Million Dollar Spaghetti

With layers of noodles, meat sauce and cheese, this million dollar spaghetti is a meal the whole family will love. It's an easy to make, hearty casserole!

Prep Time: 20

Cook Time: 40

Total Time: 1

Servings:

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 9x9-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

Meat: You sub for hamburger or ground turkey, however I would add in an extra teaspoon of Italian season and a pinch red pepper flakes. Typically I like to cook the whole pound of meat and then remove 1 cup and freeze for a quick weeknight sauce.

Quantity: This recipe is easy to double. Typically if I'm doubling the sauce, I'll still just use a pound of meat to make it go further. Simply use a 9x13-inch baking dish or freeze the other half in a 8x8 foil pan.

Freeze: Make the casserole up until baking (I like to place in a foil pan). Cover with foil and freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before baking.

Storage: The leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 3 days. If dry, add more marinara.

Nutrition