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.
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.
Layer Cottage Cheese: Spread a thin layer of cottage cheese over top (you could substitute ricotta if you like).
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.
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.
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.
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:
- Pink Sauce Pasta
- American Goulash
- Chicken Pot Pie
- Egg Salad Sandwich
- Ham and Cheese Sliders
- Air Fryer Grilled Cheese
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Recipe
Spaghetti Pie
Equipment
Ingredients
- 8 ounces spaghetti noodles
- 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves , chopped
- 3 Tablespoons butter , softened
- 1 large egg
- salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
- 1 cup cottage cheese , or ricotta
- 1 1/2 cups marinara pasta sauce , homemade or store-bought
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.
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe October 2017. Updated February 2020 and April 2023.
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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.
Very easy to make and yummy. I used meat in the sauce. Everyone loves it.
This was delicious. My husband loved it.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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 !!!
We love this recipe and make it on busy week nights. It’s a crowd pleaser at our house.
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.
This was delicious and a big hit with dinner company! Thank you for an easy, tasty dish to feed a crowd!
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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!
Yum! My picky boys loved it. It came together quickly, too, making this a new go-to weeknight favorite. thank you.
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?
Yes, of course! If you have extra sauce you could freeze it for another day/another pie.
Can this be doubled and mane in a springform pan?
Sure!
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!
So easy and delicious! I’m obsessed with cheesy pasta and this is perfect. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
This is great! Any tips for saving some for left overs?
It reheats really well–store it in the fridge.
Yay, finally a dish that everyone loved!! Thank You
Can you use cream cheese instead of cottage cheese?
Sure. The taste and texture will just be different.
Egg Allergy – What could you use to replace the egg as a binder?
Hi Katie,
Here is a resource that lists some egg-binding substitutes!
This was so tasty. My son had seconds and thirds. lol
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!
One of my fav quick, easy and delish!!
Thanks so much Kim! <3
This is a winner!! My kids loved it 🙂 definitely going in the rotation at our house!