Hearty Spaghetti Pie is delicious spaghetti baked in a pie pan topped with gooey, melty cheese. It’s a great meal to take to neighbors!
When I first heard the phrase “spaghetti pie” years ago, I was all Whaaaaa? Truth be told, I’m not a huge pie fan. So the idea of combining spaghetti (something I love) with a pie (meh) did not appeal to me at all. But then I edjamacated myself and learned what a spaghetti pie really is. Quite simply, you make spaghetti and then put it in a pie pan to bake it AND get the cheese on top all bubbly and melted. Now that’s an idea I can get on board with.
Really, I think whoever invented spaghetti pie wanted to take spaghetti to a friend who had just had a baby and wanted it all to be nice and hot when said friend decided to partake. See, bringing dinner to a friend who recently had a baby can be a challenge. You never know if they’ll be able to eat it right away or if they’ll be nursing/rocking/changing/soothing the baby when you get to their house. If you don’t want to leave a clunky slow cooker at their house, how do you keep the food warm? The solution is you make something that they can easily pop in the oven at their leisure and bake when they’re ready to eat it. Done and done. You can even use a disposable tin pie pan. Whoa.
What’s great about this Spaghetti Pie is 1. it’s freaking delicious and 2. you make TWO pies—one for you and one for your friend. Everyone’s happy, everyone’s fed, and no one is hangry. What could be better? Well, I guess it can get better cuz guess what? You can also freeze the other unbaked pie to use for later. AND a slice of this healthified version is UNDER 300 calories. Seriously. I can’t even…
I do have to admit this takes longer than my usual 30-minutes or less weeknight meals. But you’re basically cooking for a crowd, so it’s totally worth the extra time. So make a pie for your family and share the other with your bestie. Or take it to mom and dad. Or freeze it. Or use it in a pie-throwing contest. Or a pie-eating contest… 🙂
- Cooking spray
- 8 oz dried spaghetti
- 4 egg whites, lightly beaten
- ⅔ cup grated Parmesan
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 4 egg whites, lightly beaten
- 3 cups low-fat cottage cheese
- 16 oz. ground turkey (I used Jennie-O Italian Seasoned Ground Turkey)
- 8-oz pkg sliced mushrooms
- ½ medium onion, chopped
- 1 bell pepper, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups (16 oz.) tomato sauce
- 1 pkg spaghetti seasoning
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Fresh basil or thyme (optional)
- Cook spaghetti according to package directions, until al dente.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 2 9-inch pie pans with cooking spray and set aside.
- While the noodles are cooking, heat a nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add ground turkey and crumble and cook, stirring frequently, until no longer pink.
- Add mushrooms, onion, pepper, and garlic. Saute until vegetables are crisp-tender. Stir in tomato sauce, spaghetti seasoning, and salt. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally.
- In a medium bowl, combine first 4 egg whites, Parmesan, and olive oil. Once noodles are done, drain them and add them to the Parmesan mixture, tossing to coat the noodles.
- Divide the noodles in half and arrange them in the pie pans, pressing them onto the bottom and up the sides.
- In a medium bowl (you can use the same one you used for the Parm mixture), combine the remaining 4 egg whites and cottage cheese. Spread half of the mixture over the noodle crust in a pie plate and then spread the remainder over the other crust.
- Spoon half of the turkey mixture onto the cottage cheese mixture on one crust, then the other half for the other pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes. Sprinkle each with ½ cup mozzarella and bake for an additional 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Let stand 15 minutes before serving. Sprinkle pies with basil or thyme.
