This baked Million Dollar Spaghetti Recipe is a hearty, budget-friendly dinner option that’s perfect for feeding a crowd. Layers of cooked spaghetti noodles combine with meat, marinara sauce, and plenty of cheese for an easy comfort food dish guaranteed to please! Serve it on its own or with your favorite sides. 

a casserole dish full of easy baked million dollar spaghetti

Table of Contents

Why We Love Million Dollar Spaghetti

Is there anything better than a big plate of warm spaghetti after a long day? Seriously, it’s the ultimate comfort food we grew up loving as kids and still enjoy now that we’re grown! Plus, it’s super easy to make and always budget-friendly. However, just when we thought traditional spaghetti couldn’t get any better, we discovered this million dollar spaghetti recipe and absolutely fell in love! Here are just a few reasons why we’re obsessed: 

  • Budget-friendly: Not only is the ingredient list minimal, but it’s also full of low-cost pantry staples you probably already have on hand.
  • Perfect for a crowd: This recipe makes A LOT of food. 
  • Great for meal prep: It’s easy to store and save for tasty meals throughout the week. 
  • Delicious: Named appropriately, this spaghetti variation truly does taste like it’s worth a million bucks! 
cooked spaghetti in a casserole dish
spaghetti noodles topped with creamy sauce
spaghetti topped with a creamy sauce and marinara
unbaked million dollar spaghetti topped with chunks of mozzarella

Ingredients You’ll Need

The ingredient list for this million dollar spaghetti recipe is short, sweet, and super cheap! Here’s everything you’ll need: 

  • Spaghetti Noodles: Feel free to swap out the spaghetti noodles with any other pasta shape you have on hand. Just be sure to cook them to al dente as they will be baked again. 
  • Flavor Enhancers: Fresh garlic cloves and dried Italian herbs enhance the flavors of this dish for that classic spaghetti taste. 
  • Oil: We prefer to use an extra light virgin olive oil to coat the noodles, but you could use regular olive oil or even avocado oil if you prefer. 
  • Eggs: A good source of protein and fat, these help bind the ingredients to create a casserole consistency and allow for easy slicing. 
  • Meat: We used ground beef, but ground turkey or even chicken could be used, too. Or, for a vegetarian recipe, you could omit it completely. 
  • Cheese: A combination of full-fat cream cheese, Mozzarella, and Parmesan makes this million dollar spaghetti recipe to die for.  
  • Sour Cream: This adds a nice tang and creates a creamier filling. 
  • Marinara Sauce: To save time, we use a store-bought sauce, but you could easily make your own with a recipe like this! 
unbaked million dollar spaghetti topped with chunks of cheese and shredded mozzarella
spaghetti noodles in a casserole dish
spaghetti noodles topped with marinara
unbaked million dollar spaghetti casserole in a baking dish

How to Make Million Dollar Baked Spaghetti

A cross between spaghetti and lasagna, this baked million dollar spaghetti recipe comes together in just a few minutes when you follow the instructions below. 

  1. Preheat your oven to 350° Fahrenheit.
  2. In a large bowl, toss the cooked spaghetti noodles, olive oil, garlic, eggs, and dried herbs until everything is well combined.
  3. In a second bowl, mix the ground beef and marinara sauce. 
  4. Spread half the noodles in a baking dish followed by the sour cream and half of the meat mixture. Dollop the cream cheese on top followed by half of the Mozzarella. Continue layering with the remaining noodles, meat mixture, and cheese. 
  5. Bake until the cheese has begun to brown and is bubbling. 
tongs twirling a serving of baked million dollar spaghetti casserole in a dish

Make Ahead and Freezing Options

If you want to prepare this million dollar spaghetti in advance, you’ve got several options to keep it fresh! 

Make Ahead: Combine all of the ingredients in a baking dish. Then, wrap it tightly with plastic wrap, and store it in the fridge for up to 1 day. Then, when you’re ready to eat, just pop it in the oven, and dinner is ready in minutes! 

