollar spaghetti casserole will quickly become a family favorite. It’s hearty, cheesy, and the perfect mix between my baked spaghetti recipe and classic lasagna.

Like my million dollar ravioli or lazy lasagna casserole, it’s cozy, crowd-pleasing comfort food that can feed a lot of people without spending a fortune. Whether it’s a weeknight dinner or a Sunday supper potluck, this creamy spaghetti casserole always disappears fast!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• A new take on a classic: This casserole puts a delicious twist on spaghetti with rich layers of sauce, noodles, and creamy cheese baked to perfection.
• Prep-ahead friendly: You can assemble it in advance or freeze it for an easy make-ahead dinner that’s perfect for busy weeknights!

Find the full printable recipe with specific measurements below.

• Sweet Italian sausage: I used ground Italian sausage but you could use a mix of ground beef and sausage.
• Cream cheese: Use softened cream cheese to make it easier to combine with the other ingredients.
• 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.

 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 ‘million dollar’ 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

• For a golden-brown cheesy topping, place it under the broiler for 1-2 minutes in the end.
• Meat: Swap the sausage for hamburger or ground turkey, however add in an extra teaspoon of Italian season and a pinch red pepper flakes. I like to cook the whole pound of meat and then remove 1 cup and freeze for a quick weeknight sauce.
• 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, rigatoni or ziti.
• Double the recipe. I’m doubling the sauce, I’ll still just use a pound of meat to make it go further. Use a 9×13-inch baking dish or freeze the other half in a 8×8 foil pan.