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One of our most popular recipes on our website is this Million Dollar Casserole (also known as Spaghetti Casserole).
It is one of my family’s favorite weeknight dinner recipes.
Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole is great the first night and is just as good for leftovers. You can even double the recipe and freeze the second one for later.
Ingredient Notes
- Spaghetti noodles
- Cream cheese
- Sour Cream
- Cottage cheese
- Ground beef (or you can use turkey if you prefer)
- Jar of spaghetti sauce
- Butter
- Cheddar cheese
How To Make Million Dollar Casserole:
- Begin by preheating the oven 350 degrees.
- Then cook the spaghetti noodles according to the package.
- While the noodles are cooking, mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, and cottage cheese in a medium mixing bowl.
Note: there might be a few chunks from the cottage cheese, but just make sure it is all mixed together well.
- Now, place the ground beef in a large skillet and cook it until browned and cooked through, then drain the grease from the pan.
- After the meat has been drained, pour the spaghetti sauce over the meat and mix it together well.
- Use a 9×13 inch pan and spray it with nonstick cooking spray.
- Put half of the cooked noodles in the bottom of the pan.
- Then, pour the creamy cheese mixture on top of the noodles and spread it out evenly.
- Next, spread the rest of the noodles on top and then slice up the butter and distribute it evenly throughout the pan.
- Once all the noodles and butter have been added pour all of the meat sauce on top of the noodles, making sure it all gets covered.
- Now, put the dish in the oven, uncovered for 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, take the dish out and spread the shredded cheddar cheese over top and return it to the oven for another 15 minutes.
- Then, take it out and serve it with your favorite sides.
Storing and Other Tips
Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container or cover the dish you baked it in with plastic wrap for up to 5 days.
Try A Different Meat: You can do beef, sausage, ground chicken or ground pork.
Cheese Substitutes: You can substitute the ricotta cheese for cottage cheese. Mozzarella or parmesan would work in place of cheddar cheese, the flavor would be slightly different.
Serving Suggestions
- Easy Green Garden Salad
- Instant Pot Green Beans
- Sheet Pan Garlic Breadsticks
- Twisted Cheese Breadsticks
Million Dollar Casserole (Spaghetti Casserole)
Layers of cheesy pasta and creamy sauce make this Million Dollar Casserole a family favorite.
Serving servings
Ingredients
- 8 ounces spaghetti noodles, (uncooked)
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 8 ounces cottage cheese
- 1 pound ground beef, (you could also use ground turkey)
- 26 ounces spaghetti sauce, (1 jar)
- ¼ cup butter, (softened)
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook noodles as directed on the package.
- While your noodles are boiling, mix together the cream cheese, sour cream, and cottage cheese in a medium-sized bowl until smooth (there might be a couple of bumps from the cottage cheese, but make sure it's all mixed together well).
- Place ground beef in a large skillet and brown until completely cooked through. Drain grease well.
- Pour spaghetti sauce over the meat and mix well.
- Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray.
- Layer half of the cooked noodles in the bottom of the dish. Pour the creamy cheese mixture on top of the noodles and spread it around evenly. Next, add the rest of the noodles on top of the cheese mix layer and spread the noodles out to cover the pan. Then, slice up the butter and place it on top of the noodles throughout the pan.
- Once the noodle and cheese layers have been put together, pour the red meat sauce on top and cover the noodles completely.
- Cook it uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Once the 30 minutes is up, take the casserole out of the oven and cover the whole thing with cheddar cheese. Then return it back to the oven to cook for another 15 minutes.
Notes
When cooking it from frozen: Expect to add 50% to the cooking time and you might also want to reduce the oven temp by 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Be ready to cover your casserole in aluminum foil so the top doesn’t get too brown. Or you can thaw and bake it as usual.
Nutrition
Calories: 414 kcal · Carbohydrates: 23 g · Protein: 19 g · Fat: 28 g · Saturated Fat: 14 g · Cholesterol: 88 mg · Sodium: 689 mg · Potassium: 491 mg · Fiber: 2 g · Sugar: 5 g · Vitamin A: 946 IU · Vitamin C: 5 mg · Calcium: 153 mg · Iron: 2 mg
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
Do you mean softened cream cheese? (This looks awesome by they way!)
