This Baked Spaghetti Pie is made with a gruyere cheese and spaghetti layer, a rich homemade meat sauce layer, cottage cheese, then topped with melted mozzarella cheese. You can make it ahead of time, which is perfect for those busy weeknight dinners.
I you are looking for a ground beef recipe the whole family will love, this is the recipe to try! This baked spaghetti pie recipe is one the kids will be asking you to make all the time. Double the recipe as it freezes very well. I like to serve this dish with a simple tossed salad with my fresh Italian Herb Dressing.
How to make Spaghetti Pie
Prepare the meat sauce.
- In a large skillet cook the ground beef with onions, garlic, and peppers. Stir in the tomato paste, diced tomatoes, oregano, sugar, salt and pepper.
- Continue to cook while you prepare the pasta.
- Why the sugar? A tad of sugar helps to cut down the acidity of the tomatoes.
- Can you use store-bought meat sauce.? Yes, but it certainly will not be as tasty
Prepare the crust layer
- Cook the spaghetti until al dente (soft but still chewy and firm)
- Toss the spaghetti with butter, egg, and Gruyere cheese.
- Can another cheese be substituted for Gruyere? I love the flavor of Gruyere cheese and how it blends with the pasta. If you must, Jarlsberg, Emmentaler or, fresh grated Parmesan will work.
Putting the pie together
- Place the spaghetti mixture in the bottom of a large pie plate that has been generous greased with butter.
- Spread the cottage cheese over the pasta. I do this by placing dollops and then spreading evenly.
- Next, add the meat sauce over the cottage cheese. Again, do this by scooping dollops and then spreading evenly.
- Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Top with mozzarella cheese, then bake for additional 10-12 minutes until the cheese has melted.
Try these family favorite recipes made with ground beef.
This post was originally published on August 3, 2013. Occasionally I update with fresh tips, content, and photos. Current update February 24, 2021.
Baked Spaghetti Pie
Baked Spaghetti Pie made with cheesy spaghetti crust topped with layers of meat sauce and cottage cheese, topped with melted cheese.
Ingredients
- ½ box spaghetti about 9 oz
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 eggs beaten
- ½ cup gruyere cheese grated
- 1 ½ cups cottage cheese
- 1 ½ pound ground beef
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- ½ red pepper chopped
- ½ yellow pepper chopped
- 1 can (28oz) diced tomatoes drained
- 1 can (6oz) tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 ½ cups mozzarella cheese shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahreheit.
- Brown the ground beef with onions, garlic and peppers.
- Stir in the tomato paste and diced tomatoes.
- Add the sugar and oregano. Season with salt and pepper.
- Keep heated while you prepare the spaghetti.
- Cook spaghetti until al dente. Soft, yet chewy and firm.
- Drain and return to pot.
- Mix in the butter, eggs and gruyere cheese.
- Grease 10 inch pie plate. Spread the spaghetti mix evenly in the pie plate. This is your crust.
- Spread the cottage cheese on top of the spaghetti crust. Do this by placing dollops over the spaghetti and then spread evenly.
- Spoon the ground beef mixture on top of cottage cheese layer. Spread evenly.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Then top with mozzarella cheese and continue to bake for an additional 10 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly.
Nutrition
Calories: 685kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 42gFat: 41gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 188mgSodium: 733mgPotassium: 596mgFiber: 3gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 927IUVitamin C: 33mgCalcium: 370mgIron: 4mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
Laureen King says
Yes baking temperature is 350 degrees, thanks for catching that 🙂
Laureen King says
Hi Donna, parmesan or romano cheese would also work well.
Laureen King says
Stacy, the cottage cheese adds a nice flavour to the Spaghetti pie, and yes ricotta cheese would work as well.
Laureen King says
That great! thanks for letting me know.
wendy graves says
i cant wait to try ,my husband has been asking me to make this for years but can never find a receipe
thanks again for sharing 🙂
Laureen King says
Hi Wendy, you will find this so simple to make that I'm sure your husband will be enjoying it more often!
Laureen King says
Thanks Mark for the kind words, and nope crust doesn't get hard just don't over cook it 🙂
Judy says
Do you need to drain the hamburger on this recipe ?
Laureen King says
Hi Judy, I drain off the extra grease.
Barb Marrese says
Love the Website Laureen, sorry it took so long for me to get here. I will share it with Ron as he will be making lots of meals now that he is retired. I will try the Baked Spagetti Pie first. Keep up the great site and thanks for sharing!
