Rod's Spaghetti Casserole

This Spaghetti Casserole is a delicious variation on an Italian classic pasta dish. I just love this delicious pasta casserole.

This Spaghetti Casserole is a delicious recipe I slapped together one night. It reminds me of when I was a kid eating Mom's homemade spaghetti. This recipe is very easy to make and your whole family will love it!

💭 What is Al Dente

When making most pasta dishes, it's important to cook the pasta al dente to ensure to best texture possible. If you are not familiar with the term "al dente", it means cooking the pasta so it's still chewy and firm and that it will hold its shape when the sauce is added to it.

🐄 How to Handle Raw Beef

Thaw raw ground beef on a plate on the lowest shelf of the refrigerator, to avoid dripping onto other foods.
Keep raw and ready-to-eat meats separate.
Wash hands thoroughly before and after handling raw ground beef. Wash cutting boards, bowls, and utensils used to prepare raw ground beef with hot soapy water and rinse well.
Use separate plates to carry raw ground beef patties to the cooking area and cooked patties to the serving area.
Use a Thermometer to ensure Ground Beef Reaches the Safely Cooked Internal Temperature of 160°F.

There's just something about a baked pasta dish like this one that I just love. Is it the melted cheese? The way the pasta sauce evenly coats all the noodles? Doesn't matter.

💭 Recipe Tip

If cottage cheese is not your thing, you can substitute it with a little more cream cheese and/or sour cream. Ricotta Cheese would work as well. Or you can use nothing at all.

Additionally, if you don't have any mozzarella cheese on hand you can substitute for Monterey Jack or Provolone. Just make sure you pick a cheese that melts well.

While you can pretty much use any brand of cream cheese, I highly recommend you use Philadelphia brand cream cheese. You will taste the difference.

💭 Serving Suggestions

What does better with a great pasta dish than some Cheesy Garlic Bread. This is the best garlic bread you will ever have!

📋 Gather your Ingredients

You will need the following ingredients to make this Spaghetti Casserole recipe (see recipe card for quantities): Ground Beef, Pasta Sauce, Cream Cheese, Sour Cream, Cottage Cheese, Unsalted Butter, Spaghetti, Yellow Onion and Mozzarella Cheese.

🥣 How to Make Spaghetti Casserole

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a small mixing bowl, combine the cream cheese, sour cream and cottage cheese and mix thoroughly. I find it easier to soften the cream cheese first. Set aside.
Cook the spaghetti "al dente" according to the instructions on the package. Drain and set aside.
Add a small amount of olive oil to a skillet and saute the diced onions for about 3 minutes over medium heat. Add the ground beef to the skillet. Cook until the beef is browned. Drain fat and return meat to skillet.
Add the spaghetti sauce to the beef mixture. Mix thoroughly and remove from heat.
Put a few slices of butter in the bottom of a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Then layer half of the noodles in the bottom of the dish.
Spread the cheese mixture over this layer of noodles. Add the rest of the noodles on top of the cheese layer along with a few tablespoons of butter.
Pour the meat mixture on top of the noodles and spread evenly ensuring all the noodles are covered.
Bake for 20-30 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and spread the shredded cheese on top of the meat mixture. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbly.