The million dollar spaghetti casserole only tastes like it costs a lot of money to make. Combining the savory flavor of spaghetti sauce with cream cheese, this pasta casserole only tastes rich and indulgent. Overall, the ingredients needed to make this basked spaghetti dish are relatively inexpensive. And if you already have a meat sauce frozen from what you’ve made in the past, you might already have everything you need to make it besides the cream cheese.
This baked spaghetti is simple to throw together, but it’s filling. It’s the perfect family dinner when you’re craving comfort food. Often, you make spaghetti for dinner and everyone is hungry not long after. Because of this is a cream cheese pasta dish, it’s more filling than spaghetti alone.
The cleanup after it isn’t bad either. The pasta casserole bakes in one dish, and you dirty a pot and a strainer for the pasta and mixing bowl for the filling.
While this particular recipe doesn’t include vegetables, you could easily add them to it for a more balanced meal or a way to sneak in veggies for children who otherwise don’t want to eat them. You could also switch up the meat in this casserole to turkey burger or chicken.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Is a filling pasta dish
- Has a cozy, comfort-food feel
- Doesn’t cost a fortune to make
- Can easily scale this recipe up if you have a larger family
Ingredient Notes & Substitutions
This doesn’t necessarily need to be a cream cheese pasta recipe. If you don’t like cream cheese, you could easily change the cheese to include cottage cheese alone or along with ricotta. Adding mozzarella is also possible. While it states to use parmesan, you could also use grated romano or asiago.
Ground beef is a classic pairing with spaghetti — think spaghetti and meatballs. Unfortunately, ground meat can be pricey at times. Not to mention, sometimes, it’s just not the meat you want. You can substitute ground beef for ground turkey or chicken. You could also take a different approach and add chicken.
While the million dollar spaghetti pasta recipe has long spaghetti noodles, you could put in any type of pasta you want. Penne, for instance, holds it sauce well, and won’t get mushy when you bake it. Farfalle is a sturdy pasta that’ll maintain its shape and won’t get soggy when you back it. And these are only a few examples of pastas that could work with these casserole.
For more nutrients and flavor, add mushrooms, bell peppers, or onions. To spice it up, sprinkle hot pepper flakes on top.
How to Make It
The first part of making this requires you to have spaghetti sauce. You can make your own or used jarred.
Whenever you go to prepare this, you’ll want to take your cream cheese out several hours before hand. You want it to be soft enough that you can easily mix it with the sour cream and any other ingredients you’re adding to your filling.
As you put your pasta on, make sure you stir it well when you first put it in. You’ll also want to stir it a few more times while it’s boiling to prevent it from sticking. How soft you let the pasta gets depends on your personal preference. Keep in mind, though, that it’s going to bake, so you don’t want it too soft to begin with.
So the parmesan has a chance to heat up and cook, which changes its texture, you’ll want to put it on 15 minutes before the pasta casserole is done.
Tips for Success
The biggest tip for success with this is to make it how you prefer. If you like pasta wetter, add more sauce. You’ll want to add a bit more than you usually would put on spaghetti. This ensures your casserole isn’t too dry at the end. Choose your protein to what your family likes and consider putting in veggies if you want.
Set a timer when you’re making this casserole. You don’t want to cook it for too long. You could burn it, or it’ll wind up being dryer than you want.
Storage & Reheating
After you make this casserole, you can continue to eat it for the next three to four days. Put it in an airtight container when you store it.
Dishes with pasta in them, like this one, can be frozen in an airtight container. However, the noodles will get soggy if you leave them in there too long. Only freeze this for two to three months, maximum.
When you’re ready to reheat your creamy pasta casserole, put aluminum foil over the dish and heat in the oven on 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 30 minutes. You can heat it in the microwave as well, but if you don’t have much sauce on it, heating up this way will make it dry.
Serving Suggestions
You can serve this dish all by itself if you want, especially if you add vegetables. However, garlic bread is an excellent addition to this meal that adds flavor and crunch. For an even more flavorful option, try this parmesan asiago bread with it. If you’re looking to add a veggie to the side, broccoli or zucchini go well with it.
FAQs
1. How do I know when my spaghetti is done?
While people say to throw it on the ceiling to see if it sticks, the easiest way is to taste it.
2. Can I make a creamy pasta casserole in advance?
Yes, you can make a cream cheese pasta dish in advance and put it in the oven before you want to eat.
3. Do I have to use ground beef in a spaghetti casserole?
You don’t have to use ground beef. You could omit the meat altogether or put in ground turkey or chicken. Even bite-sized pieces of cooked chicken breast or pork would work in a pasta casserole.
Notes
To me, this meal takes a spaghetti dinner to a whole new level. The creaminess of the cream cheese and sour cream mixed along with the sauce is a flavor combination I’ll never get sick of.
I love making this on a cold, winter’s day because of the comfort it brings and the warmth the oven gives off. My husband and son also look forward to this meal because I always find some way to spicy it up a bit, whether it’s adding ground sausage, using ground turkey instead of ground beef, or sprinkling it with hot pepper flakes for a surprising twist.
Plus, i love making it on days when we’re busy all day because it requires little prep, and I can throw it in the oven and not worry about it for awhile.
Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti
Ingredients
The Meat Sauce:
- 1 lb. Ground Beef or Sweet Italian Sausage
- 1 jar 24 oz High-Quality Marinara Sauce
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Crushed Red Pepper optional
The Creamy Layer:
- 8 oz. Cream Cheese softened
- 1 cup Cottage Cheese or Ricotta for a thicker texture
- 1/4 cup Sour Cream
- 1/4 cup Fresh Parsley chopped
The Pasta & Topping:
- 16 oz. Spaghetti Noodles
- 4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter melted
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- Brown the ground meat in a large skillet. Drain the grease and stir in the marinara sauce, garlic powder, and red pepper flakes. Let it simmer on low while you prepare the other components.
- In a medium bowl, combine the softened cream cheese, cottage cheese (or ricotta), sour cream, and fresh parsley. Whip these together until smooth. This creates the “million dollar” tangy, velvet-like center.
- Cook the spaghetti in salted water for 2 minutes less than the package directions. It will finish cooking in the oven, and under-boiling prevents the noodles from becoming mushy.
- Drain the pasta and immediately toss it with the melted butter and minced garlic. This ensures every strand of spaghetti is seasoned and lubricated before it is layered.
- Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. Place half of the buttery spaghetti in the bottom. Spread the entire creamy cheese mixture over the noodles. Top with the remaining spaghetti.
- Pour the meat sauce evenly over the top layer of pasta. Smother the entire dish with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
- Bake at 350°F for 30–40 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and starting to turn golden brown. Let it rest for 5–10 minutes before slicing to allow the layers to set.
