Recipe At-A-Glance

Get all the flavor of lasagna without all the work in this pie-shaped Italian casserole. Itโ€™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 itโ€™s a great balance of protein, carbs and fat that help keep Momโ€™s body firing on all cylinders. And, as a bonus, itโ€™s an easy covered dish for folks to bring over when they want to visit, and itโ€™s delicious for days and days as leftovers.

Makes sense to me. But I want to offer an alternative to the postpartum lasagnaโ€”spaghetti pie.

spaghetti pie

Now, Iโ€™ve made my fair share of lasagnas in my life, and many of them have even been very delicious, but Iโ€™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 speedyโ€”ha!โ€”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 isnโ€™t a sloppy mess when I cut into it), it always seems like itโ€™s 9pm, totally dark outside, and all I want to do is go to bed because Iโ€™m exhausted from lasagna-making. Thatโ€™s where spaghetti pie comes in.

spaghetti pie

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, Iโ€™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 pieโ€”I will not be disappointed in the leastโ€”in fact, I would feel better knowing you didnโ€™t spend your entire evening working on a lasagna for me. Take the shortcut!

spaghetti pie

This recipe is tried-and-trueโ€”itโ€™s one from my Mamaโ€™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

Spaghetti Pie

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Additional Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Get all the flavor of lasagna without all the work in this pie-shaped Italian casserole. Itโ€™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 jarโ€”use your favorite)
  • 3/4 cup ricotta or cottage cheese
  • 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Instructions

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Spread the ricotta or cottage cheese over top of the spaghetti “crust” and then top with the beef mixture.
  5. 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.
  6. 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 serving
Amount 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.

 

What’s your favorite dish to take to new parents?

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8 Comments

  1. This recipe was totally fascinating to me! After doing some research, I realized that it’s a popular concept that I missed out on in my entire existence.

    Printed this out and will be making it for dinner next week – hubs is a meat and potatoes guy, so I have a feeling he will LOVE it. Thanks for sharing!

  2. this sounds perfect because i do love lasanga but always ends up being too overwhelming and messy. I hope you and the little one are doing great.

  3. I *LOVE* spaghetti pie! I haven’t made it in a couple of years, though, because one member of my household can’t eat anything even remotely eggy due to texture (he’s ubersensitive to it even though I’ve never noticed it) so I may need to figure out a way to set up the crust without egg because now I’m craving this. ๐Ÿ™‚

  4. Great post! I have made pasta, sauce & meatballs. When making I do not combine pasta with sauce, so they can use as much or little as they want. But the meatballs are great because not very large and can be used in a sandwich also. So I always include a loaf of French bread. Oh yes don’t forget the fresh sprinkle cheese! ๐Ÿ™‚

  5. Sounds so good–and I love that you just validated the lasagna that my friends and I always take to each other! I shortened lasagna prep awhile back by refusing to cook the noodles and instead just adding more sauce and longer, slower cook time. Not ideal either. So sometimes I just use the crockpot.

    I’m going to modify your recipe and try it with my CSA produce bag of spaghetti squash, tomatoes, and peppers. I’ll let you know how it goes! Thanks for being such a great resource and CONGRATS on being a new mom! I love the name Juniper and I love that you explained how she got her middle names. We four named our only son for all his grandfathers. Bless his heart, people always say ๐Ÿ™‚

  6. This reminds me of my grandmother’s specialty “baked spaghetti” which was basically lazy mac and cheese (leftover spaghetti noodles with chucks of butter and cheese baked together). It was the only thing she cooked, but it was divine ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. This looks really good! I’d never heard of spaghetti pie before. Lasagna is one of my favourite foods but it’s also a vegetarian one in our home. It does take a while to make but man are those left over lunches the next day so delicious! I always take moms chicken noodle soup, fresh french bread and frozen chocolate chip cookie dough balls. If the mom has other children then I’ll send some apple banana bran raisin muffins too- great snack for mom right after giving birth but kids love them too.

  8. Delicious. I got a similar recipe from another LJ friend years ago and love making it! Thanks for the reminder, I might try it again to see if our daughter will eat it too.

    I like taking a variety of things. My new favorite is breakfast burritos. For some reason, breakfast was a hard thing for me to remember to eat and it was nice to be able to eat one-handed (and was also something my husband could enjoy on his way to work or at his desk). I also like to take something they can make that night or the next night – frozen meals are good but it’s nice to have something immediate. We had a friend bring us a taco kit – cooked meat, shredded lettuce & cheese, chopped tomatoes, salsa, and tortillas. It was great to eat that day.

    I took my BFF some burritos, an Italian beef roast that was all ready for the crock pot the next day, and M&M bars (because chocolate). ๐Ÿ™‚