The Ultimate Baked Spaghetti recipe – cheesy spaghetti topped with Italian seasoned cream cheese, meat sauce and mozzarella cheese – SOOOO good! Spaghetti, eggs, parmesan cheese, melted butter, Italian seasoning, garlic, cream cheese, sour cream, Italian sausage, marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese. Can make in advance and refrigerate or freeze for a quick meal later. Serve with a salad and some garlic bread for a meal better than any restaurant!
Remember this recipe.
Pin this recipe to your favorite board now to remember it later!
Pin This RecipeThe Ultimate Baked Spaghetti
I call this The Ultimate Baked Spaghetti because I combined two of my favorite baked spaghetti recipes and made one great recipe. The “ultimate” if you will. This baked pasta is crazy good. I wanted to eat the whole pan! We ate this for dinner and again for lunch the next day. O-M-YUM! So delicious! I will take this casserole over a meal at a restaurant any day. One bite and you will surely agree!
How To Make Baked Spaghetti
This baked pasta recipe is very easy to make with only a few ingredients. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions for al dente. Drain and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, parmesan, and melted butter. Season with salt and black pepper. Add cooked spaghetti and toss to coat. Spread spaghetti mixture in the bottom of a baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.
In another bowl, mix together Italian seasoning, garlic, cream cheese, and sour cream. Spread an even layer over the pasta.
In a large skillet, cook Italian sausage or ground beef over medium heat until browned and no longer pink. Drain excess grease. Stir in a jar of your favorite marinara sauce. Spread sauce over the cream cheese layer. Top casserole with mozzarella cheese. Bake in a preheated oven until bubbly and the cheese has melted. Garnish with fresh basil or parsley.
Helpful Tips & Frequently Asked Questions
- Can substitute ground turkey or turkey sausage for reduced calories.
- Feel free to add some fresh chopped yellow onion and bell pepper to the skillet when cooking the meat.
- My favorite store-bought spaghetti sauces are Trader Joe’s Roasted Garlic Marinara (green label), Carbone, Rao’s, and La Famiglia DelGrosso.
- Can Baked Spaghetti be made in advance? Yes! Assemble the casserole and cover the pan with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator until ready to bake.
- If baking cold straight from the fridge, you will need to add 15 to 20 minutes to the cooking time.
- Can I freeze Baked Spaghetti? Absolutely! Assemble the casserole and cool completely. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and aluminum foil. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- When ready to bake, thaw completely and bake as directed below.
- This makes a lot of food. You can split the recipe into two 8×8 foil pans – bake one now and freeze one unbaked for later.
- For the leftovers, I cut them into single-serving squares and freeze them wrapped in plastic wrap. When ready to eat, just thaw and pop in the microwave. Perfect for a quick and easy meal later!
Baked Spaghetti Casserole for a Crowd
This makes a ton. It would be great for a potluck. You can serve about 12 people with this casserole. If you have a larger crowd, just double or triple the recipe. You can make this in advance, so it is great for parties! Serve this with a simple salad and some garlic bread and olive oil dip for an amazing Italian feast!
Creamy Italian Dressing
Creamy Italian Dressing Recipe – our favorite salad!!! Romaine, tomatoes, thinly sliced seedless cucumbers, sliced banana peppers, croutons, parmesan cheese,…
Carbone’s Garlic Bread
Carbone’s Garlic Bread – the recipe for the garlic bread from the famous NYC and Las Vegas restaurant. This is…
Garlic Parmesan Skillet Bread
Garlic Parmesan Skillet Bread – refrigerated biscuits chopped and tossed in butter, garlic, italian seasoning and parmesan cheese. Baked in…
Crunchy Romaine Toss
Crunchy Romaine Toss – CRAZY GOOD!!! Had this at a dinner party and everyone raved about it. I had to…
The Ultimate Baked Spaghetti
Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 16- oz thin spaghetti
- 2 eggs
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 5 Tbsp butter melted
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 (8-oz) package cream cheese softened
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 lb Italian sausage or hamburger cooked
- 1 (24-oz) jar spaghetti sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray a 9×13-inch pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain. Whisk together eggs, parmesan cheese, and melted butter. Toss with pasta. Place in prepared pan.
- Combine Italian seasoning, garlic, cream cheese, and sour cream. Spread over pasta.
- Combined cooked sausage or hamburger and spaghetti sauce. Spread over cream cheese mixture. Top with 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake for 45 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Steph
Remember this recipe.
Pin this recipe to your favorite board now to remember it later!
Pin This Recipe
Made with zoodles last night. I spiraled 4 zucchini. No cooking just add to the pan. All other ingredients as listed. Soooo good. Probably could have used more zoodles.
Is there a way to cook this where you don’t get crunchy bits of spaghetti? Cover maybe?
You can try that. It may take longer to cook if you cover it. Also make sure that the meat sauce and cheese completely covers the spaghetti.
In the past, I’ve made a dish similar to this called, Eagle Nest Pie. Several of us made your version for our church’s Jubilee services/fellowship meal. I’m switching to your recipe–it’s not a lot different, but enough to make it more affordable and simpler, yet yummy!
Recently, I had rotator cuff surgery and a friend gave me a small casserole of this spaghetti. I typically eat a low-carb lifestyle, but I always make exceptions for your baked spaghetti. PURE COMFORT FOOD!
This was really good and all 4 of us liked it. Having the leftovers for lunch =) I made as written, using 1/2 lb ground beef and 1/2 lb mild Italian sausage. I thought that combo was perfect- the sausage gave it nice flavor and the ground beef made sure the sausage wasn’t overpowering. I used 15 oz thin spaghetti; I think if I added that extra ounce the casserole might have bubbled over the 13×9 pan. The cheese was nice and brown on the edges. I will make this recipe the next time I have company over.
Delicious and easy!
I made this a few days ago for my husband and myself. I divided it into two containers and froze one. It was absolutely delicious. I used the Rao’s sauce, which I love. My husband said next time to add more ground beef. He is a real meat lover and said it needed a little bit more. For me it was perfect.
I will be making this many times. Thank you.
Do I cover when cooking?
I did not cover it
Made this tonight and it was delicious.used ragu that’s all I had.It still was amazing.so easy to make and feeds everyone with left overs. Thank you for the receipt.
Absolutely amazing! The best baked spaghetti I have had. But I make it with zucchini. I later if my homegrown zucchini on the very bottom and then one layer of zucchini on top of the cream cheese mixture. It turned about amazing. I will be making this my go-to!
This recipe is the bomb. I live in a group home with 12 people and when I make this spaghetti it goes over great with the residents. What you have a cook that comes in three times a week to cook lunch and dinner. She claims to make baked spaghetti but all her spaghetti is just spaghetti sauce and noodles thrown into the oven nobody really even wants to eat it because the noodles are like stuck together. I usually make the spaghetti two times a month and it goes over well with the resident. Thank you for such a great meal.
Just baked this delicious casserole. Had to try it out. First time making it for my son and family coming for Good Friday dinner. Mixed everything together as some other reviews said. It came out Great. Going to have Caesar salad and Texas toast with it. I made it ahead of time, froze it, then thawed out and baked. Will definitely make again. May bake two smaller ones and freeze one for later as there are only two of us most of the time.
Can I use angel hair pasta or vermicelli pasta?
You can make this however you would like.
So delicious! My husband said it needed a little of the sauce in the noodles so not so dry, but I didn’t want it to turn out like lasagna. Maybe next time I’ll stir in a sauce with noodles for the hubby and see how it turns out. I’m sure it will be just as good. Thank you!
I love baked spaghetti and this recipe is Delicious! Thank you for sharing it!