This Cheesy Baked Spaghetti is a deliciously comforting dish that’s perfect for a night in with family or get-togethers with friends. It’s creamy, gooey, and features a delicious cheese crust from the oven. It’s also packed with protein to create a satisfying dish for lunches or dinners.
This cheesy baked spaghetti is so addicting and easy to make. It's the perfect meal for rainy or gloomy days when you crave a comforting dish you can toss in the oven. Don't get me wrong; I love other pasta dishes like Basil Pasta with Cherry Tomatoes, Pink Sauce Pasta, and Lemon Ricotta Pasta. But this creamy dish always satisfies my cravings when I’m in the mood for a decadent meal.
This delicious pasta recipe also pairs well with a salad, which helps balance out the richness of the dish. A few of my favorite salad recipes to make with this baked spaghetti are my Easy Caesar Salad or Goat Cheese Salad with Arugula.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Creamy – Heavy cream and cottage cheese help create a decadent, creamy consistency in this cheesy baked spaghetti.
- Easy – This cheesy spaghetti is beginner-friendly, especially since it requires minimum kitchen tools.
- Simple – You likely have most of the ingredients for this dish already in your pantry or kitchen, especially if your family loves spaghetti recipes.
- Savory – The ground beef, Italian sausage, seasoning, and spaghetti sauce all work together to create a delicious flavor.
- Great for picky eaters – With the creamy, rich flavor and gooey cheese packed into this baked spaghetti casserole, even picky eaters in the family will ask for a second helping.
Ingredients & Substitutions
- Kosher Salt: All of my recipes are tested with Morton kosher salt unless noted otherwise. It is the best salt for everyday cooking because of its size and flavor. If using table salt, the amount should be reduced. I highly recommend picking up some kosher next time you are at the store!
- Spaghetti: You can use any spaghetti noodles in your pantry, though I prefer ziti, penne, cavatappi, or rigatoni for this cheesy baked spaghetti. These particular noodles are great for catching and holding onto the sauce.
- Pasta Sauce: For the best flavor in this easy baked spaghetti recipe, use a high-quality pasta sauce like Rao's Homemade Marinara. You can tell if a pasta sauce is high-quality if it notes tomatoes as the first ingredient. The remaining ingredients should be items that add flavor, like garlic or herbs.
Complete list of ingredients and amounts is located on the recipe card below.
How to Make Cheesy Baked Spaghetti
Quick Overview
- Brown the protein.
- Bring water to a boil.
- Sauté onion.
- Sauté garlic and seasoning.
- Simmer pasta sauce.
- Cook spaghetti.
- Mix noodles, cream, cottage cheese, parmesan, and sauce.
- Layer sauce, pasta, and mozzarella in greased pan.
- Bake.
Step by Step Instructions
Remove noodles from water when they’re al dente.
Step 1: In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and Italian sausage. Sauté until brown and almost cooked through. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil while you prepare the sauce.
Step 2: Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and sauté for 5-6 minutes or until softened.
Step 3: Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Sauté for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
Step 4: Add the pasta sauce and simmer on medium-low while the pasta cooks, stirring occasionally.
Step 5: Boil the spaghetti for one minute less than the shortest time recommended on the package. It will finish cooking in the oven.
Step 6: Drain the water and toss the spaghetti with the heavy cream, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, and about 4 heaping cups of the meat sauce.
Bake uncovered to create a cheesy crust.
Step 7: Lightly grease a deep 9x13-inch baking dish. Spoon enough sauce to cover the bottom of the baking dish.
Step 8: Add about half of the pasta on top of the sauce.
Step 9: Add about half of the mozzarella on top of the pasta.
Step 10: Add the remaining pasta on top of the cheese.
Step 11: Add the remaining sauce and then the remaining cheese.
Step 12: Baked uncovered for about 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Broil if desired. Let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Serving Suggestions
This dish is quite filling on its own, though you can pair it with warm bread to turn it into a more comforting recipe. Plus, a bread side means you can swipe up any excess sauce! Here are a few of my favorite bread sides to make with this cheesy baked spaghetti.
- Easy Rustic Bread Recipe
- Garlic Bread in Air Fryer
- Texas Toast Garlic Bread Recipe
- Parmesan Rosemary Bread
- Focaccia
- Dinner rolls
- Cheesy Garlic Herb Butter Rolls
Expert Tips
- Salt the pasta water. As pasta cooks, it releases starches which make the noodles stick together. Avoid pasta clumps by salting the water before adding in the noodles. Don't add oil to the water; it will make the sauce slide off the noodles.
- Don’t drain the grease. Keeping the grease from the meat in the sauce offers an additional flavor you won't want to lose.
