Recipe At-A-Glance
Get all the flavor of lasagna without all the work in this pie-shaped Italian casserole. It’s a fun change of pace from the standard Italian fare!
Ready in 45 minutes
I was flipping through a cookbook the other day specifically packed with recipes that were good nutritional options for breastfeeding mothers (who knew there were such things?!). One of the foods the book kept talking about was lasagna. Apparently it’s a great balance of protein, carbs and fat that help keep Mom’s body firing on all cylinders. And, as a bonus, it’s an easy covered dish for folks to bring over when they want to visit, and it’s delicious for days and days as leftovers.
Makes sense to me. But I want to offer an alternative to the postpartum lasagna—spaghetti pie.
Now, I’ve made my fair share of lasagnas in my life, and many of them have even been very delicious, but I’ve never, ever been able to make a lasagna that takes less than two hours to put together. (Except for this Lasagna Rosa that clocks in at a super speedy—ha!—one hour and twenty minutes.)
There is something about the structure and method to making lasagna that seems to make it the longest dish on the planet to make. It seems easy. Just a few layers of this and that, but by the time I actually pull the lasagna out of the oven (and let it set up for 15 minutes, so it isn’t a sloppy mess when I cut into it), it always seems like it’s 9pm, totally dark outside, and all I want to do is go to bed because I’m exhausted from lasagna-making. That’s where spaghetti pie comes in.
Spaghetti pie is like all the awesomeness of lasagna, without devoting an entire evening to the journey. Spaghetti pie is lasagna for a weeknight. And while it might not be as fancy pants as a perfectly-executed lasagna, it is just as delicious. Just as filling. And, I’d think, just as good of an option for new parents as a lasagna would be. And I say that as a new parent. Feel free to bring me spaghetti pie—I will not be disappointed in the least—in fact, I would feel better knowing you didn’t spend your entire evening working on a lasagna for me. Take the shortcut!
This recipe is tried-and-true—it’s one from my Mama’s recipe box and was my absolute favorite dinner growing up, and makes for some awesome leftovers. Trust me, you want to make this.
Spaghetti Pie
Get all the flavor of lasagna without all the work in this pie-shaped Italian casserole. It’s a fun change of pace from the standard Italian fare!
Ingredients
- 6 ounces whole wheat spaghetti, cooked
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1/3 cup grated (not shredded) Parmesan cheese
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 pound ground beef or turkey
- 1/2 large onion, diced
- 1/2 large green pepper, diced
- 2 cups spaghetti sauce (about one jar—use your favorite)
- 3/4 cup ricotta or cottage cheese
- 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 10” pie plate (a smaller one will work, but you might have some filling overflow—proceed with caution), set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, combine the spaghetti, butter, Parmesan cheese and eggs until well-combined. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie plate and form into a crust—the mixture will be a little gloppy, but do your best. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized skillet, brown the ground beef or turkey with the onion and green pepper until cooked through. Remove from heat, and drain on paper towels. Mix with the spaghetti sauce.
- Spread the ricotta or cottage cheese over top of the spaghetti “crust” and then top with the beef mixture.
- Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until bubbly. Then sprinkle on the mozzarella cheese and bake an additional five minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
- Remove from oven and let cool and set up for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Cut into six pie-shaped slices and serve.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1 servingAmount Per Serving: Calories: 399Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 10gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 152mgSodium: 684mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 3gSugar: 6gProtein: 30g
At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.
