25 Reviews of Winner's Spaghetti Casserole

From: John McCaffrey

On Jun 18, 2004

You may be interested in the true origin of this recipe. It was featured in a 1974 issue of Seventeen magazine. It followed an article about how to run a successful "Class President" campaign. After winning the election, (presumably by following the advice in the article) it was suggested that you serve "Winner's Spaghetti" (hence the name). I remember this well because for years my sister and grandmother fished the magazine out of the a drawer to copy it down for someone who would ask for it at a potluck. The original recipe used the boxed Kraft spaghetti "kit" and was topped with French's "Orginal French Fried Onions". Like the author of this recipe, I long since have made it with regular ingredients, but I've retained the crispy onions on top. They make a huge difference!

From: HeatherFeather

On Oct 31, 2002

Thanks for all your kind words about this recipe. I would like to clarify something that seems to be a consistent comment from the reviewers so far. There are many spaghetti pie/lasagna recipes, which may have perhaps led you to anticipate that this recipe would also be something that you would cut and serve. This is different - it is a baked pasta casserole, similar to baked ziti, only using spaghetti and of course a different sauce. It is actually not supposed to hold together into a square - you would serve this using a spoon. All of your suggestions do sound tasty as well, but I wanted any one else who wishes to try this to realize that it is meant to be a casserole. You may also use a large deep oval casserole to bake this in with no alteration in cooking time.

From: Jen1

On Feb 14, 2002

I have made this dish twice now, and both times it has been a success. To save time, I didn't cut up the cream cheese, and that worked out fine. My family loved it. I really enjoyed it also. I am not a spaghetti fan, but this was a dish my family and I could agree on.

From: Caryn

On May 9, 2002

This is a simple tasty recipe that is similiar to traditional spaghetti. The flavor was unique in that the creamy layer had the onion/green pepper (I also added two cloves of garlic) flavor rather than the meat sauce. I did find it a bit of a stretch to spread the meat sauce into two separate layers in a 9x13-inch pan, and would consider using more ground beef and spaghetti sauce the next time around. I recently made a similiar casserole in which the spaghetti noodles were mixed with egg and parmesan cheese to bind them together. My husband started to compare the two, but after a bit of thought, he decided that the other was more like lasagna and this like spaghetti so he took back his comment about using something to bind the spaghetti noodles together. Thanks for the recipe it is a keeper in my house!

From: Evie*

On Jun 3, 2002

This is similar to a spaghetti casserole that I make, I added some mushrooms to the sauce mixture and a little garlic. Served it with garlic bread and we all enjoyed, thanks for posting!

From: Margie Brock

On Sep 26, 2004

Very much liked this. The cream cheese was a nice change of flavor. I had made this many times before from a recipe given to me by my Aunt and she used Longhorn Cheddar. I like both. Thanks. Margie

From: Lightly Toasted

On Mar 13, 2004

excellent flavor. DH really liked this, and he is not a casserole lover. I used red pepper instead of green (personal preference). It is a bit messy to serve, so I think next time I will add raw egg and maybe some parmesean to the needles just to make it a little easier.

From: Joyce2

On Feb 25, 2002

My husband and I tried this at a potluck and I begged the lady for the recipe!!!

From: Tanya G.

On Apr 1, 2004

My kids didn't like this...and my husband said it would taste better if it didn't have the cream cheese layer which would make it just regular spaghetti...so he's no help..I liked it but I won't make it since they don't...thanks anyway..^-^

From: Darlene Summers

On Jul 6, 2003

HeatherFeather, Yum,I have never made spaghetti with cream cheese before, but I certainly will again,This was a delicious recipe,and VERY easy.I left out the bell pepper,but otherwise went exactly by your recipe. Great recipe,Thanks, Darlene Summers