Laureen King says
Thank you Barb, awesome to have Ron cooking. Everyone that has made the spaghetti pie loves it. He may also like the Irish Stew. Enjoy!
Laureen King says
most times the meat will cook down and there should be no remaining grease or liquid. If there is drain right after browning prior to adding other ingredients.
Laureen King says
Thanks for the tip, I note that in the instructions.
Katie says
Hi- this looks great! Can it prepared ahead of time and cooked later? Thanks!
Laureen King says
for sure Katie!
Michelle Vering says
I'm wondering if you can substitute spaghetti squash instead of using pasta? I'm not super familiar spaghetti squash but I'm trying to incorporate veggie noodles in place of pasta.
Laureen King says
Hi Michelle, I don't think spaghetti squash would work for this recipe as the water content of spaghetti squash is much higher than pasta, but you can always experiment
Joyce says
This recipe looks very tasty. I am wondering how you would cook it once it is frozen?
I particularly like recipes that I can have on hand (in my freezer) to help out on busy days.
Prepare once -- Eat twice-- Perfect 🙂
Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Laureen King says
Hi Joyce, I would cook it straight from frozen at 350º for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. I am so glad you are enjoying the recipes I share.
Joyce says
Thank you so much for your prompt answer. I have another question. Do you bake the pie before freezing?
I only have glass pie plates that are 10" and I know you can't take them straight from the freezer and put them into a hot oven so I thought I would use some aluminum foil lasagna pans. (they are 11 3/4" x 9 1/4" x 1 1/2") They are a bit too small , probably a 13"x 9" would have worked better. Not as pretty as a round pie but should still work.
It smells delicious. Can't wait to share it with the grandkids!
Thanks again, Laureen 🙂
Laureen King says
Hi Joyce, can't wait to hear how the grandkids like it. I think it would be best to freeze the pie before cooking, the cheese turns out better that way. You could make the pie in one of those foil pie plate to freeze. Hope you enjoy!
Angie says
Hi! I want to make this but for a bigger crowd, do you think doubling the recipe and doing in a 13x9 glass baking dish would work okay? If so, what would you do to the times and temp? TIA!
Laureen King says
Hi Angie, for sure doubling the recipe would work in 13x9 pan. Cooking time should be roughly the same. Enjoy!
steve says
Made the baked spaghetti tonight it was a great hit with wife and son,he even asked if there was leftovers
Laureen King says
When kids ask for leftovers you know its a hit, thanks Steve.
Kelly says
Hi! I am meal planning for next week and would love to make this during the day, store in the refrigerator and then heat right before dinner. I'm thinking it could be a good pre-baseball dinner, when we need to eat early and clean up quickly. I'm assuming I'd just need to bake a little longer than 20 minutes if it's chilled?
Also, my kids don't love cheese. I know, what kid doesn't like cheese??? So, I'm thinking about doing less than the 1-1/2 cups of mozzarella on top. Do you think I could get by with less and it would still bind together on top to slice like a piece of pie? Any ideas?
Laureen King says
Hi Kelly, yes you would have to cook it longer than 20 minutes. I'm thinking 30 to 40 minutes. The spaghetti pie should still slice just fine with the reduction of cheese on top. Hope you enjoy the recipe.
Sharon Pugmire says
I use Italian sausage instead of ground beef. I have also used ground beef, but the Italian sausage makes it so yummy.
Sandy Harrison says
Made this and the family enjoyed it quite a bit. I was not sure they would but I will be making this again. It was a hit.
Laureen King says
Thank you Sandy, I like to double the recipe and freeze one.
Traci says
Absolutely delicious!! Used angel
hair instead of regular spaghetti and used aluminum “casserole” pans (doubled recipe to share). So good! Definitely a keeper and will make again.
Laureen King says
Thank you Traci, angel hair pasta is one of my favorite varieties of pasta.
Marg says
What cheese could replace Gruyère cheese? Thanks
Laureen King says
You could use Swiss cheese, Emmental, or Jarlsberg.
JxDupl says
This recipe is delish!! My first time making and I will definitely make again. I love the texture of the spaghetti “crust”. Only thing is…how the heck do you fit this in a pie dish? Are you making 2? I knew it wouldn’t fit so I used a 9x13 casserole dish…i par baked just the spaghetti crust fir about 6 mins before adding cheese and meat to get it solid in the bigger dish. Turned out great!
Laureen King says
I use my deep dish pie plate. I will add that to the recipe card. So glad you enjoyed the recipe.