Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti
Creamy baked spaghetti casserole with tangy cream cheese filling, hearty meat sauce, and melted mozzarella
PRINT PINServings 8
INGREDIENTS
Pasta and cream layer
- 12 oz spaghetti
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup cottage cheese or ricotta
- 2 tbsp butter melted
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp black pepper.
Meat sauce
- 1 lb ground beef or Italian sausage
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 24 oz marinara sauce
- 2 tbsp tomato paste optional
- ½ tsp red pepper flakes optional
- salt to taste.
Topping and garnish
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
- ½ cup grated Parmesan
- chopped fresh parsley for garnish.
INSTRUCTIONS
Prep and cook
- Heat oven to 350 F and lightly grease a 9x13 inch baking dish
- cook spaghetti in salted water until al dente then drain
- in a bowl mix cream cheese sour cream cottage cheese butter Italian seasoning salt and pepper until smooth then toss with warm spaghetti until evenly coated.
Sauce assemble and bake
- In a skillet heat olive oil and cook ground beef with onion until browned then drain excess fat
- stir in garlic and cook briefly then add marinara and tomato paste and simmer 5 to 10 minutes and season to taste
- spread half the spaghetti mixture in the baking dish then layer with half the meat sauce and a third of the mozzarella
- repeat with remaining spaghetti and remaining sauce then top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan
- bake uncovered 30 to 35 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted then rest 10 minutes and garnish with parsley.
Notes
1. Use Italian sausage for more spice 2. Swap cottage cheese with ricotta for a smoother filling 3. Add spinach or mushrooms to the sauce 4. Make ahead assemble and refrigerate up to 24 hours then bake adding 10 minutes 5. Freeze baked portions up to 2 months and reheat covered until hot
Nutrition
Calories: 520kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 25g