I saw this million dollar spaghetti recipe on my Facebook ad and clicked on it based on the name—and I’m so glad I did! It’s basically a lasagna recipe but uses spaghetti noodles as the layer instead of lasagna noodles.
That’s brilliant, cuz I always have spaghetti in the pantry, but not always lasagna noddles.
And as with any casserole, you can prep this 24 hours in advance, store in fridge, and put it in the oven an hour before guests come over for dinner— Perfect for my Sunday family dinners!
To make the dish, brown some Italian sausage and diced onions in a pot. Drain off the fat. Add a jar of your favorite pasta sauce, some tomato paste, water, a large handful of chopped fresh basil, garlic powder and dried oregano. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until hot.
Boil spaghetti noodles in salt water about 2 minutes less than the package instructions since the pasta will continue to cook in the oven. Drain, rinse with cold water and set aside.
In a bowl, mix together whole milk ricotta cheese, mixed Italian cheeses, and egg. Set aside.
In a 9 X 13 casserole dish, layer half the meat sauce on the bottom. Then add half the spaghetti and spread it evenly over the sauce. Add all the ricotta cheese mixture by spooning dollops over the pasta layer and then gently spreading the dollops so there’s an even layer of ricotta. Add the remainder of the spaghetti in an even layer. Then pour the remain sauce over the noodles and top with shredded Italian cheese blend. Cover with a piece of lightly oiled foil (to prevent the top layer of cheese from sticking to the foil).
That’s it!
You can now bake this at 375F for 30 minutes til hot and bubbly or store in the fridge for up to 24 hours and then bake for 35 minutes at 375F the next day. But do take the casserole out of the fridge an hour or so before baking to avoid placing the casserole straight from the fridge to a hot oven which can potentially crack your glass baking dish.
I paired this casserole with a tray of baked basil chicken and a nice fresh salad topped with star fruit from my hubby’s good childhood friend and master gardener. Yup, we are in Hawaii with family for the holidays and where there’s plenty of pretty tropical fruits to enjoy. You however can pair this casserole with any type of green salad you want. It will be a nice, crisp fresh accompaniment to the million dollar spaghetti casserole.
Recipe inspired and adapted from Tastes better from scratch’s Million dollar spaghetti here.
Yields 7-8 servings
Meat Sauce Ingredients:
- 32oz Italian sausage
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 jar 24oz pasta sauce
- 2 T tomato paste
- 1 large handful fresh basil, chopped
- 1 t dried oregano
- 1 t garlic powder
- 1 c water
Remaining Casserole Ingredients:
- 1 package spaghetti noodles (16oz)
- 16oz whole milk ricotta cheese
- 4oz shredded Italian cheese blend (mix of mozzarella, Asiago, Parmesan and Romano cheeses) If you like cheese feel free to use the entire 8oz pack of shredded cheese!
- 1 egg
- Salt
Procedures:
1. Brown the diced onions and Italian sausage in a large pot, breaking up the sausage as it cooks. (The sausage is plenty fatty, so no need to add oil to the pot before browning the meat.) Drain off excess fat.
2. Add jarred pasta sauce, water, tomato paste, basil, garlic, and oregano. Simmer for 10 -15 minutes until hot. Taste and add salt or pepper if needed. (This depends on how salty your sausage and jarred pasta sauce is, so taste and add salt only if needed.) Set aside.
3. Boil spaghetti in water with some salt according to package instructions, but under boil by 2 minutes because the spaghetti will cook further when baking in the oven. Drain and rinse with cold water. The set aside.
4. In a bowl, mix together ricotta cheese, half the shredded Italian cheese blend, and an egg. Set aside.
5. To a 9x13 oven safe casserole dish, add half the meat sauce to the bottom of the tray. Then add half the spaghetti noodles, spreading the noodles out in an even layer. Top with dollops of all the ricotta mixture, and spread the dollops so that the ricotta is an even layer. Add the remaining spaghetti, spreading out to an even layer. Pour on the remaining sauce, and lastly sprinkle with the remaining shredded Italian cheese blend.
6. Cover tightly with aluminum foil that’s lightly oiled so that the shredded cheese does not stick to the foil.
7. Bake at 375F for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly. If making ahead, and storing in the fridge overnight, then take the casserole out an hour before you are ready to bake to avoid putting an icy cold dish into a hot oven and risk cracking the glass casserole dish. You may also need to bake it 5 to 10 minutes longer for the casserole to be heated through.