Baked Spaghetti
This Baked Spaghetti casserole layers spaghetti with Italian sausage meat sauce, a creamy cottage cheese and Parmesan filling, and mozzarella, then bakes until the filling is melty and the top is golden. As it bakes, the noodles soak up the sauce, the cheese melts through the layers, and the whole thing turns extra cozy and flavorful in a way stovetop spaghetti just doesn’t. It only takes about 55 minutes to make and I think it’s PERFECT for weeknight dinners, feeding a crowd, or meal prepping, as it stores well for 3-4 days and freezes in individual portions!
“I’ve been making this baked spaghetti for years and it’s a home run! Easy to make vegetarian as well. Budget Bytes is a recipe site I can trust without having to “trial run.” Recipes turn out great every time!”
Lisa
Easy Recipe for Baked Spaghetti
This baked spaghetti casserole is built for big comfort without making the ingredient list expensive or fussy. Other baked spaghetti recipes often use ricotta, but I use cottage cheese in my recipe here. It’s more budget-friendly and still bakes into a creamy, cheesy layer with the Parmesan, while Italian sausage adds built-in seasoning, and the scratch-made tomato sauce gets extra body from tomato paste and crushed tomatoes. I also cook the spaghetti just shy of tender, so it finishes in the oven instead of turning mushy, then bake the casserole covered with foil first so the center stays creamy instead of drying out.
I think of this recipe as shortcut lasagna because you still get the layered pasta, cheesy middle, and sliceable casserole texture, but with spaghetti instead of carefully stacked noodles. If you want the full from-scratch experience with layers and a slightly longer cook time, my homemade lasagna is the recipe for that. Or, if you want a simpler stovetop spaghetti dinner with vegetables tucked right into the meat sauce, try our spaghetti with vegetable meat sauce!
However, this baked spaghetti here is my definition of good, honest comfort food…saucy, cheesy, golden on top, and easy enough to make on a regular weeknight!
Recipe Tips & Suggestions
- Cook the pasta just shy of tender. Pulling the spaghetti slightly before al dente gives this casserole the best texture because the noodles finish cooking as they bake in the sauce. When you bite into a piece before draining, the center should still look faintly chalky.
- Use small-curd cottage cheese for the creamiest layer. Small-curd cottage cheese bakes into a creamy, ricotta-style layer for a fraction of the cost. Mixing it with Parmesan and black pepper adds flavor and helps the center set into clean, sliceable layers.
- Italian sausage builds flavor fast. Italian sausage makes the meat sauce taste like it’s simmered for longer than it has, thanks to the built-in seasoning and savory depth (without extra effort from you!). If you swap in ground beef, turkey, or a ground meat alternative, I’d double the Italian seasoning and season to taste with salt and pepper so you keep the same flavor payoff.
- Give the sauce enough body for baking. Tomato paste and crushed tomatoes make a thicker, richer sauce that coats the spaghetti and holds up well in the oven. It simmers while the pasta cooks, so you get a more homemade flavor without adding extra time to this recipe. When I have extra time, I’ll make my homemade marinara sauce for even more depth!
- Bake covered first, then broil if you want a golden top. Covering the dish with foil at 350°F traps gentle steam, helping the layers melt together while the center stays creamy. When I have the time, I love popping the finished casserole under the broiler for a few minutes so the mozzarella gets golden and any spaghetti poking out gets a little crispy, too.
- Make it vegetarian. Leave out the Italian sausage (double the seasonings added) or swap in a jar of your favorite store-bought marinara sauce.
- Make it ahead for an easier dinner. Make the meat sauce, mix it with the spaghetti, and assemble the casserole, then let it cool and refrigerate for up to 2 days before baking. Let it sit at room temperature while the oven preheats, then bake covered as directed. Add a few extra minutes if needed since it went into the oven cold.
- What else can I add? Add sautéed mushrooms, chopped spinach, olives, or maybe even some sautéed zucchini to add extra vegetables to the sauce. Homemade meatballs in place of the sausage would also work (don’t forget to double up on the seasonings in the sauce). Or, to make it extra cheesy, try adding in some crumbled feta or extra mozzarella to the cheese layer. I kept mine budget-friendly, so I went kind of light on the cheese and sausage this time around.
What to Serve with Baked Spaghetti
Homemade garlic bread is awesome with baked spaghetti because it has the same cozy, garlicky comfort, and I can bake in the oven while the casserole rests. If you want something fresh on the side, an easy Caesar salad adds crunchy lettuce, homemade croutons, and tangy dressing to cut through the richness of the meat sauce. Another easy veggie side is oven roasted frozen broccoli because it keeps the meal budget-friendly and low-effort, especially when you want a veggie you can pull straight from the freezer!
Baked Spaghetti Recipe
Cost $8.95 recipe / $1.49 serving
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion ($0.70)
- 3 garlic cloves ($0.12)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.22)
- ½ lb. Italian sausage ($1.93*)
- 3 oz. tomato paste ($0.45)
- 28 oz. crushed tomatoes ($1.67)
- ½ tsp Italian seasoning ($0.05)
- ½ tsp salt ($0.02)
- ½ cup water ($0.00)
- 12 oz. spaghetti (uncooked, $1.00)
- 1 cup cottage cheese (small curd, $1.12)
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese (grated. $0.50)
- ¼ tsp black pepper (freshly cracked, $0.02)
- 1 cup mozzarella (shredded, $1.25)
- 1 Tbsp fresh parsley (chopped, (optional garnish) $0.05)
Video
Instructions
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Dice the onion and mince the garlic.
