This baked Spaghetti Pie recipe is easy enough for a busy weeknight meal and sure to be loved by the entire family. It’s also a great take-and-bake meal for a family or friend in need.

This is one of my go-to kid-friendly dishes when I need something easy that I know everyone will love or when I need to take someone a meal. Other meals that fit this criteria include Cheese Enchiladas, Chicken Tacos, or Homemade Lasagna.

A slice of baked Spaghetti PIe being lifted from a pie dish to serve.

My family never grows tired of this spaghetti pie. Think classic spaghetti, reinvented into a family-pleasing baked casserole. This is my mom’s recipe she made for our family all the time growing up. It’s still one of her go-to meals whenever she is bringing a family dinner because you can count on the entire family to love it, no matter their age.

How to make Spaghetti Pie:

Prepare Spaghetti Noodles: Add hot cooked noodles, butter, parmesan cheese, basil and beaten egg to a large bowl and toss well to combine. The egg and parmesan cheese help the noodles to hold their shape when you cut the pie. Press mixture firmly into pie dish.

Spaghetti noodles in a glass bowl with egg, parmesan cheese, butter, and basil to make easy Spaghetti PIe.

Layer Cottage Cheese: Spread a thin layer of cottage cheese over top (you could substitute ricotta if you like).

Cottage cheese spread on top of a layer of spaghetti noodles for Italian spaghetti pie.

Add Spaghetti Sauce: Top with spaghetti sauce. You could use my homemade spaghetti sauce, marinara sauce or store-bought pasta sauce. You’ll need about 1 ½ cups of sauce.

Spaghetti Sauce poured on top of a layer of cottage cheese in a pie dish to make the best Spaghetti Pie recipe.

Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes. I like to sprinkle the top of the sauce with a little extra parmesan cheese, but that’s optional. I love how bubbly, warm and delicious it gets when it bakes.

A meatless Spaghetti Pie recipe just out of the oven with fresh basil on top, ready to serve.

Serve: Allow it to cool for a few minutes and then slice and serve it like you would a pie. Serve with fresh basil sprinkled on top, a side salad and crusty bread or breadsticks.

A slice of Spaghetti Pie on a plate with a green salad, ready to enjoy.

Make-Ahead and Freezing Instructions: 

To Make Ahead: Make the spaghetti pie completely, but don’t bake it. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours, until ready to bake. If you want to prepare it more than 1 day in advance, I would suggest not adding the pasta sauce until right before you bake it (otherwise liquid from the sauce may pool at the bottom of the pan while it sits in the fridge for so long).

To Freeze: Cook the noodles just barely until al dente (don’t overcook). Assemble the pie, cover with a double layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. (Spray the bottom layer of aluminum foil with non-stick cooking spray). Thaw in the fridge before baking. I like to serve with extra sauce, since some of the sauce will have soaked up in the noodles over time.

Recipe Variations:

  • Meat in the Sauce: Use my easy spaghetti sauce with meat, or add cooked ground beef to the marinara sauce.
  • Cottage Cheese: Ricotta may be substituted. 
  • Baking Dish: This recipe fits a deep dish pie pan or you could use a 8×8” square (or similar size) casserole dish.

More Kid-Friendly Meals:

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Recipe

A slice of Spaghetti Pie on a plate with a green salad.
Prep 15 minutes
Cook 20 minutes
Total 35 minutes
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Equipment

Ingredients
 
 

Instructions
 

  • Lightly grease a deep dish pie plate with cooking spray*
  • Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions. Drain, and add hot noodles to a large bowl.
  • In a small bowl, beat the egg. Add the butter and the warm pasta. Toss until butter is melted. Add parmesan cheese, basil, and a little salt and pepper and toss everything gently to combine. Empty pasta mixture into prepared pie pan and pat firmly into pan.
  • Spread cottage cheese evenly over the top of the pasta. Spoon your favorite spaghetti sauce over top and smooth into an even layer.
  • Bake at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes. Allow to cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing into wedges and serving.
  • Store leftover spaghetti pie in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat in the microwave.

Notes

  • Meat in the Sauce: Use my easy spaghetti sauce with meat, or add cooked ground beef to the marinara sauce.
  • Cottage Cheese: Ricotta may be substituted. 
  • Baking Dish: This recipe fits a deep dish pie pan or you could use a 8×8” square (or similar size) casserole dish.
Make Ahead Instructions: Make the spaghetti pie completely, but don’t bake it. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours, until ready to bake. If you want to prepare it more than 1 day in advance, I would suggest not adding the pasta sauce until right before you bake it (otherwise liquid from the sauce may pool at the bottom of the pan while it sits in the fridge for so long).
Freezing Instructions: Cook the noodles just barely until al dente (don’t overcook). Assemble the pie, cover with a double layer of aluminum foil and freeze for up to 3 months. (Spray the bottom layer of aluminum foil with non-stick cooking spray). Thaw in the fridge before baking. I like to serve with extra sauce, since some of the sauce will have soaked up in the noodles over time.

