Spaghetti pie is the perfect dish for a kid friendly weeknight dinner or to serve to a group of hungry guests. This spaghetti pie recipe pulls together all of the best aspects of a comforting Italian classic – pasta – cheese, a zesty meat sauce, and more cheese!
Serve with a green salad tossed with Italian vinaigrette dressing and a loaf of warm garlic bread. After all, when it comes to spaghetti pie, it’s all about no fuss basics!
Spaghetti Pie Ingredient Prep
Spaghetti pie is exactly what it sounds like. A crust of spaghetti & cheese topped with our favorite Homemade Spaghetti Sauce and more cheese. The whole thing is baked until bubbly and then sliced and served like a pie.
What’s in Spaghetti Pie? Spaghetti pie casserole is layered and the flavors remind me of lasagna (but I think it’s easier to prepare).
- Crust
- The “crust” is made of noodles mixed with eggs and cheese.
- The eggs bind everything together so that you can easily cut your baked spaghetti pie into wedges.
- We use spaghetti but any long pasta will work in this recipe.
- Sauce
- This recipe uses a version of my favorite pasta sauce recipe.
- Simmer the sauce to make sure it’s thickened.
- Feel free to add in veggies like diced peppers, mushrooms and zucchini.
- Cheeses
- A ricotta layer makes this recipe creamy. Add in your favorite herbs to this layer.
- You can use cottage cheese in place of ricotta. Cottage cheese has a bit more liquid so you may like to drain it a little bit.
- If you’re in a pinch, this recipe can be made without the ricotta layer.
How to Make Spaghetti Pie
What I love best about this spaghetti pie recipe is that it’s a terrific make-in-advance dinner that can be ready at a moment’s notice. It will keep in the refrigerator for a couple of days unbaked.
- Cook the spaghetti noodles al dente (they’ll cook a bit more in the oven) and toss with eggs and cheese. Press into a deep dish pie pan.
- Brown beef and stir in pasta sauce (or marinara sauce) and tomatoes. Simmer to thicken.
- Layer ricotta and meat sauce over spaghetti noodles. Top with cheese and bake.
Leftover Spaghetti Pie
Leftovers can be refrigerated about 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave or oven until hot (time will vary based on portion sizes).
Leftovers can also be frozen in single portions for lunches. Defrost overnight in the fridge and microwave until heated through.
To Prepare Ahead of Time: Spaghetti pie is practically tailor made as make-in-advance meal for the freezer. Just prepare it as described here, but don’t bake. Instead, pop it in the freezer. When it’s frozen, take it out of the dish and transfer to a large, plastic baggie. Or, freeze it in a disposable foil pan to make clean up and gifting easier.
It can go straight from the freezer to the oven. Add an extra 30-45 minutes to the baking time. Cheesy and delicious, spaghetti pie is always welcome at the table!
More Spaghetti Favorites
- Spaghetti Carbonara – Restaurant quality made easy at home
- Homemade Spaghetti Sauce – my favorite!
- Homemade Chicken Spaghetti – so flavorful
- Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole
- Baked Spaghetti – a classic
Spaghetti Pie
Ingredients
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
Spaghetti Crust
- 6 ounces spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
Cheese Layer
- 1 cup ricotta cheese
- 2 tablespoons parsley
- ½ teaspoon dried basil or 1 tablespoon fresh
Meat Sauce
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ small onion diced
- 14 ounces tomatoes diced, drained
- 2 cups pasta sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Cook spaghetti and drain. Toss with butter. Stir in eggs and parmesan cheese.
- Place spaghetti in a greased deep dish pie plate. Press to form a crust.
- Combine ricotta cheese, parsley and basil. Spread mixture over spaghetti.
- Brown beef and onion until no pink remains. Drain any fat. Add tomatoes and pasta sauce. Simmer 10 minutes or until thickened. Spread over ricotta cheese.
- Bake 20-25 minutes. Top with mozzarella and bake an additional 5 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cool 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
Hi Holly! I’m going to make 24 servings of the spaghetti pie and I plan to make your homemade pasta sauce because it looks like an excellent recipe to use! Would you say I should make 24 servings of your homemade pasta sauce to go with it? Thank you!
Our homemade marinara sauce makes 8 cups and this recipe needs 2 cups. For 24 servings you would need to make 4 spaghetti pie (since each pie is 6 servings). So you should only need one batch of the homemade marinara sauce. I hope that helps, Angie!
Turned out great I put a twist on and added diced mushrooms,green peppers and fresh garlic into the meat mixture was excellent
Delicious! Because I am a vegetarian, I used my own recipe for tomato-based pasta sauce using tvp instead of meat. I also used cottage cheese instead of ricotta. Otherwise, I followed your recipe exactly and it was a hit with everyone. Thank you.
Oh my goodness, I made this last night for dinner and it was out of this world. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Will definitely try this recipe
Let us know how it goes for you, Rick!
Delicious and easy!
Do you know if this will freeze well? Looking for several freezer friendly meals.
thank you
This dish freezes well Elaine. Enjoy!
This was amazing!!! Usually I make spaghetti pie with cottage cheese however I had ricotta on hand so I used it. I also made my meat sauce ahead of time. Perfectly easy and absolutely delicious!!! All of your recipes are amazing!!! Thanks Again Stephanie
Thank you so much for the kind words Stephanie. I am so glad you are enjoying the recipes!
This is one of my favorites. I use cottage cheese, which I rinse in cold water and pat dry in place of the ricotta. It is the perfect easy home style dinner.
We’re making this for the first time with leftover good quality gluten free spaghetti spaghetti and homemade tomato sauce. Hubby is skeptical but my granddaughter is going to love it!
I’ve made this several times and it just gets better. This time I’m using cottage cheese in place of ricotta and colby jack in place of mozzarella. I also added fresh spinach, mushrooms and red onions. Bob appetite
Mic drop! This is AMAZING!!! Super easy and delicious. I make my own tomato sauce and freeze and pull out when I need it. This recipe is perfect with it! Thank you!
Yummy yummy yummy!!
My husband really loves this too!
It being only the 2 of us. now, I made 3/4 amounts of recipe, in my smaller pie pan.
I don’t know if it’s my oven, but i think it is, but i had to cook it 10 minutes longer before I put the mozzarella on top, and cook it 10 instead of 5 minutes after that.
I’m going to buy an oven thermometer and check it out, as its not the first recipe that had taken longer.
I added minced garlic to the ground beef and veggies mix.
I eliminated the canned tomatoes, and just used a can of spaghetti sauce.
I used Italian Seasonings, instead of the listed herbs.
Because that’s what I had in my meager pantry!!!
This recipe is a keeper!!
Thank you!
We love this recipe. In a pinch I substitute the tomatoes and sauce with jar spaghetti sauce. I also add the mozzarella at the beginning of baking because we like it a deep golden.
Sounds great
Question: I have leftover spaghetti in the refrigerator I plan on using….should I put it in boiling water to reheat it, or just use it cold to mix it with the eggs and other crust ingredients?
No need to reheat first Vicki. Enjoy!
When I was 19 years old as a single mom, I proudly used a version of this recipe from the “Better Homes and Gardens” cookbook as my first official dinner party for my parents. I was so proud. Yes, a bit sad, but 19, c’mon. I haven’t had it since! I’m now 50, and my grandkids are going to love this recipe now that I thought to look it up again. Thank you!
I love that memory, Tara! Thanks for sharing it with us. Can’t wait to hear what your grandkids think of our version!