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Our CREAMY BAKED SPAGHETTI WITH CREAM CHEESE is going to quickly become a new family favorite. Layers of saucy pasta, beef, and a rich, cheesy, melty center!
When it comes to pasta, I’ve got quite a few ‘go to’ recipes that we eat again and again.
Our homemade Alfredo sauce happens often. Ravioli Lasagna is my favorite way to get lasagna on the table quickly. This garlic shrimp pasta is ready in just 25 minutes.
But the number one pasta recipe that I make for my family, friends, and guests…is this Cheesy Baked Spaghetti.
You’ll start with spaghetti noodles, beef, and sauce. Standard spaghetti stuff.
But then the magic happens and you find yourself mixing together cream cheese, cottage cheese, and sour cream into this heavenly concoction that makes for the ultimate cheesy pasta.
This recipe, you guys. It’s a winner in my family and I’m pretty sure it’s going to be a winner in your family, too.
Ingredient Notes:
Pasta – We use spaghetti, but you could really use any shape you like here. You can’t mess this up.
Spaghetti Sauce – This is supposed to be a quick, easy family dish so feel free to grab your favorite jarred brand of sauce from the store. But if you want to get fancy, check out my homemade spaghetti sauce recipe! Just keep in mind that recipe makes a lot more sauce than what is needed for this baked spaghetti so you’ll have leftovers.
Cottage Cheese – It really melts in with the rest of the dairy so cottage cheese haters are unlikely to notice this one. You could swap in ricotta if you prefer.
Cheddar – This is a very polarizing ingredient for a pasta dish, so feel free to use mozzarella if you prefer. The cheddar really adds something though.
What Readers are Saying!
“Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I have made it 3 times, and will make it many more. So delicious!” – Anna
What do you call this recipe?
You’ve probably seen different versions of this recipe all over the Internet with a bunch of different names.
Million Dollar Spaghetti is the common name, but that recipe adds an entire stick of butter to the casserole and we just think its unnecessary (and we love butter).
We think this is pretty similar to Cheddar’s spasagna recipe too, but it’s been many years since we’ve eaten at Cheddar’s so I could be wrong on that.
Whether you call this cream cheese spaghetti, creamy baked spaghetti, million dollar spaghetti, or some other variation, these recipes are pretty similar in that they are rich, decadent, and oh so delicious! We’re obviously partial to our version.
How to Make Baked Spaghetti:
Pasta: To get started you’ll want to boil up some salted water in a large pot.
Use your favorite packaged brand of spaghetti and cook it for one minute less than it says to in the instructions. While the pasta boils you can move on to the next step!
Note: If you are all out of spaghetti noodles then macaroni, rigatoni, ziti and other types of pasta would work just as well!
Spaghetti Sauce: Start making the sauce by cooking the ground beef in a large skillet until it has browned, breaking it up into smaller pieces as it cooks. Drain the fat when it has cooked through.
Pour your favorite brand of spaghetti sauce in with the meat and simmer on low for a few minutes while the pasta cooks and you move on to the next step.
Cheese: Now we can get down to the good stuff! We’re going for a creamy, decadent dish so we’ll need lots of dairy.
We’re mixing together cream cheese, cottage cheese, and sour cream to create this insanely decadent filling.
Stir garlic, salt, and pepper in to this mixture and then give it a taste. It’s divine.
Layer: Place half of the cooked spaghetti in a 9×13 baking dish, top with half of the cream cheese mixture and half of the sauce. Repeat the layers and sprinkle on some cheddar cheese.
Bake: Pop this in a hot oven and bake for 30 minutes.
You’ll want to let this set for 5 minutes or so before serving.
Just wait til you dig into this one!
Move over, lasagna. We don’t need you. <— Yes. I just said that and I don’t regret it one bit.
(Unless we’re talking about my taco lasagna. I still need that guy.)
Helpful Tip!
Short on Time?
Try our stove top version for a quick way to get that creamy baked spaghetti fix without actually baking it! This million dollar pasta is ready in just 20 minutes!
FAQs:
Of course! This is a great recipe to modify to suit your own tastes. Swap the cottage cheese for ricotta, use mozzarella instead of cheddar, brown up Italian sausage instead of ground beef, and use whatever shape of pasta you like.
Absolutely! Like most pasta recipes, this dish is even better the next day. Store, tightly covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. We like to reheat ours in the microwave.
Most million dollar spaghetti recipes include a full stick of butter melted in the bottom of the baking dish before adding the spaghetti and there’s certainly nothing stopping you from doing that. We’ve just tested this recipe both ways and we can never even notice the butter. It doesn’t seem worth the extra 800 calories added to the dish.
