Every time I make spaghetti for my family, I end up with leftover cooked noodles sitting in the fridge, getting sadder by the day. I cook the whole one-pound box because I refuse to deal with half-used packages cluttering my pantry.
That's where Spaghetti Pie comes in handy. It's a casserole recipe I grew up with and have been making for my own husband and two sons for over a decade.
It's the ultimate leftover transformation: those extra noodles become a savory, crispy crust (thanks to eggs and cheese), then get topped with Italian sausage, marinara sauce, and melty mozzarella. It's part baked spaghetti, part deep-dish pizza.
Making Pasta a Balanced Meal
As a health coach, I want folks to know that pasta doesn't have to be off-limits. The key is building balanced meals around it.
This recipe naturally moderates blood sugar response by combining pasta with protein (eggs, sausage, cheese) and fat. These slow down how quickly your body processes the carbohydrates, unlike a plain bowl of noodles.
Bonus: Using leftover noodles creates resistant starch, which digests more slowly than freshly cooked pasta.
Round it out: Serve with a Homemade Caesar Salad or roasted vegetables (broccoli or green beans with garlic, roasted at 425ยฐF while the pie bakes). Adding fiber-rich vegetables further supports stable blood sugar and makes it a complete meal.
How to Make this Recipe for Spaghetti Pie
Pan note: I use a standard 9-inch pie plate (glass, ceramic, or disposable aluminum).
Step 1
Combine the egg, milk, salt, half the mozzarella (2 cups / 8oz) of shredded mozzarella and ยผ cup shredded parmesan cheese.
Step 2
Add the prepared spaghetti noodles and mix it all up.
Step 3
Put the noodles in a greased 9 inch pie plate, pressing up along the sides to form the edge of the crust. Then bake for 20 minutes at 375F until it's just set.
Step 4
Top the pre-baked "crust" with the sauce (I personally like Rao's and Primal Kitchen), cooked sausage and remaining cheese and bake at 375F another 20 minutes until brown and bubbly. Allow it to cool 5 minutes before serving.
Tips for Success
Don't rinse your noodles. Rinsing removes the starch that binds the pasta with eggs and cheese. Just drain well and mix directly into the egg mixture while warm.
Build up the edges. Press the noodle mixture higher around the rim (like a pie crust) and keep the center thinner. The center puffs as it bakes; defined edges make cleaner slices.
Let it rest. Wait 5-10 minutes after baking before slicing. This allows the layers to firm up for clean cuts instead of a messy puddle.
Cover everything. To avoid crispy edges, make sure marinara and mozzarella reach all the way to the rim. Exposed noodles will crisp (which I love, but not everyone does).
Use full-fat cheese. Real cheese tastes better, creates better texture, and the fat helps slow digestionโimportant for blood sugar.
Make Ahead Options
- Assemble and refrigerate: Build the entire pie up to 24 hours ahead, but instead of baking right away, cover it with foil and refrigerate. When you're ready to bake it, let it sit at room temperature 20-30 minutes before baking, then add 5-10 minutes to the baking time.
- Freeze unbaked: Wrap tightly in plastic wrap, then foil. Freeze up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator before baking.
- Bake and reheat: Spaghetti pie that's been baked will keep in the fridge up to 3 days. Reheat slices in the microwave (1-2 minutes) or the whole pie in the oven, covered with foil and bake at 350ยฐF for 20 minutes.
Customize Your Pie
- White sauce: Use alfredo instead of marinara. Add cooked chicken or turkey sausage for a creamy baked carbonara vibe.
- Vegetarian: Skip meat and load up with sautรฉed mushrooms, spinach, and bell peppers. Or use plant-based sausage.
- Gluten-free: Use gluten-free spaghetti (Jovial, Barilla, or Banza chickpea pasta for extra protein). The egg mixture binds it just as well.
- Different cheeses: Try provolone, fontina, or sharp white cheddar instead of mozzarella. Mix pecorino romano into the crust for sharper flavor.
