Our gooey, cheesy, over-the-top Million Dollar Spaghetti casserole turns simple ingredients into a showstopper your whole family will rave about. It’s easy to prep, fun to layer, and so packed with flavor it’ll have everyone racing back for seconds.
This stuff eats like lasagna’s wild cousin who shows up unannounced, steals the spotlight, and becomes the story everyone keeps retelling.
There’s real magic in how our Million Dollar Spaghetti casserole comes together.
The buttered spaghetti holds onto every drop of marinara, so you don’t get any bland bites. That creamy cheese mixture melts right into the pasta, giving it a velvety center without ever turning gloopy.
And the meat sauce brings everything together with big, comforting flavor that makes this dish feel like home.
It’s a great way to feed a crowd without breaking a sweat or the bank.
You can also prep the whole thing ahead of time and pop it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake, which makes it a real lifesaver on a busy night.
If you’re looking for the perfect side dish, pair our million-dollar spaghetti casserole with one of our garlic breads like our Easy Garlic Bread, Cheesy Garlic Bread, or even our pillowy Homemade Garlic Knots.
If you’re after more cozy, crowd-pleasing pasta dishes, check out our Spaghetti Pie and Chicken Parmesan Casserole for another hit straight from the oven.
Ingredients
Gather the ingredients to prepare our Million Dollar Spaghetti recipe. Culinary professionals call this the “Mise en Place,” which means “everything in its Place.”
Setting up your ingredients not only helps speed up the cooking process but also ensures you have all the necessary ingredients on hand to make the recipe.
How Can I Adjust the Ingredients?
We used a mix of lean ground beef and Italian sausage for our meat sauce, but you can swap in ground turkey, chicken, or a plant-based alternative if that’s what you’ve got. Just be sure to cook off any excess grease and season well for the best flavor.
If you’re not a fan of ricotta or don’t have any in the fridge, cottage cheese works surprisingly well and still gives that creamy texture. Sour cream and cream cheese can also be adjusted depending on how rich or tangy you want the cheese layer.
Regular spaghetti is classic, but linguine and thin spaghetti will also work well. If you prefer a different kind of pasta, it’s okay to use your favorites. Even short-cut shapes like penne or rotini hold up nicely. Just make sure to cook it al dente so it keeps its texture during baking. Angel hair pasta won’t hold up well.
How to Make Million Dollar Spaghetti
Follow along with my simple step-by-step instructions to learn how to make million dollar spaghetti in your home kitchen.
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray, set aside until needed.
- Cook the pasta al dente in a large pot of salted water according to the package instructions.
- Drain, return to the pot, and add the unsalted butter to the pan.
- Toss to mix the butter into the pasta.
- Add three cups of marinara sauce to the cooked spaghetti.
- Toss to combine. Set aside until needed.
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the diced onion.
- Cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the garlic to the pan.
- Cook for 1 minute until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the ground beef and sausage meat to the pan, stirring to break up any big pieces.
- Cook until all the meat is browned and no pink remains (6-8 minutes). Drain off any excess grease from the pan.
- Add the salt and black pepper to the ground meat. Stir to combine.
- Add 3 cups of marinara to the meat.
- Stir to combine and simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, add the chopped basil, and stir to combine. Set aside until needed.
- Add the cream cheese, ricotta cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder to a large bowl.
- Stir well to combine all of the ingredients.
- Add half of the pasta to the casserole dish.
- Spread the cheese mixture over the pasta.
- Add the remainder of the pasta on top of the cheese layer.
- Spread the meat sauce over the pasta.
- Evenly spread 2 cups of mozzarella cheese over the top of the casserole.
- Bake for 35 – 45 minutes until the cheese is melted, the sauce starts to bubble around the sides of the pan, and the internal temperature is at least 165 degrees F.
Sprinkle with parsley and let the pasta sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. This will let the dish set up. Otherwise, it will be runny and hard to serve.
Our Million Dollar Spaghetti recipe is perfect for a cozy Sunday dinner or any night you need a guaranteed crowd-pleaser with minimal fuss. One cheesy, saucy forkful and you’ll understand why it’s earned the million dollar title.
How to Store and Reheat
Store leftover Million Dollar Spaghetti in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
To reheat, cover with foil and warm in a 350°F oven until heated through, or microwave individual portions.
For longer storage, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and foil, then freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.
Recipe FAQs
The name comes from the way it tastes, not the price tag. That rich meat sauce, creamy cheese layer, and buttery pasta come together in a way that honestly just tastes like a million bucks. It’s a name that stuck because once people try it, they get it.
Not at all. We use it because it adds great flavor and a little bit of spice, but ground beef, turkey, or a meatless option can work just as well. Just season everything well so you don’t lose that depth in the sauce.
Absolutely. This casserole is flexible enough to handle all kinds of extras. Bell peppers, mushrooms, black olives, spinach, or pepperoni all work great. Just make sure anything with a lot of moisture gets cooked down first so it doesn’t water out your layers.
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Million Dollar Spaghetti
Ingredients
Pasta
- 1 pound spaghetti -cook aldente per instructions on the package.
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 3 cups marinara sauce
Meat Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup sweet onion -diced
- 4 cloves garlic – finely minced
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 8 ounces Italian sausage meat -loose not links
- 1 teaspoon table salt – to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper -to taste
- 3 cups marinara sauce
- 1 tablespoon fresh basil -chopped
Cheese
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 8 ounces ricotta cheese
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
Assembly
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons Italian Parsley -finely chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray, set aside until needed.
Pasta
- Cook the pasta al dente in a large pot of salted water according to the package instructions.
- Drain, return to the pot, and toss with the unsalted butter.
- Add three cups of marinara sauce to the pasta, and toss to combine. Set aside until needed.
Meat Sauce
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat.
- When the pan is hot, add the diced onion and cook for 4-5 minutes.
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 1 minute until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the ground beef and sausage meat to the pan, stirring to break up any big pieces.
- Cook until all the meat is browned and no pink remains (6-8 minutes). Drain off any excess fat from the pan.
- Add the salt and black pepper to the meat. Stir to combine.
- Add 3 cups of marinara to the meat, simmer for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove from the heat, add the chopped basil, stir to combine. Set aside until needed.
Cheese
- Add the cream cheese, ricotta cheese, sour cream, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder to a large bowl. Stir well to combine all of the ingredients.
Assembly and Baking
- Add half of the pasta to the baking dish.
- Spread the cheese mixture over the pasta.
- Add the remainder of the pasta to the casserole dish.
- Spread the meat sauce over the pasta.
- Evenly spread 2 cups of mozzarella cheese over the top of the casserole.
- Sprinkle half of the parsley over the top of the cheese.
- Bake for 35 – 45 minutes until the cheese is melted and the sauce starts to bubble around the sides of the pan and the internal temperature is at least 165 degrees F.
- Let the pasta sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. This will let the dish set up, otherwise it will be runny and hard to serve.
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