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Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole has so much delicious cheese, ground Italian sausage and tons of flavor for the best meal. This savory meal comes together in minutes but is special enough for company. Add a simple salad and you are set!
Spaghetti is always a hit but sometimes you want to jazz it up a little bit. This Million Dollar Spaghetti recipe is the answer. All of the delicious types of cheese combine with the tomato sauce, pasta and meat for one amazing meal.
Each bite is so creamy and delicious that everyone will love it. Your entire family will enjoy this easy main dish recipe. Casseroles are perfect to feed a crowd, try these other casserole recipes – Chicken Spaghetti Casserole, Chicken Spaghetti Casserole, and Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole.
Table of Contents
Why We Love This Recipe
Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole is perfect for any occasion. Anytime that I have leftover pasta and cooked Italian Sausage or Ground beef, this is the recipe I make.
The delicious layers make the best casserole with simple ingredients. Everyone loves the way it taste. Put a twist on a classic spaghetti recipe but making it in a casserole.
Ingredients
- Ground Sweet Italian Sausage – You can also use ground turkey or ground chicken
- Spaghetti Noodles – We think spaghetti noodles are best, but you can also use ziti or rigatoni
- Onion, Diced – See Best Onion Substitute if you are out
- Minced Garlic – If using fresh garlic cloves, learn How to Mince Garlic Cloves
- Italian Seasoning – Use Homemade Italian Seasoning
- Crushed Tomatoes – You can also use Easy Marinara Sauce
- Ricotta Cheese – Substitute with cottage cheese
- Cream Cheese – Use softened cream cheese
Scroll to the bottom for the full recipe in the recipe card.
How to Make Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole
- Step 1 – First, preheat the oven to 350°F.
Step 2 – In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the crushed tomatoes with 2 tsp of Italian Seasoning.
Step 3 – In a separate mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and the remaining Italian Seasoning.
Step 4 – Brown the sausage with the minced garlic and onion in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain off the excess grease. Then stir in half the tomato sauce mixtures.
Step 5 – Boil the spaghetti noodles based on the package directions in a large pot of salted water. Drain and return back to the pan. Mix with the remaining meat sauce mixture.
Step 6 – Place half of the butter slices on the bottom of a 9X13 baking dish. Top with half of the spaghetti mixtures, then spread the cheese mixture on top.
Step 7 – Next top the cheese mixture with the remaining spaghetti noodles and place the remaining butter slices on top of the 2nd layer of noodles.
- Step 8 – Pour the meat mixture sauce evenly over the top and top with the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes.
- Step 9 – Slice and enjoy with parmesan cheese and fresh parsley!
Expert Tips
- Prepare Veggies – One of our favorite time saving tips is to use a small food chopper or food processor to quickly and easily chop onions. Learn and how to freeze onions and also how to freeze peppers to save so much time in the kitchen! Lots of the recipes we cook call for onions and peppers so this is such a great time tip that we use frequently.
- Ground Beef – Cook the ground beef until no longer pink. Drain any excessive grease. This is a great recipe to use leftover ground beef.
- Pasta – Cook the spaghetti noodles al dente or according to package. Make sure to no overcook as they spaghetti noodles will be put in the oven so you do not want them to get mushy. This is a great recipe to use leftover pasta noodles.
Serving Suggestions
We like to serve it with a simple side salad or Easy Broccoli. Also, we love Garlic Bread Cheese Sticks Recipe. These are perfect to dip in the yummy spaghetti sauce. You can get every last drop of that delicious sauce.
A Easy Caesar Salad Recipe and Homemade Garlic Bread is my favorite way to serve this meal to a crowd.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best pan to use is a 9×13 casserole dish to bake the spaghetti in. Amazon has some on sale right now!
Yes, you can prepare the spaghetti casserole ahead of time and place in the fridge. We recommend baking the casserole within about 24 hours of preparing it.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
Yes, you can freeze spaghetti casserole by wrapping in plastic wrap and aluminum foil in the disposable plan. If stored properly the casserole will last about 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight when ready to reheat.
More Easy Spaghetti Recipes
Best One Pot
Easy One Pot Spaghetti Recipe
Easy Slow Cooker
Easy CrockPot Chicken Spaghetti Recipe
Easy Slow Cooker
CrockPot Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe
Easy Mexican
Mexican Spaghetti
We love hearing from you. If you make Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole Recipe, please leave us a comment or a star review.
Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 pound Ground Sweet Italian Sausage
- Spaghetti Noodles 16 oz
- 1/2 Onion Diced
- 2 Tablespoon Minced Garlic
- 3 tsp Italian Seasoning divided
- 3 cans crushed tomatoes (15 ounces each)
- 8 oz Ricotta Cheese
- 8 oz Cream Cheese
- 1/2 cup Sour Cream
- 3 cups Mozzarella Cheese Shredded (divided)
- 1/2 cup Butter cut into 1 tablespoon pieces
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the crushed tomatoes with 2 tsp of Italian Seasoning.
- In a separate mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, cream cheese, sour cream, 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and the remaining Italian Seasoning.
- Brown the sausage with the minced garlic and onion in a large skillet over medium heat. Drain off the excess grease.
- Then stir in have the tomato sauce mixtures.
- Cook the spaghetti noodles based on the package directions. Drain and return back to the pan. Mix with the remaining tomato sauce mixture.
- Place half of the butter slices on the bottom of a 9X13 pan. Top with half of the spaghetti mixtures, then spread the cheese mixture on top. Next top the cheese mixture with the remaining spaghetti noodles and place the remaining butter slices on top of the 2nd layer of noodles. Pour the meat mixture sauce evenly over the top and top with the remaining shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes.
- Slice and enjoy!
Woohoo! Thank you for sharing!
Made it for dinner tonight after work. It was so easy and our favorite now
Each can is 15 ounces for a total of 45 ounces.
It was fantastic. Will always make it this way
I have a question about the crushed tomatoes. Is it 15 oz total, or 3 cans of 15 oz tomatoes for a total of 45 oz?
WONDERFUL RECIPE!! I MAY NEVER MAKE REGULAR SPAGHETTI AGAIN!! EVERYONE IN MY FAMILY LOVES IT! THANKS FOR SHARING!
This is so good! The flavors are so wonderful. It’s like paradise for your mouth!!!
I made this for 50 people at church. Easy and people came back for more. Will make this one again.
You can do either but I freeze before baking, then defrost is out overnight in the refrigerate and bake when I’m ready to serve it.
One question. When freezing, do you put the recipe together, cover it and put it in the freezer without baking? OR do you completely bake, then freeze to simply reheat later? What’s better?
This is a favorite in my household!
This is my go to for making meals for mealtrains. It is simple, yet delicious. I end up making one for the family in need and my family! It also freezes well!
It was delicious and economical to make. We loved it
Love this one! I’ve made this a few times for families who have just had babies and they were delighted. This is also an easy recipe to freeze for later. Great for feeding a hungry crowd! Guaranteed your guests will be going up for seconds.