This freezer friendly Spaghetti Casserole with meatballs is a delicious family dinner!
This Spaghetti Casserole recipe might just become your go-to family dinner. It is the best family dinner recipe. And it is so easy to make.
When life gets crazy, it helps to know you have dinner covered. If you have this baked spaghetti casserole stashed in your freezer, you know dinner is as good as done. It’s one of my all-time favorite freezer meals.
This recipe is quick and easy to make and can be easily halved or doubled based on your family size. I love that there are layers upon layers of deliciousness in this spaghetti meatball casserole.
Baked Spaghetti Casserole with Meatballs
This baked spaghetti casserole recipe starts with cooked spaghetti noodles. The sauce layer is your favorite jarred or homemade marinara (this is my favorite 30 minute marinara recipe) doctored up just a little bit. The cheese mixture includes ricotta cheese, sour cream, garlic, parsley and Italian seasoning. Then it’s topped with a layer of meatballs and a blanket of mozzarella.
One of my favorite things about this spaghetti casserole bake is I can easily adjust the amount. Many times, I end up doubling the recipe and freezing one so that I have an extra spaghetti meatball casserole for another meal. This is a huge time-saver on busy nights when we’re running around to activities.
Other times, I will halve the recipe and make smaller portions to share with my mother in law. I simply cut the ingredients in half (you can even adjust the servings in my recipe card below to change the amounts of the ingredients) and layer them in a disposable loaf pan.
Or make a full batch, and split the ingredients between two loaf pans. I just low how flexible this easy baked spaghetti casserole is.
For the meatball layer in this casserole, I simply sliced each meatball in half and arranged them in an even layer on top of the spaghetti and cheese layers.
How to Make This Spaghetti Casserole Recipe
Begin by placing a layer of cooked spaghetti noodles in a baking dish. Then top it with the cheese mixture, followed by another spaghetti layer.
Next, place an even layer of meatballs on top of the casserole and cover it with slices of mozzarella cheese. You can also use shredded mozzarella if you prefer.
This recipe is often referred to as Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole and it’s easy to see why – it taste like a million bucks!
Looking for More Easy Casserole Recipes
- Chicken Spaghetti
- Easy Meatball Casserole
- Garlic Parmesan Chicken Pasta
- Chicken and Broccoli Tortellini Casserole
Looking for more? Check out all of the casserole recipes on It Is a Keeper.
Items You Need to Make Spaghetti Casserole Bake
- Baking Dish
<= I love this one!
- Pasta Cooker
- Cheese grater
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Spaghetti Casserole with Meatballs
Ingredients
- 16 ounces spaghetti - cooked according to package directions and drained
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion - chopped
- 4 cloves garlic - minced
- 3 teaspoons Italian Seasoning Blend - divided
- 2 24 ounce jars marinara sauce - or equal amounts of homemade sauce
- 16 ounces ricotta cheese
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon House Seasoning Blend
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese - divided
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese - divided
- 1 12 ounce package Cooked Perfect Italian Meatballs
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cook spaghetti according to package directions, drain and return to pot.
- In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.
- Add onion and cook until soft and translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Stir in garlic and 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning Blend and saute for 30 seconds or until fragrant.
- Remove from heat and add to cooked spaghetti.
- Add both jars of sauce to the spaghetti and toss to combine; set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese, sour cream, 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning Blend, House Seasoning Blend, 1 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Set aside.
- Spread half of the cooked spaghetti in a baking dish.
- Spread the cheese mixture evenly over spaghetti and top with the remaining spaghetti.
- Slice meatballs in half and place them in an even layer on top of spaghetti casserole.
- Top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheese and bake in preheated for 30 minutes or until casserole is heated through.
Nutrition
- Want to scale a recipe up or down? Simply type in a new serving amount and the recipe will automatically adjust!
- When a recipe call for House Seasoning Blend, you can use this recipe or substitute salt and pepper to taste.
- I always use unsalted butter in my recipes.
- I always use a meat thermometor to test for doneness when cooking meat. This one is my favorite.
- When a recipe is made in the oven, it should be pre-heated to the temperature in the recipe, unless otherwise noted.
- The nutritional information provided in this recipe is an estimate. Learn more on how I calculate nutritional information for my recipes.
Jennie says
The perfect dinner! We love meals like this that can freeze easy.
Christina Hitchcock says
So glad you like it! 🙂
Joanie says
This is such a wonderful recipe! I love that the recipe can be halved. Since my husband and I are “almost” empty-nesters, we don’t need to make as much as we used to. So happy it’s freezer friendly too!
Christina Hitchcock says
I’m so glad you liked it!: )
Taryn says
We love Cooked Perfect meatballs! I can’t wait to try this new variety. Thank you for telling us about them!
Rosemary says
Hi Christina anything spaghetti and meatballs and my family will eat it up. This looks so delicious, I plan on making it tomorrow night for dinner. Thanks for the Recipe.
Christina Hitchcock says
I’m so glad you liked it!
Susanne says
Pasta is my love language and this recipe is talking to me for sure! I love that you add the shortcut of store bought meatballs to make this dinner perfect for any night of the week!
Sues says
I tend to put dinners in my freezer and then forget about them… But this I would NOT forget about ever! In fact, it might not even make sense to freeze it because I’d just be thawing it the next day LOL. Seriously though, it looks fabulous- also the perfect meal to bring to friends who have just had a baby!