Million Dollar Pasta Bake Is A Comfort Food King

Yum! Nothing says comfort food like a rich, creamy pasta dish.

Nothing says comfort food like a rich, creamy pasta dish. If that’s what you’re craving, look no further than the million dollar pasta recipe.

As the name of the recipe implies, this dish tastes decadent and too-good-to-true, yet it is deceptively easy and inexpensive to make. (Then again, 10 dollar pasta doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it, does it?)

The creaminess of this recipe is thanks to cream cheese, sour cream, and cottage cheese. You might never have considered using cream cheese in a pasta dish, but trust us, it’s a marriage made in heaven. The tangy richness elevates this simple pasta bake to something truly special.

Over at the blow Great Grub Delicious Treats, elbow macaroni noodles are used in the million dollar pasta bake, but the blog Sugar Apron uses spaghetti noodles. Any of your favorite pasta noodles will work here—just make sure you cook them until they are al dente (slightly undercooked), as the noodles will continue baking in the oven. You can even use broken lasagna noodles.

While the above recipes call for ground beef, you can opt to use Italian sausage instead, or a mixture of both. Blogger Lauren from Tastes Better from Scratch recommends half a pound of ground beef and half a pound of Italian sausage.

Or try this vegetarian version from Trial and Eater. You could also consider adding in veggies like carrots, mushrooms, or zucchini to make the dish heartier.