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Add the olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium. Add the Italian sausage and cook until browned.
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Add the chopped onion and minced garlic to the skillet and continue to stir and cook until the onions are soft and translucent.
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Add the tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, salt, and water. Stir to combine, then allow the sauce to come up to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the sauce simmer while you cook the pasta.
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Add ½ Tbsp salt to a large pot of water and bring it to a boil over high heat. Add the spaghetti and continue to boil until the pasta is tender, but not fully cooked. Drain the pasta in a colander.
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Add the drained pasta to the sauce and stir to combine.
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Combine the cottage cheese, Parmesan, and pepper in a bowl.
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Lightly grease an 8×11″ casserole dish. Layer in half of the spaghetti and sauce, then top with the cottage cheese mixture. Add the second half of the spaghetti and sauce, then top with the shredded mozzarella.
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Cover the dish with foil then bake the spaghetti for 30 minutes. Top the spaghetti with chopped parsley, if desired. Let it rest for 5-10 minutes, then slice into six pieces, and serve!
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Baked Spaghetti Step-By-Step Photos
Gather all of your ingredients.
Make the meat sauce: Start by dicing one yellow onion and mincing three cloves of garlic.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium. Once hot, add ½ lb. Italian sausage and cook until browned. The sausage should look deeply browned in spots, which gives the sauce a more savory flavor from the start.
Add the diced onion and minced garlic to the browned sausage. Cook and stir for a few more minutes, until the onions are softened and translucent and the garlic smells fragrant. This gives the sauce a flavorful base before the tomatoes go in.
This is what your skillet should look like once the onions have softened with the browned sausage. The onions should look glossy and tender, and the sausage should be broken into small pieces so every slice of casserole gets a little meat in the sauce.
Now pour in one 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes, 3 oz. tomato paste, ½ tsp Italian seasoning, ½ tsp salt, and ½ cup water to the skillet. The tomato paste and crushed tomatoes give the sauce enough body to coat the spaghetti and hold up through baking.
Stir: Stir the sauce until everything is well combined, and then let the sauce simmer while you make the pasta. This gives the sauce time to thicken slightly and develop a deeper flavor without adding extra time to the recipe.
Preheat your oven to 350ºF and cook the spaghetti. Add ½ Tbsp salt to a large pot of water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add 12 oz. spaghetti and cook until just shy of tender; when you bite into a piece, the center should still look faintly chalky because the pasta will finish cooking in the oven. Drain the spaghetti in a colander, but don’t rinse it.
Make the cheese mix: While the pasta is cooking, prepare the cheese layer. Add 1 cup small curd cottage cheese, ¼ cup grated Parmesan, and ¼ tsp pepper.
Stir the cheese layer ingredients together until well combined.
Assemble the casserole: Stir the drained spaghetti into the simmered meat sauce. The pasta should be well coated so it can soak up the sauce as it bakes.
Lightly grease one 8×11-inch (or 2-liter) casserole dish. Add half of the spaghetti and meat sauce to the bottom of the baking dish, then top with the cottage cheese mixture. Try to keep the cheese layer fairly even so the casserole slices nicely after baking.
Now layer the second half of the spaghetti and meat sauce over top, then sprinkle with 1 cup of shredded mozzarella. Try to evenly distribute the mozzarella across the entire surface of the spaghetti for a deliciously golden, cheesy top!
Bake: Cover the casserole dish with foil, then bake in the preheated 350ºF oven for 30 minutes. You’ll know it’s ready when the sauce is bubbling around all four edges, and the mozzarella is fully melted. The foil traps gentle steam so the layers melt together and the center stays creamy.
For a golden top, broil for 2-3 minutes after baking (optional). It’s ready when deep golden-brown patches appear on the mozzarella, any spaghetti poking through gets a little crispy, and the smell shifts from savory to toasty.
Let the casserole rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing; it may look slightly loose at first, but it will firm up into cohesive, saucy slices with thick sauce clinging to the pasta instead of pooling in the dish. You can top with chopped parsley garnish for visual effect, but it’s not needed for flavor. Enjoy!
Storage & Reheating
After baking, slice the baked spaghetti into six servings and refrigerate. The spaghetti will stay good in the fridge for about 3-4 days, or, once fully chilled, you can package up individual slices and freeze them for longer storage. This dish is so perfect for meal prepping. It’s such a lifesaver to be able to pull a serving of this out of the back of the freezer on a busy night! Let it thaw before reheating in the microwave or in a foil-covered baking dish in the oven until heated through.
Try These Baked Pasta Recipes Next!
- This Classic Baked Ziti layers pasta, homemade sausage red sauce, ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan into one big bubbly casserole.
- I love Baked Mostaccioli for a big family dinner because it makes enough for leftovers without feeling complicated!
- Our homemade Chicken Spaghetti is a pasta lover’s dinner with golden chicken, a smooth homemade sauce, and melted cheese on top.
- Ham Tetrazzini turns leftover ham into a creamy baked spaghetti casserole with mushrooms, peas, and cheddar cheese.
More Easy Spaghetti Recipes
Our Baked Spaghetti recipe was originally published 9/29/12. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 9/8/25.