At the bottom of the recipe (looks deliciously perfect for my family) could you please add a Pinterest direct button, along with the facebook, twitter etc?
can of spaghetti sauce? Approx how many oz is this?
thanks!
I was wondering the same thing about the can of spaghetti sauce. How big of a can?
Yummo… I’m digging the tang and creaminess that the cheeses bring to the party!
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Forgot Pacific Mist look under the pic of the casserole there is a pinterest button there. Annette xo
this sounds SO good! totally what I’m in the mood for after getting back from my swimming class, pinned it hopefully for next week
this with a little of Trader Joes white corn(frozen) added has been somethng from when Grandma made it when she got stuck with the babysitting while all of her daughters went Christmas shopping. Of course, she used leftover meats
This looks so yummy! Don’t forget to use http://www.Takethemameal.com when scheduling meals for new moms (or any other friend or relative in need)!
Yum! I’m sold by the picture. But I’m having trouble with the recipe. A few of the finer points escape me. Maybe I’m just tired from a long day, I mean a loooonnnnngggg day at work! I’m still going to make it tonight though. It looks and sounds amazing.
Just got it in the oven and sat down to review the recipe. I should have clicked on the link below the recipe that takes you to the website from where the recipe originated. It has pictures that clarified my questions. :o)
This looks soooo good!! I’m always looking for some new simple pasta recipes 🙂 Can’t wait too make it!
Does this freeze well?
I made this for the fam this week. Very tasty!
I made this last week and my family loved it. My husband said I should definitely add it to list of rotation meals. My daughter cant wait to cook it for her boyfriend and maybe try it out on her roommates! Awesome!!!
I’d also like to know how much spaghetti sauce is in the “can” you’re talking about. This sounds like a great and easy recipe that I could make for my boyfriend and I. I currently have two 26-oz jars of spaghetti sauce I’d like to use soon, and surely they can be used in this casserole. If you could just tell me how many ounces of spaghetti sauce there should be rather than just a generic “can”, that would be great!
Use one of the 26 ounce jars for this recipe.
Quick question- just getting started with making some freezer meals and I’d love to make this but I just want to make sure I do it correctly…do I cover and freeze after making it? Thanks for your help!
Yes, cover and freeze it after making it. Then just thaw and cook when ready. Some people cook it before freezing, then they just thaw and heat through. Either way works, just watch it closely.
Can you imagine this with Spaghetti Squash instead of Pasta? OMG! And I love Nana’s idea of corn! With squash this becomes a complete meal. gluten free and Paleo friendly! How awesome!
This looks awesome and will be fabulous for stocking our church’s Compassionate Cooks ministry freezer. About how many servings will this make?
This was linked under freezer meals, how do you adapt it for the freezer?
I made this for dinner tonight. With temps in the single digits, I thought this would be a perfect comfort food with homemade rolls. It was delicious! Thank you for the recipe.
I made this for Sunday dinner today…My picky family really liked it. The flavor is perfectly rich with the cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheese…I also substituted spaghetti for the penne..I will definitely make it again.
I’ve got this dish in the oven right now! I love it. It’s a good alternative to plain old spaghetti. Plus I love cream cheese in pasta dishes. Mmm!
The nutrition page says this serves 15 which doesn’t seem correct. How many does this recipe serve?
It really depends on the serving size. If you are feeding adults or teenagers it will proabably feed about 8 to 10. But a family of mixed ages will feed 10 to 14.
I froze it once, and it would have taken all day to defrost before putting in the oven. I don’t recommend that. I’m wondering how long this keeps in the fridge before hearing it up for 30 min at 350 part.
If I wanted to make 2 at the same time how would I go about doing that? I have a plain regular oven nothing special. Is it possible to do this? I have a big family and they loved this for dinner but there wasn’t enough so I was hoping to bake 2 at a time. I’ve never done that before. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
You can easily double this recipe and make 2. Just be sure that both pans will fit in your oven if you want to cook them at the same time. Otherwise, you may have to cook one first and then stick the other one in the oven while you eat the first one! 🙂 Have a great weekend!!
