Skip to main content
Main

Spaghetti Bake

A baked casserole of spaghetti noodles, seasoned meat, tomato sauce, and creamy cheese mixture topped with breadcrumbs and Parmesan.

From the Wikibooks Cookbook · 10 ingredients
Jump to recipe ↓

Why it works: Cream cheese and cottage cheese share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 77 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Spaghetti Bake

Serves 8
Oven350°F (180°C)
Total1 hr

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C).

  2. Sauté ground meat with onion until cooked through, then mix in spaghetti sauce and Italian seasoning.

  3. Combine cream cheese, cottage cheese, and light sour cream; mix well.

  4. Cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions.

  5. Spray a 3‑quart baking dish with cooking spray.

Assemble and bake

  1. Layer half the spaghetti noodles on the bottom of the dish.

  2. Spoon the cheese mixture on top of the noodles.

  3. Layer the remaining noodles on top of the cheese mixture.

  4. Spread the meat mixture on top of the second noodle layer.

  5. Mix bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese and sprinkle on top.

  6. Bake for 30 minutes until bubbly and heated through.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1321Calories
111 gProtein
42 gFat
117 gCarbs

Counts 8 of 9 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 8 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Beef100g cooked250
Chicken100g cooked165
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Yogurt170g plain Greek100
Cream Cheese1 oz (28g)99
Cottage Cheese1/2 cup (113g) 2%98
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Saucenot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Wikibooks Cookbook.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Cream cheese + cottage cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together77 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Cottage cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together213 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  3. Cream cheese + parmesan cheesetop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together311 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  4. Sauce + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,787 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Turkey + breadtop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together822 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Ground turkey or beef
Provides the savory, browned meat base that gives the casserole its body and flavor.
Cream cheese
Adds richness and creaminess, helping the cheese layer set smooth and moist.
Cottage cheese
Contributes moisture and a soft, creamy texture to the cheese layer.
Spaghetti noodles
Forms the starchy structure that holds the layers together when baked.
Spaghetti sauce
Supplies moisture, acidity and tomato flavor to the meat layer.

The step that matters

Bake until bubbly and heated through. The casserole is built from cold layers, so it must bake long enough for the center to heat fully and the cheese to set. Pulling it early can leave a cool middle and a loose, runny texture.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (turkey, sauce, cream cheese, cottage cheese, cream, bread, parmesan cheese):

  1. Tomatofits better
  2. Spinachfits about as well
  3. Chivefits about as well
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against turkey, sauce, cream cheese, cottage cheese, cream, bread, parmesan cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

You might also like

Brown BreadBrown Bread461 recipesMacaroni and CheeseMacaroni and Cheese102 recipesWhite BreadWhite Bread80 recipesTurkey SoupTurkey Soup71 recipes