Cheesy Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole: Budget-friendly, freezer-friendly, and crowd-pleasing!

Don’t you just love a good casserole? Not only are they budget friendly, but its a great way to feed a large crowd. Using simple ingredients, this million dollar baked spaghetti comes together quickly and even freezes perfectly making it a great freezer meal! It’s the perfect cross between baked spaghetti and lasagna!

Photo byThe Cookin' Chicks

Don’t you just love a good casserole? Not only are they budget friendly, but its a great way to feed a large crowd. Using simple ingredients, this million dollar baked spaghetti comes together quickly and evenfreezes perfectly making it a great freezer meal! It’s the perfect cross between baked spaghetti and lasagna!If you’re looking for more comfort food recipes, also check out my Italian Noodle Casserole and Creamy Baked Ziti!

Photo byThe Cookin' Chicks

MILLION DOLLAR SPAGHETTI INGREDIENT NOTES

• Spaghetti– we use spaghetti pasta for this recipe, however, you can also experiment with other pastas such as ziti or rigatoni.
• Spaghetti Sauce– use your favorite pasta sauce as this is the base of the recipe. Whether that be jarred or homemade, we love adding in some fresh herbs if using store bought.
• Beef– although this recipe calls for lean ground beef, you can also use Italian sausage or ground turkey depending on what you have on hand.
• Garlic Powder– this seasons the meat, feel free to add in additional seasonings such as Italian seasoning, black pepper, salt, Basil, Oregano, etc.
• Cream Cheese– this combines with the sour cream and cottage cheese to make the creamy, cheesy layer. Use full fat for the most flavor addition.
• Sour Cream– this adds to the overall creaminess of the pasta recipe and cheese layers.
• Cottage Cheese– any type works, I use 2% low-fat since I typically have it on hand.
• Parmesan Cheese– I love shredded fresh Parmesan for this recipe, however, if you only have the green can, that works too.
• Cheddar Cheese– freshly shredded Cheddar cheese is best as it melts evenly. Pre-shredded cheese is coated with an additive to prevent clumping when being shipped and causes the cheese not to melt evenly or at all.

Photo byThe Cookin' Chicks

HOW TO MAKE MILLION DOLLAR BAKED SPAGHETTI CASSEROLE

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
2. Boil noodles in a large pot of salted water according to package directions. Drain water and toss with some olive oil to prevent sticking. Set aside.
3. Cook the turkey/beef in a skillet over medium heat until no longer pink. Drain fat and season with garlic powder.
4. Add in the spaghetti sauce and stir to incorporate the meat evenly. Simmer on low.
5. In a medium bowl, use a mixer to combine the cream cheese, sour cream, and cottage cheese.
6. To assemble, add half the pasta to the bottom of the baking pan.
7. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top of pasta.
8. Layer the cream cheese mixture next.
9. Top with remaining pasta, and end with the meat sauce.
10. Bake in oven for about 35 minutes. Remove pan and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.
11. Place pan back into over for an additional 15 minutes. Remove from oven and serve!!

RECIPE VARIATIONS

• Vegetarian– to make this meatless, simply omit the ground beef/turkey and use a marinara sauce versus jarred meat sauce.
• Ricotta Cheese– feel free to use this in place of the cottage cheese if desired. It can be substituted at a 1:1 ratio.
• Pasta– if you don’t want to use spaghetti noodles, any type of pasta will work in its place. Experiment and try your favorite!
• Meat– use ground sausage or Italian sausage in place of the ground beef for more flavor.
• Cheese– use shredded Mozzarella cheese in place of the Cheddar Cheese or Parmesan cheese.

Photo byThe Cookin' Chicks

STORAGE AND MAKE AHEAD INSTRUCTIONS

Leftovers of this casserole reheat perfectly! Of course, the pasta softens, however, all the flavors remain and fuse together even better the next day!

• Prep Ahead: this Million Dollar Spaghetti recipe can be prepared up to 24 hours in advance and stored in the refrigerator covered. Simply remove from fridge 30 minutes before ready to cook to allow to come to room temperature a bit. You will want to add an additional 20 minutes to the cook time.
• Freezing Ahead of Cooking: once assembled, allow to fully cool before wrapping the pan in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Allow to thaw overnight in fridge before cooking.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container up to 4 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer. Reheat in the microwave until heated through.

Exact Ingredients Needed

• 1 lb spaghetti noodles
• 32 oz spaghetti sauce
• 1 lb ground beef *or turkey
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 cup cottage cheese
• 1 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese *shredded