- Undercook the pasta. Once you remove the noodles from the water, they continue cooking for a short time which can cause them to become overly soft. Keep the pasta slightly undercooked for this recipe to avoid a mushy dish.
- Use a deep baking dish. A deep baking dish makes this baked spaghetti easy, as it helps prevent the pasta sauce and cheese from bubbling over the pan. Use a dish that’s at least 3.5-4 inches deep for layering the spaghetti mixture, cheese, and sauce.
Additions & Variations
- Add vegetables - Since this dish has multiple layers, it's easy to hide veggies in the spaghetti without picky eaters catching on. Broccoli, mushrooms, peas, and spinach are all great ways to boost the nutrients in this dish. You may want to boil heartier vegetables first, so they blend better with the recipe.
- Gluten-free – Replace regular noodles with gluten-free pasta to make this dish gluten-free. Double-check the pasta sauce to ensure it’s gluten-free, too, as some recipes contain gluten.
Recipe FAQs
The primary benefit of making baked spaghetti is the crispy crust that appears on the top and edges. This crust creates a tasty texture and balances the creamy sauce and soft noodles.
Many types of cheese work well with spaghetti, though mozzarella and parmesan are the two top choices for many people. Other varieties to try with pasta include ricotta, pecorino, asiago, and Grana Padano cheese.
Baked spaghetti and lasagna are two different dishes. Baked spaghetti uses a long thin noodle (or the noodle options listed above for my cheesy baked spaghetti recipe). Lasagna uses flat, wide noodles.
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Cheesy Baked Spaghetti
Ingredients:
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound 90/10 ground beef
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 8 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Morton kosher salt*
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2 24-ounce jars pasta sauce*
- 1 pound dry spaghetti*
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 16 ounces cottage cheese
- 1 cup (3 ounces) parmigiano reggiano
- 1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
Instructions:
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and Italian sausage. Sauté until brown and almost cooked through. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil while you prepare the sauce.1 Tablespoon olive oil, 1 pound 90/10 ground beef, 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and sauté for 5-6 minutes or until softened.1 large yellow onion, diced
- Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Sauté for 2 minutes or until fragrant.8 cloves garlic, minced, 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon Morton kosher salt*, freshly ground black pepper
- Add the pasta sauce and simmer on medium-low while the pasta cooks, stirring occasionally.2 24-ounce jars pasta sauce*
- Boil the spaghetti for one minute less than the shortest time recommended on the package. It will finish cooking in the oven.1 pound dry spaghetti*
- Drain the water and toss the spaghetti with the heavy cream, cottage cheese, parmesan cheese, and about 4 heaping cups of the meat sauce.1 cup heavy cream, 16 ounces cottage cheese, 1 cup (3 ounces) parmigiano reggiano
- Lightly grease a deep 9x13-inch baking dish. Spoon enough sauce to cover the bottom of the baking dish.
- Add about half of the pasta on top of the sauce.
- Add about half of the mozzarella on top of the pasta.1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
- Add the remaining pasta on top of the cheese.
- Add the remaining sauce and then the remaining cheese.
- Baked uncovered for about 30 minutes or until golden and bubbly. Broil if desired. Let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.
Notes:
- Kosher Salt: All of my recipes are tested with Morton kosher salt unless noted otherwise. It is the best salt for everyday cooking because of its size and flavor. If using table salt, the amount should be reduced. I highly recommend picking up some kosher next time you are at the store!
- Spaghetti: You can use any spaghetti noodles in your pantry, though I prefer ziti, penne, cavatappi, or rigatoni for this cheesy baked spaghetti. These particular noodles are great for catching and holding onto the sauce.
- Pasta Sauce: For the best flavor in this easy baked spaghetti recipe, use a high-quality pasta sauce like Rao's Homemade Marinara. You can tell if a pasta sauce is high-quality if it notes tomatoes as the first ingredient. The remaining ingredients should be items that add flavor, like garlic or herbs.
- Salt the pasta water. As pasta cooks, it releases starches which make the noodles stick together. Avoid pasta clumps by salting the water before adding in the noodles. Don't add oil to the water; it will make the sauce slide off the noodles.
- Don’t drain the grease. Keeping the grease from the meat in the sauce offers an additional flavor you won't want to lose.
- Undercook the pasta. Once you remove the noodles from the water, they continue cooking for a short time which can cause them to become overly soft. Keep the pasta slightly undercooked for this recipe to avoid a mushy dish.
- Use a deep baking dish. A deep baking dish makes this baked spaghetti easy, as it helps prevent the pasta sauce and cheese from bubbling over the pan. Use a dish that’s at least 3.5-4 inches deep for layering the spaghetti mixture, cheese, and sauce.
I will probably use Ricotta cheese instead of cottage cheese.
That will work!