- Spicy: Use hot Italian sausage and add red pepper flakes to the marinara.
More Well-Loved Family Recipes
Recipe for Spaghetti Pie
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 40
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8
- Category: entree
- Method: baked
- Cuisine: American
Description
Spaghetti with meat sauce topped with melty cheese all in pie form! Pizza meets pasta in one hearty entree meal.
Ingredients
- 4 cups cooked spaghetti noodles (8oz of uncooked pasta)
- 1 lb sweet or spicy Italian sausage
- 2 eggs
- ยผ cup milk
- ยฝ tsp salt
- 4 cups (16 oz) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (divided)
- ยผ cup (1 oz) parmesan
- 1 25 oz jar of marinara sauce
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375F
- Cook the 1 lb sweet Italian sausage over medium high heat in a saute pan, breaking it up with the back of a spatula or spoon so that it's crumbled, like ground beef. Once cooked through, remove it from the heat and drain off the excess fat. Put the cooked sausage to the side until it's time to assemble the pie.
- Add 2 eggs, ยผ cup of milk, ยฝ teaspoon salt, half of the mozzarella cheese and ยผ cup of parmesan in a bowl and mix together.
- Add the prepared spaghetti pasta to the egg mixture and stir to combine.
- Spray non-stick spray onto a standard 9 inch pie plate. Fill the pie plate with the pasta mixture, smash to fit and press it up along the sides so that it will make a pie crust.
- Bake the "crust" at 375F for 20 minutes uncovered in the center rack of the oven until the pasta is set.
- Then, take the "crust" out of the oven and top with the cooked sausage, and 25oz of marinara sauce and remaining mozzarella. If it seems like it's too much sauce, reserve some of it that you can serve on the side with the final dish.
- Bake the pie for another 20 min at 375F uncovered on the center rack in the oven until the top is brown and bubbly, like pizza.
- After the pie is baked, take it out of the oven and allow it to cool for five minutes so that it holds its form when you slice into it.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 327
- Sugar: 5.3 g
- Sodium: 1219.4 mg
- Fat: 7.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 29.7 g
- Fiber: 3.1 g
- Protein: 33.8 g
- Cholesterol: 75.7 mg
Frequenly Asked Questions
Long strands like spaghetti, angel hair and linguini work best as they weave together for a cohesive crust. Short shapes like penne create gaps and don't bind well.
Noodles were too wet when they were mixed with eggs, or the marinara was too thin. Be sure when cooking to drain your pasta thoroughly (but don't rinse), and simmer watery marinara to thicken before using.
SIMON says
It is so yummy I will definitely try it at home.
suzanne says
Hi Joanie, great idea but.....doesn't the spaghetti get all hard and crispy when you bake the shell? nothing worse than hard dried out spaghetti strings. Would like to give this a go, so will await your feedback.
many thanks!!
Joanie Simon says
Hi Suzanne, so yep, the edges that aren't covered in sauce do get a little crisp, but since they're cooked they aren't hard like eating uncooked pasta, if that makes sense. The little bit of crispy edge reminds me of kugel, if you've ever tried that. The cheese and egg that the noodles are mixed with add texture. But, that said, if you think you might not be into that edge, then I'd recommend not building up the noodles to the edge, just keep them as a single layer in the pan and then layer the sauce and toppings all the way to cover the whole thing. Always fun to modify to tastes ๐
suzanne says
........the strings of spaghetti not submerged is what i mean ๐
Patti says
Hi, this looks yummy! Just wondering if you mean 33 ozs of sauce, you mention 8 ozs mixed with the egg mixture, and 25 ozs on top of the meat. Thanks for clarifying
Joanie Simon says
Hi Patti. Thanks for asking. No, it's 25 oz of sauce. There's no sauce in the egg mixture. Perhaps the 8oz of spaghetti pasta listed in step 4 you read as pasta sauce? The sauce only goes on top, not into the crust, if that makes sense. Cheers!