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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.
Would this recipe double well? It sounds amazing! I am looking for a make-ahead then bake pasta recipe to bring to my staff for a luncheon. Thank you!
Hey Ainsley,
Totally, this would be a great option for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Hi, I’m wondering what I can use in place of the sausage? Thanks 😊
Hi Kaley,
Ground beef would also be a nice option here. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
So good!
Thanks so much, Pam!!
This looks INCREDIBLE but my husband has an egg allergy- could it be made without or do you have a recommendation for a substitute?
Thanks so much, Brittany! No worries, you can omit the egg:) I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
I love this recipe!
Could i substitute veggies for the sausage? Mushrooms, etc?
Hey Lindsay,
Thanks so much! Of course, this recipe is super versatile so that will work nicely for you! Have a great Sunday! xT
Hello!
Can I make this in a traditional baking dish instead? Thanks!
Hi Courtney,
Sure, that will work well for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
I love making this dish and it’s now a family favorite!! I sometimes use ground beef and Italian sausage both and it’s absolutely out of this world. Thanks so much for sharing!
Hey Julia,
Thank you so much:) Love to hear that your family enjoys this recipe, I appreciate you making it so often! xT
Hi,
Could I substitute the cottage cheese for ricotta?
Hey Laura,
Sure, that would work nicely for you! Let me know if you give this dish a try, I hope you love it! xT
Looks like you used a Dutch oven to bake which seems easier just to use the same dish every time. Did you use same baking time as 9×13 instructions? Thanks!!
Hi Mary Elizabeth,
I did! So if you want to use a dutch oven, you can just follow the recipe as written:) Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Could this be frozen and then reheated?
Hi Marissa,
Totally, just freeze after step 4:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope this turns out well for you! xx
could i sub ground beef for the sausage? do i need to add spices to make up for it? thx
Hey Cameron,
Sure, that would work for you, you could add some Italian seasonings if you want:) Let me know if you have any other questions! xx
Delicious! It’s easy to make, and even my sometimes picky toddler absolutely devoured it. I love that it can be prepped ahead of time and baked later.
Hey Tami,
Fantastic!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe out, I’m thrilled to hear that it turned out well for you:)
Absolutely delicious! Baked spaghetti never sounded appealing to me until I saw this recipe. We love it! It will definitely be a constant in our dinner rotation!
Hey Gina,
Happy Monday!! 💘 Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Could this be made ahead of time and keep in fridge for 2-3 days and reheated?
Hey Lori,
Totally, that would be just fine for you to do! I hope this dish turns out well for you, please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
This is amazing, T! I’ve made a version of million dollar spaghetti before, but it was unimpressive. I made yours tonight and it’s perfect. Thanks for another killer recipe! I didn’t change a thing.
Hey Jen,
Happy Monday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for giving it a go! xT