Spaghetti Pie Casserole

5 from 2 votes

A hearty spaghetti pie casserole made with pasta, sausage, tomatoes, eggs, cream, and three cheeses. This baked spaghetti slices like a pie, making it perfect for feeding a crowd, meal prep, or make-ahead dinners.

Prep Time30

Cook Time45

Resting time15

Total Time1 30

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings: servings

Calories: 568kcal

Author: Sharon Rigsby

Equipment

Extra-large baking dish with high sides or two smaller casserole dishes This recipe has too many ingredients for a standard 9x13 dish and will overflow.

Ingredients

16 ounces package thin spaghetti or vermicelli
1 pound Italian sausage
16 ounces sliced portabella mushrooms
4 ounces sliced and drained black olives
1 small onion minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
28 ounces can whole peeled tomatoes I recommend San Marzano if possible
16 ounces can stewed tomatoes
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
4 eggs, beaten
1 cup heavy cream
4 ounces grated fontina cheese
8 ounces crumbled feta cheese
8 ounces grated Parmesan cheese, divided
fresh basil for garnish optional

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Lightly spray a non-stick cooking spray in one extra-large baking dish with high sides (see notes) or, if you are dividing the mixture, several smaller baking dishes or deep-dish pie pans.
Cook the spaghetti in a large stockpot or Dutch oven in boiling, salted water over medium-high heat. Cook the noodles according to the package directions for al dente.
While the noodles boil, brown the Italian sausage in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Use a potato masher or fork to break up the sausage into small crumbles. When the sausage is broken up, add the mushrooms, onion, garlic, and drained black olives, and continue cooking for about 7 minutes. When the meat is browned, remove the pan from the heat and drain any fat.
Add the can of undrained tomatoes and the can of undrained stewed tomatoes to the meat mixture and use a fork to break up the tomatoes. Add 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, and 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, and mix well. Cook for a few minutes to allow the flavors to blend.
When the spaghetti is cooked, drain it and add it back to the pot. Set aside.
In a medium-sized bowl, beat the eggs and heavy cream until well combined. Add the shredded fontina and feta, along with half of the Parmesan cheese.
Pour the meat sauce over the spaghetti and mix well. Add the egg and cheese mixture and continue mixing until everything is well combined.
Pour this mixture into your prepared baking dish, then use a pancake turner or your hand to press it down to compact the noodles. Sprinkle the remaining parmesan cheese over the top and bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes, or until it is hot and bubbly, the center is set, and the cheese has melted. Let the dish rest for 15 minutes, garnish with fresh basil, slice, and serve.

Notes

Like lasagna, this casserole benefits from a nice rest right after baking and before serving. I let my casserole sit for 15 minutes to firm up, and it sliced beautifully, with nice, clean edges, and the serving held together beautifully. While you wait, this is the perfect time to toast some garlic bread to go along with it.

I made this casserole in the morning and refrigerated it before baking. Because of this, I let it sit out on the counter for about 30 minutes before baking. Even with this, it still took 30 minutes for the center to set. Also, depending on the dish size and the thickness of the casserole, the baking time may vary.

This recipe has more ingredients, more steps, and uses more dishes than most of my recipes. I actually made the sauce the night before, then the next morning I cooked the spaghetti and shredded the cheese (a food processor makes short work of this). Finally, I combined everything, put it in the casserole dish, and refrigerated it before baking it last night.

This recipe is not a quick weeknight meal, and you can’t throw it together. It is a project with many moving parts, and it takes time to prepare. However, if you have the time, it is 100% worth it and perfect for feeding a crowd, Sunday supper with the family, a Supper Club main dish, a potluck, or a dinner party main dish.

The most important finding from my testing is that I found a regular 9x13 baking dish with 2-inch sides, which is what I have and is pretty standard, is too small to fit everything. This casserole really needs a larger 10 x 15 or 10 x 16 dish with at least 3-inch sides. I ended up using a smaller 8x8 baking dish for the overflow.

Even with this, I recommend placing your baking dish on a rimmed baking sheet to catch any liquid that might bubble over in the oven before baking.

My other takeaway is for smaller families. This dish is great for meal prep. Next time I make this, just for my husband and me, I will divide it into several pans with 2-3 serving portions each, bake one, and freeze the rest unbaked for another time.

Finally, because I am one of those crazy people who loves cold pasta or pizza for breakfast, I polished off a slice for breakfast, and I can tell you it is just as good, if not better, the next day. A sure sign of a great pasta dish is how good it is cold the next morning.

Nutrition