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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 million dollar spaghetti casserole, 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 noodles 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 recipe.
Trust me, this is not your grandma’s spaghetti bake!
Million Dollar Spaghetti.
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.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Everyone’s gonna eat it all up.
Delicious! We loved it! Taste profile similar to lasagna but half the effort! Came together super quick. Thanks so much 🙂
Hey Amanda,
Happy Sunday!🌾🌽 I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback! xx
I made this last night, and it was a hit — EVEN THOUGH I made lots of substitutions to further “healthify” it (whole wheat pasta, low-fat cottage cheese, nonfat plain yogurt for cream cheese, ground chicken breast with lots of different spices instead of sausage, adding some broccoli slaw, 1/2 of the cheese for the topping). I am definitely adding this to our weeknight rotation because everyone really enjoyed it (I have a few runners in my household, so pasta dishes before a race are standard), and no one could not believe how healthy it was!
*Correction: No one could believe how healthy it was! 🙂
Hey Renee,
I truly appreciate you giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, love to hear that it was enjoyed!❄️ xx
This was sooooo good!! A very big thumbs up from my kids & husband!! Used mild Italian sausage as all that my grocery store had and it was still yummy. Even better heated up the next day.
Hey Jeannie,
Amazing!! I am thrilled that this dish was a hit, thanks a lot for trying it out! xTieghan
Very good, but takes to many dishes to make.
Hi Linda!
Thanks for making the recipe and sharing your feedback:) Have a great day! xTieghan
Hi! Is there any way I could replace the cottage cheese with ricotta?
Hey Adah,
Sure, that would work well for you!! I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, let me know if you give it a try! xx
Hi there! Do you leave the length of the spaghetti or break it up? Thanks!
Hey Genna,
I leave the spaghetti as is:) I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, let me know if you give it a try! xx
Hello Tieghan,
Wondering if you could freeze this dish after completing step 4?
Hey there,
Totally, that will work well for you!! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it!! xTieghan
Can I make this ahead of time? Thanks
Hey Leslie,
You bet, I would make through step 4, cover and pop in the fridge, and then follow the baking instructions when you are ready to serve. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope it turns out amazing for you! xTieghan
Hello – I haven’t made this yet, but wondering if it would still be good with less spicy sausage? Wanting to make it for a family with little kids, and spicy isn’t always good with littles. Thanks!
Hey Pam,
Yes, that would be totally fine! Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
My husband and boys thoroughly enjoyed this spaghetti dish! Compliments were issued after the first bite!! I am enjoying cooking your recipes! Another win! Thank you for sharing great food with us!
Hey Shannon,
Awesome!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I am so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! xTieghan
I have made this multiple times and plan on making it to take to our daughter’s for Halloween. I was wondering if I could make it a day ahead and bake it when we get to her house? I enjoy all of your recipes and look forward to cooking because of them!!
Happy Thursday! So glad this recipe was enjoyed and thanks for making it! xTieghan
I’m a little surprised at the number of people who want a substitute for the cottage cheese. Trust me, no one will ever know it’s in there! I love that the pasta layer is made like Carbonara. Although I added a little more seasoning to the marinara sauce I made it exactly as written. This is yet another keeper recipe from Tieghan! She’s the best!
Hey Karen,
Wonderful!! So glad to hear that this recipe was loved, thanks for making it:) xTieghan
Can you omit the cottage cheese? Or what could you substitute?
Hey Sarah,
Ricotta cheese would work well in place of the cottage cheese. I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I love this recipe, and my husband especially loves it! It’s perfect for company and comes together quickly!
Hi Mallory,
Happy Friday!! I am delighted that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! xTieghan
Wow this was soooooo good!!!! perfect and easy to make for company, we paired it with a salad and toasted pita triangles. 🙂 Thank you for always saving me when I need to figure out what to make to share with others!!
Hey Heather,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, I am so glad that it was enjoyed! Have a great week:) xTieghan