Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole

Easy, Cheesy, and Baked!

Baked million dollar spaghetti is one of my family’s favorite casserole recipes! It puts an American thumbprint on a classic Italian-inspired combination of two popular dishes. Spaghetti and lasagna. A lazy lasagna, if you will!

It’s made with layers of spaghetti and meat sauce, creaminess from the cream cheese and ricotta, more saucy spaghetti then topped with even more cheese, then baked until golden and bubbly. Much like baked spaghetti, this delicious million dollar spaghetti casserole is one the kids will really get a kick out of!

The nature of baked casseroles is that they are meant to feed a crowd, be homestyle comfort food, easy to make and tasty to eat. This million dollar spaghetti casserole, my tater tot casserole recipe and baked eggplant Parmesan recipe hit a home run on all fronts! They are sure to become some of your family’s favorites too!

Why This Recipe Works

• Easy. There’s nothing better than easy pasta recipes that taste amazing and bring everyone to the table. Turning pasta into a casserole just makes sense!
• Budget-friendly. There’s nothing in this recipe that isn’t simple. Everything can be adjusted based on your family’s preferences and it serves a lot.
• Make ahead & freezer-friendly. Prepare this pasta bake in advance and freeze it when you’re ready to bake it. Great for delivering to a friend or neighbor in need, or just to have something handy for a quick and easy dinner.

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. If you have some extra time, using a homemade sauce will bring it up a notch!
• 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. So save your leftovers!
• 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.

Variations

There are certainly things you can do to tweak this million dollar spaghetti casserole recipe a bit! 

• You can substitute sausage for ground beef or ground turkey instead. In this case, I would add an extra teaspoon of Italian seasoning for flavor and a pinch of red pepper flakes. 
• Make it vegetarian, by replacing the ground beef with tons of chopped cooked veggies like mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, and celery. 
• Use a different kind of cheese if you’d like. A combination of mozzarella and cheddar cheese is always good. 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. 

• Prepare the meat sauce. Cook the sausage in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon as it cooks. Once it is no longer pink, add the onion to cook until soft. Then the garlic for another minute. It burns easily so it doesn’t need long to cook. Drain the fat from the meat before adding the spaghetti sauce. An easy way to do this is by moving the meat to one side of the pan and tilting the pan just a bit. Use paper towels to soak up the grease. Add sauce, and Italian seasoning and bring to a light simmer. Season to taste.
• Make the cheese mixture. In a medium bowl, mix the ricotta, cream cheese, and 1/2 cup of mozzarella with 1 teaspoon of Italian seasoning. Season with salt and pepper and add some chopped fresh basil if desired. 
• First layer. Place 1/2 of the cooked saucy noodles into the bottom of the prepared 9×9 inch baking dish. It’s important that your dish has been greased with either butter or cooking spray that way your noodles won’t stick and the sauce won’t burn at the bottom.
• Second layer. Spread the cheese mixture overtop the noodles. This is why it’s important to start with softened cream cheese. It needs to be easy to spread! Place the remaining noodles overtop the cheese.
• Final layer. Add the meat sauce over top and sprinkle with the remaining mozzarella. Cover it with aluminum foil. 
• Bake. Put the casserole dish in the 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!

Expert Tips

• Tips for mincing and chopping aromatics. Knowing how to easily mince garlic or chop an onion can make cooking so much easier! Plus, it helps with always having the exact amount needed in your recipe. 
• I like to cook the whole pound of meat and then remove 1 cup and freeze it for a quick weeknight sauce.
• For a golden-brown cheesy topping, place it under the broiler for 1-2 minutes in the end.
• Double the recipe. As I said, I usually will cook all the meat anyway. Sometimes I’ll freeze some, other times, I’ll double the recipe! Simply use a 9×13-inch baking dish or freeze the other half in an 8×8 foil pan.

Storing & Reheating

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.

To reheat: A single serving can be heated up in the microwave. If you’re reheating the whole dish, place it in the oven at 300°F until warmed through.