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And just like that, it’s the day after Christmas!
I can’t believe it has come and gone, but I’m excited to have a laid back week ahead of us! I hope you guys all had an amazing Christmas. I want to hear all about it, and tell you all about what the Gerard family has been up to the last few days, but first, I need to tell you all about this incredible pasta dish. So much to share!!
This Million Dollar Spaghetti, is one of my favorite meals to make when feeding a lot of people. Especially when a lot of those people are hungry brothers and friends. For everyone who loves, cheesy, meaty, pasta, this is your dish. It’s SO easy to prepare, full of spaghetti, spicy Italian sausage and cheese. Better known as a major winner food combo!
I actually served this dish up last week, but I am posting it today in hopes that it will be a great easy dinner for you guys to make for your family and friends this week.
We had a great week, but sadly some of my family members are headed out today (Abby is headed all the way to India!). But with some leaving, more will be coming, so large amounts of food will still be in high demand. To quickly recap the last few days around here, we started the Christmas fun a little early on Thursday and did a family snowmobile trip up on Vail Pass over to the little town of Red Cliff. It was pretty spur of the moment, but I am so glad that we ALL got to go. Every single immediate Gerard family member was in tow (meaning all nine of us including mom and dad) plus my two cousins, Maggie and Abby, Brendan and Malachi’s girlfriends, Lyndsie and Caitlin, and Kai’s friend Kyle who, one made the trip happen thanks to his four snowmobiles, and two, is basically just another family member at this point. So a grand total of fourteen people…on five snowmobiles. Don’t even ask how we made that happen (think snowboarders literally in tow), but we did… and it was awesome!
We finished the night off with family bowling. Yeah, family bowling, because that’s what you do at night in a ski town…
Friday was pretty mellow, Christmas Eve had a few last minute shopping trips in the morning with gingerbread house making in the afternoon. Christmas Day was spent opening gifts, lounging around, a family hike, making a few Bloody Marys and of course, cooking! Nothing fancy, but pretty perfect in my mind. So how was everyone else’s Christmas?
Now that my cousins have left, the next group is headed our way, which should be interesting, as some of them have never seen snow before. Bren’s girlfriend Lyndsie has her entire family coming in tomorrow and staying through New Years until the third, so my parents are going to have a very full house.
I have no idea what I am cooking up this week, still trying to recover from the weekend of mad cooking and cocktail making, but I’m sure there will be lots. Since Lyn’s family has yet to try this pasta dish, odds are that I will be making it sometime this week.
I like to think of this dish as a very easy, deconstructed lasagna. It has all the same flavors of a classic lasagna, but minus all the cooking steps, layers, and time, YES! I guess that’s why we call it million dollar spaghetti, huh? Tastes like a million bucks, but it really is easy, and also pretty cheap to make…but don’t tell your guest that, DUH. 🙂
The one major way this dish varies from lasagna however, is that the spaghetti on the bottom of this dish is treated like spaghetti carbonara. Before you bake it, you toss it with eggs to create a rich and creamy sauce. It’s fantastic and sets the dish apart from just another spaghetti casserole.
Trust me, this is not your grandma’s spaghetti bake!
Million Dollar Spaghetti.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories Per Serving: 638 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 4 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup whole milk cottage cheese
- 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 pound ground spicy Italian sausage
- 3 cups marinara sauce, homemade or store-bought
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat and boil the pasta until al dente according to package directions.
- Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs, parsley and Parmesan. Drain the spaghetti, and add it right back to the hot pot. Add the butter and the egg mixture to the spaghetti, and quickly toss until evenly coated and the eggs have formed a sauce. Add the cottage cheese and cream cheese and toss until combined. Transfer the mixture to the baking dish.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and brown all over, about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, and stir in the marinara sauce. Spread mixture over the spaghetti. Add the mozzarella cheese in an even layer over top.
- Transfer the baking dish to the oven and bake 30 to 45 minutes or until the cheese has melted and is lightly browned on top. Cool 5 minutes before serving. Serve with parmesan and basil, if desired.
Everyone’s gonna eat it all up.
I have been making this for years now, but just now getting around to letting you know how much we love this recipe. My husband requests it for his birthday every year and we have enjoyed it more than once during Covid lockdown. It’s pure comfort for us and I can’t thank you enough for sharing it. I have also developed a pretty amazing baked Mac and cheese using the same hot pasta, eggs and cheese method.
Thanks again and wishing health and happiness to you and the fam!
Hey Jennie,
I am delighted that you have been enjoying this recipe, thanks a lot for making it for so long! Happy Friday! xTieghan
The only way I want spaghetti 🙂 Everyone loved it!!
Hey Terri,
Thank you so much for making the recipe, I am thrilled it was enjoyed! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
Did you cut up the spaghetti noodles first? I like how it looks easier to eat.
Hey Erin,
I just broke them up:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
This looks amazing! Was wondering if you can switch out cottage cheese for ricotta cheese?
Hey Tanya,
Yes, that would work! I also think mascarpone would be great! Please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy New Year! xTieghan
What can a vegetarian substitute for the meat? This looks incredible I would love to try it!
Hey Bob,
I would just skip the meat in this recipe. I hope you love the dish, please let me know if you have any other questions! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Reply to Bob — Broccoli Slaw or Zucchini Zoodles (or both!) work well in this dish.
Reply to Bob — Broccoli Slaw or Zucchini Zoodles (or both!) work well in this dish.
SO GOOD. We loved this recipe!!!
Hey Karie,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad you enjoyed it! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
So good, can this be frozen and cooked at a later date? How would you suggest cooking after frozen?
Hey Felicia,
Yes, that would be fine to do. I would bake from frozen at 350 for about 60 minutes. I hope you enjoy the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
So easy, so good!! Everyone loves this one!
Thank you! xTieghan
An absolutely phenomenal dish. I did use ricotta in place of the cottage cheese. My first time around assembled and cooked as directed except used ricotta instead of cottage cheese. I thought the bottom noodle layer needed a flavor boost. The next time I served it I ladled a scoop of marinara sauce onto the plate then placed the main dish serving on top of the sauce. Perfect!
Amazing!! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you, Ellen! Thank you for trying it! xTieghan
Hi there, will this recipe work with the same with any other type of pasta? I have mafalda corta. Thanks! 🙂
Hey Tracey,
Any noodle will work here!I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Do you suppose this can be made in a ditch oven over a campfire?
Hi Jane,
While I haven’t tried this, it sounds like a great idea! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I saw a friend make this on Instagram and I was overwhelmed with curiosity. GIRL STOP IT WAS SO DELICIOUS. I was salivating as I was halfway done. So creamy and oozing with cheese. 10 stars!
Haha I am so glad this turned out so well for you!! Thank you so much! xTieghan
I knew I would love this recipe the minute I saw it. I was not wrong. Plus, my whole family enjoyed it. That alone is worth 5 stars. Thank you so much for all of your delicious ideas. Consider me obsessed.
That is so amazing to hear! Thank you for trying this Sara! xTieghan
THis is my 2nd time making this & my husbad loves It!
That is so great! Thank you Beulah! xTieghan
I’ve just discovered your site and am having the most amazing time trying out your recipes. I made the MDS just as the recipe says and it was amazing! Thank you!!I’ve since made another and frozen it. Can I cook it straight from frozen? If so, how long would I cook it for?