Refrigerate: Bake your spaghetti as usual, and store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. 

Freeze: Prepare your spaghetti, and cover it tightly with cling wrap followed by foil, or transfer it to an airtight container. It will stay fresh in the freezer for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to eat, let it thaw in the fridge overnight. 

Reheat: To warm your million dollar spaghetti, heat it in the microwave or oven. 

Serving Suggestions

Thanks to the yummy layers, this baked million dollar spaghetti is super filling on its own. However, for a well-rounded meal, we like to pair it with sides like: 

More Family-Friendly Spaghetti Recipes

Love spaghetti? You won’t want to miss out on these comforting recipes! 

a casserole dish full of baked million dollar spaghetti

Million Dollar Spaghetti

4.80 from 5 votes
Author: Food Dolls
Servings: 8
Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 30 minutes
Total: 45 minutes
Save Pin Print
This baked Million Dollar Spaghetti Recipe is a hearty, budget-friendly dinner option that’s perfect for feeding a crowd.

Ingredients  

  • 12 ounces spaghetti noodles cooked al-dente and slightly cooled
  • 2 Tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 eggs beaten
  • 1 Tablespoon dried Italian herbs
  • 1 pound lean ground beef cooked
  • 16 ounces marinara sauce
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 6 ounces cream cheese cubed
  • 3 cups Mozzarella cheese grated and divided

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • In a large bowl, toss the noodles, olive oil, garlic, eggs, and dried herbs until everything is well combined.
  • In a second bowl, combine the ground beef and marinara sauce.
  • In an 11×7 baking dish, add half the noodle mixture. Then, spread the sour cream on top followed by half of the meat mixture. Scatter the cream cheese on top along with half of the mozzarella cheese. Continue layering with the remaining noodles, meat mixture, and mozzarella cheese.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 552kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 33g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 143mg | Sodium: 759mg | Potassium: 569mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1023IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 361mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Like this recipe?Please leave a comment!

Categorized as:, , ,

You Might Also Like

Pasta

Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

Skip the fancy restaurant, and make this easy spicy chicken rigatoni with just ten ingredients and under 30 minutes instead!

Meet Alia & Radwa

Welcome to Food Dolls! We’re so glad you found us. We are Alia and Radwa, sisters who want to share simple and easy recipes with you. We hope you find recipes here that you enjoy making as much as we do! Learn more about us!

Read more about us

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




13 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    I shouldn’t rate it because I totally toyed with the recipe, but we loved it & I’m sure we’d love the original. I used soy chunks instead of ground beef, used a sloppy joe sauce instead of marinara, used a cheddar cheese mix instead of mozzarella, and like I always go when cooking cream cheese in something savory, I used garlic herb flavor. Cant wait to try the original.

    Reply

    1. Thank you, Lara! We’re so glad you were able to make it work for you and can’t wait to hear what you think of the original, too. 😊

      Xo,
      Alia & Radwa

      Reply

  2. 5 stars
    My 15 year old son helped me make this and it was amazing! Even he liked it and he is the pickiest eater!
    Definitely making this again!

    Reply

  4. 4 stars
    Does not fit into an 11×7 dish, you need a 9×13. I started to add the ingredients and sadly I did not pay attention and added all the cheesy stuff and then realized I could not fit the 2nd layers of spaghetti and meat.

    Reply

  5. 5 stars
    This recipe was such a hit at home with my fam ! So incredibly easy to make AND you likely have the ingredients already in your kitchen. The pasta was so creamy, decadent and tasty ! I made mine with ground chicken but you can beef too. This will definitely be a staple meal for us especially in the cold Chicago winter. Thanks fooddolls !

    Reply

  7. What brand or type of spaghetti sauce did you use. I can not find one that taste good. My sauce is usually homemade. So I have a hard time finding a jar sauce that is good.

    Reply