MORE BAKED PASTA RECIPES!
I’ve got lots of baked pasta dishes! Actually, I have a whole category devoted to pasta where you can find many of those recipes.
Check out this taco spaghetti recipe if you are looking for a Mexican themed pasta dish.
And of course I’ve got a version of the viral TikTok favorite recipe feta pasta!
This chicken spaghetti is another easy baked pasta recipe!
Cutting carbs and craving pasta? You’ll love my cream cheese zoodles! Even my kids eat zucchini noodles when they’re covered in this sauce!
Try my spaghetti squash casserole like this too! I hope you give this one a try and your family enjoys it as much as mine does.
And if you need a side dish to go with all this baked pasta then my creamy onion garlic bread is definitely worth trying!
I’m not sure how anyone could dislike all this creamy cheesy goodness, to be honest! 😉
Creamy Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 16 ounces spaghetti
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 24 ounces marinara sauce
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup cottage cheese
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook spaghetti for 1 minute less than the package directions state. Drain the water from the pasta.
- While the spaghetti is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat and brown the beef, crumbling it as it cooks. Drain the fat and add the marinara sauce to the meat. Simmer over low heat until the spaghetti is ready.
- In a medium bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, and garlic until smooth, creamy, and well combined. Salt and pepper to taste.
- Place half of the cooked spaghetti in the bottom of the baking dish. Dollop half of the cream cheese mixture over the spaghetti and spread as evenly as possible. Spread with half of the meat mixture. Repeat the layers once and top with cheddar cheese.
- Bake for 20-30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let set for 5 minutes before serving.
Wendy F says
I added grated 3 cheese italian mix on top of the cheddar – just couldn’t imagine spaghetti without it, and melted on top should be awesome! It’s in the oven now, can’t wait to try it! 🙂
Rebecca V Campbell says
I made it tonight and my husband was amaze how good it is , so it’s winner and good to take it to potluck anywhere. Very easy to make and so many choices for people what kind of meat to use , like ground turkey and usually I add ground mild sausage to it .
Michelle says
Hi just wondering if you could use macaroni instead of spaghetti? Thanks
Karly says
Yes, for sure!
Jana gana mana 52 seconds says
Make this dish all the time very good.
Sandy Young says
Needed more spices. Kind of plain.
Nancy Wolff says
Your Baked Spaghetti recipe is delicious! I’ve made it twice in the last month!
– Nancy ( Nancy On The Home Front )
Karly says
Thanks, Nancy!
Jen says
I made this last night and we loved it!! I even shared the recipe with my mothers of twins club! ? Thanks for the recipe.
Karly says
Glad to hear it was a hit! 🙂
Jamie says
This sounds very family friendly, and I can use gluten free pasta for my daughter with celiac. Thinking I will add some chopped spinach, to sneak in a vegetable!
Cheri says
How about Alfredo sauce?
Isabella says
I mixed Alfredo and spaghetti sauce mixed and then added kore marinara for my piece and liked it much better
Shelbi says
Hi! Love the recipe wondering if you have any sub options for cottage cheese other than ricotta? As I like neither of those ? Thanks!
Karly says
I don’t, sorry. You could try leaving them out entirely, but I’m not sure how well it will work.
Cindy says
Do you think I could make a vegetarian version of this? Same recipe but no ground beef?
Karly says
I think that would work great!
Chris hooley says
Karly, I’m going to make this for my partner but I just want to check that the cream cheese & cottage cheese are just the same as the stuff that we use in the u.k. daft I know but it always pays to check.
Karly says
I’m not sure what the products are in the UK, so I can’t say for sure. If you watch the video, you should be able to see what they look like and that might help.
Allison says
Can ricotta be subbed for cottage cheese?
Karly says
Sure!
Smitty says
Will this freeze well? I need to help out a shut-in and am wondering if this would be a good candidate for a make-ahead meal.
Karly says
I haven’t tried it myself. I think it would freeze fine though.
Kirsten says
I am trying this out tonight. Did you try it? Did it freeze well?
Cathi Parish says
I’m curious whether you tried making ahead and freezing. I love this recipe and need to make some freezer meals.
Stephanie Beckenhaupt says
Did you or anyone end up freezing it?
Michelle says
I have frozen my leftovers before and it heated up just as good. Sometimes, Ill also mix it up and just mix in with a new batch of regular spaghetti.
Michelle says
Instead of cottage cheese (which my son does not like), could I use ricotta cheese? This looks delicious, BTW!! I can’t wait to try it!
Karly says
Absolutely!