26 oz jar
I am not a fan of cottage cheese – do you think a substitution of ricotta would work? And if so, the same amount?
Looks delicious – can’t wait to try it!
You can definitely use ricotta cheese as a substitute for cottage cheese in the recipe. You would use the same amount
Which is the preferred way of preparing for freezer? Cook before freezer or assemble for freezer then cook when planning to eat? Same for enchiladas and other pasta dishes that could be froze?
We have done it both ways, but sometimes the pasta gets mushy if you cook the whole dinner, then thaw and reheat. Every recipe can be a little tricky. Freezing casseroles before baking is totally fine. Actually, you’re less likely to overcook them if you freeze it before baking. When cooking it from frozen: Expect to add 50% to the cooking time and you might also want to reduce the oven temp by 25 degrees Fahrenheit. Be ready to cover your casserole in aluminum foil so the top doesn’t get too brown. Or thaw and bake as usual.
What about nutritional facts as the recipe is written?
I questioned the amount of spaghetti upon reading and I was correct, 8 oz. only feeds four people, but the sauce and cheeses are enough for 16 oz. of spaghetti and a 13 x 9 pan should feed eight people.
Instead of cottage cheese can use ricotta I was just wondering because I’m not a big cottage cheese fan
This was a hit in my house!!
Someone mentioned the pasta should be 16 ozs. vs. 8 ozs. I saw no response to this suggestion. Any thoughts?
Our recipe calls for 8 ounces. But this could easily be doubled.
Just made this. It was very good but I adjusted some things. I doubled the pasta and the sauce. Added mushrooms and onion to the sauce and substituted mozzarella for the cheddar. Very good, will definitely make again!
Could you make this without the cottage cheese but more of the others (sour cream and cream cheese)? We don’t have cottage or ricotta and don’t plan on going to the store but have everything else…
We always make it as the recipe directs. But this recipe is very forgiving and I’m sure you could make small tweaks with the ingredients you have on hand without any problems.
I made this for dinner last night and it was SO good. I used Bona chick pea spaghetti, Greek yogurt instead of sour cream, light cream cheese, and ground turkey. It was a huge hit with my husband and my kids and they had no idea anything was substituted! The name fits this one!
WIN! So glad your family like it!! Have a great week and stay safe.
I have heard that the Six Sisters Million Dollar Casserole is very good , How do I get to that recipe, Thank you, Nancy
You were on the right blog post, but you need to keep scrolling. When you get to the bottom you will see the full recipe – including ingredients and instructions.
Made this tonight. So good!
I would like join and receive your recipes. They look great and i wou
Ld like to try. Thanksj
I am not a big pasta eater but this dish surprised me. Not only is it easy to make but it is delicious . Will certainly make this again and again. Yummy.
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Can I assemble right to point of baking say in morning then cover and leave in fridge till it’s dinner time , like 6 hours later then cook it
Yes, this is a great make ahead dish and stick in the oven closer to dinner time.
I am going to try it.
This casserole was SO delicious and much easier than lasagna. I used our vegetarian burger crumbles for a meatless version. It is an often requested dinner item in our household. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Can you prepare this earlier in the day and make it for supper that evening?
Yes, this is perfect for making ahead of time and then stick it in the fridge until ready to bake.
I used 16 ounces of Penne Pasta and it worked great in a 9×13 casserole dish.
Delicious recipe! Easy to make ahead of time too. I’ll definitely be making it again.
What is the difference between your Baked Spaghetti Pie and your Million Dollar Casserole?
You can pull up the recipes side by side and see the difference in ingredients.
My family loves this meal. I like to make it when we have company with young kids because it is always a hit! I’m not great in the kitchen so I love this because its easy to make and hard to mess up :). I like to mix the noodles into the dairy/cheese mixture prior to adding to dish.
I’ve made this recipe several times and I love it but I can’t find where you’ll added any salt, pepper , spices. I go ahead and doctor mine up .
This is my recipe to take for people after surgery, etc. I love it. ❤️❤️
You can add some seasonings to your taste with the ground beef mixture
Is it really only a 1/2 package of spaghetti noodles?!
That depends on the size of your package of pasta. This recipe calls for 8oz of spaghetti.