Nutrition

Calories: 241kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 12gFat: 10gSaturated Fat: 5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 50mgSodium: 564mgPotassium: 262mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 548IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 151mgIron: 1mg

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I originally shared this recipe October 2017. Updated February 2020 and April 2023.

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Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

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Comments

  1. 5 stars
    We love this. It was a big hit. Will be making regularly. We used cottage cheese and didn’t deviate from the recipe at all.

  2. 5 stars
    I make this ALL the time. I make it exactly as the recipe states most of the time. Perfect! The only thing I have done differently is slice small meatballs in half and put them flat side down for a “crust” and add the recipe on top. Great for meatball lovers.
    Thank for all your excellent recipes!

  3. 5 stars
    Absolutely delicious! Family all asked for seconds. Made a double recipe to put one in the freezer. I used the ricotta cheese and skipped the butter. Also used Italian seasoning in place of basil and it was an awesome dinner!

  4. 5 stars
    Made this a couple of times. So good. Substituted light ricotta and added dethawed frozen spinach to ricotta. Added diced fresh tomatoes to sauce and added a couple of pinches of basil and parmesan cheese to the top.

  5. 5 stars
    Made this tonight for our dinner, and to bring to a friend who just broke her wrist. I always use recipes as a guideline and end up using what I have on hand. Since we’re in the middle of a move, I used Italian seasoning in place of basil. I also cubed up a wedge of Brie I had in the fridge and tossed it in with the pasta mixture. Plus, I added copious amounts of mozza cheese in the layers. Thank you!

  6. 4 stars
    Made this last night but I stuffed it, used passata as topping with basil & parmesan cheese, but I used too much & wouldn’t slice because the top was too runny, so I covered it with grated cheese & put it under the grill, that fixed it, but passata is too rich for me !!!

  7. 5 stars
    This is SO goooood, we devoured it! I adapted it a little: replaced some of the parm with nutritional yeast, used two eggs, and added a bit of leftover feta. Used Raos sensitive marinara sauce. Baked it a little longer too, about 30 minutes. This was a huge hit!! Adding Italian sausage or veggies would be great too! I posted about it on my Instagram page, @ThisNannyCooks.

  8. 5 stars
    Just made for Monday night dinner, trying to incorporate one or two meatless dinners and this was perfect. Satisfying and filling for winter meal. Super easy to put together. I did use store bought marinara and add a few red pepper flares and served with salad.

  9. 5 stars
    Thank you for this easy and very tasty recipe. I needed to change it up a little bit for allergies. My husband and I loved it!

  10. It was very tasty but I might ask why you would pour everything into the small bowl instead of the large bowl, and mine was just warm not hot after 20 minutes….. needed a fare amount more cooking time for me. Otherwise very good.

  11. 5 stars
    This was rich and yummy. I made this months ago and my 8 year old asked me to make it again. Great dish especially when you’re looking for a vegetarian dish.

  12. I hate when people make a recipe but make changes….. however, this turned out fantastic and I want to share. I used cooked spaghetti squash and added 2 cup of baby spinach. I covered it with low fat cottage cheese and bake as instructed with (homemade) sauce. I didn’t feel even a little guilty have a second piece.

  13. I made this for dinner along with the homemade spaghetti sauce recipe and my twin boys gobbled it up! My husband and I got a nice decent size piece..it was not a leftovers night! I didn’t have any cottage cheese or ricotta cheese at the time so I tried cream cheese. It tastes great!! So if you don’t have either of those ingredients, cream cheese does a great job!

  14. 5 stars
    Yum! My picky boys loved it. It came together quickly, too, making this a new go-to weeknight favorite. thank you.

  15. This sounds Yummy! I’m going to make it tonight.
    However, I do have a question. Would I be able to make this with your spaghetti and meat sauce instead of marinara sauce?

  16. 5 stars
    Very easy to make and so yummy! I added a layer of ground Italian sausage (cooked) on top of the cottage cheese because my husband has to have meat with every dish. It came out great!

  17. 5 stars
    Delish! For my fam I doubled the recipe. I also added a layer of meat before the sauce & covered the top in a mixture of grated & shredded parm. Doubled, it fit perfect in a 9×13 & only needed a few extra minutes baking time. So good & easy! My guys loved it! Major props to your mom! Thanks for sharing her recipe! 5 stars!