Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti
A baked spaghetti casserole that’s amazingly cheesy and creamy. It’s comfort food at its best, and EASIEST!
I know. It’s the day after Labor Day, we’re just about to start football season, and I post this instead of some sort of post-Labor-Day-juice-cleanse-quinoa-health-kick type recipe.
Sorry guys, but you’ll need your stretchy pants for this.
It’s pure comfort food at its best – so no. It is not diet-friendly. It is not skinny. It is not light. It’s just the best kind of spaghetti.
It’s a spaghetti casserole with layers of pasta noodles, cream cheese and sour cream, and a meaty-marinara sauce, baked to cheesy perfection.
It’s enough to feed a crowd or feed a party of two all week long. You win either way.
Baked Cream Cheese Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 pound spaghetti
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion, diced
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried parsley
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- ½ cup whipped cream cheese
- ½ cup sour cream
- ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese
- ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 9×13 baking dish or coat with nonstick spray.
- In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions; drain well.
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add ground beef and onion and cook until beef has browned, about 3-5 minutes, making sure to crumble the beef as it cooks; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Drain excess fat.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, parsley and red pepper flakes; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- In a small bowl, whisk together cream cheese and sour cream.
- Add pasta to the prepared baking dish and layer with cream cheese and beef mixture; sprinkle with cheeses.
- Place into oven and bake until bubbly and heated through, about 15-20 minutes.
- Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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I love this casserole and so does my family. A friend posted it on facebook and I have to admit I was kinda skeptical about the cream cheese but it came out sooo wonderful and it is now in my recipe box
My family would love this for dinner any night of the week!
Another to add to my menu rotation! Love your blog. I have made so many of your recipes and loved every single one! You are the best!
Hi, this recipe looks sensational, but just wondering is Monterey Jack cheese some kind of mozzarella? I’m in Australia and have not heard of Monterey Jack. Thank you.
Jo, here is a great article on everything you need to know about Monterey Jack cheese. Hope that helps!
Love this recipe! Definitely comforting!. 😀 – Regine
Hello! I love your Korean dishes especially the crock pot ones.
Email more easy Korean dishes. I love them!
This looks so yummy!! Definitely printing this out and adding it to my collection 🙂
XO Janina
http://janinafran.blogspot.ca
Do you think I could substitute spaghetti squash for the pasta?
That sounds like a great substitute but without having tried this myself, I cannot really say with certainty. Please use your best judgment.
I was wondering the same thing.. Did you try it? If so, how did it turn out?
I used spaghetti squash in this recipe and it was delicious! I used half of a roasted 5 pound spaghetti squash, and I mixed the cream cheese (about twice what the recipe called for), sour cream, and some Parmesan cheese with the squash for the bottom layer.
It looks good! I have someone in the house that cannot tolerate sour cream. Can you recommend a substitution? Or just double the cream cheese? This looks so good and I need to make this. Now.
Yes, you can absolutely double the cream cheese.
Just wondering if you omitted the sour cream and how it turned out? I don’t have sour cream but have everything else! Let me know 🙂
whole milk and lemon juice
You can also blend cottage cheese till smooth and use it as sour cream.
or plain yogurt works well in place of sour cream with a lot less calories
I SO can’t wait to try this, wish I could eat it off the screen!!! I have loved all your recipes I have tried, and this one tops it all I’m sure!! I’m a huge pasta fan, and this fits the bill on all sides!!!! I’m so excited to make it!! going to the store! Must.make.this.now. Thanks Chungah!!!
Hey girl, Jen here (Jenny) fr Springdale AR. I’m going to try the cream cheese in this recipe with Speghetti but I’m thinking I and the family might prefer Ricotta. But who knows. Keep up the AWESOME WORK.
Try million dollar spaghetti then. You’ll love it!
Random question; all your pots and dishes are so lovely, do you use a certain brand? I have oven proof pots and pans, but they are plain and boring. Love your food and photos! Making this dish this week.
I particularly love brands like Le Creuset, Staub and Calphalon.
I used spaghetti squash in this recipe and it was delicious! I used half of a roasted 5 Love your food and photos! Making this dish this week.