This is a family-style recipe (aka it is huge). If you want to make less of it, you could probably just do it in a regular pie pan.
Don’t be alarmed by the mountain of spinach that goes in the sauce. It wilts down quickly to almost nothing.
This is my go-to when traveling and I need to leave easy-reheat dinners for my husband and kids. Like a soup, it is even better on the second or third day, making it a perfect make-ahead meal. Very, very kid-friendly, too.
This might be just slightly more indulgent than most of the high-protein recipes that I have on this site. With around 400 calories to 34 grams of protein, it is still very reasonable in that regard. You get a huge portion for that, too. If you need to cut calories even farther, you can opt for lower fat or fat-free dairy. I can’t comment on how this might turn out with spaghetti squash – try that at your own risk.
Spaghetti Pie
Servings 12
Ingredients
- 1 lb spaghetti
- 2 tbsp butter
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 32 oz ground lean meat turkey, beef, etc.
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp salt
- 8 oz raw spinach
- 25 oz marinara sauce, store bought or homemade (1 jar)
- 24 oz lowfat cottage cheese 1 large tub
- 8 oz shredded Mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain, then put the drained pasta back in the pot.
- While the pasta is still hot, add the butter, eggs and Parmesan.
- Form into a crust in a buttered 9×12-ish baking dish.
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Brown the ground meat in a pan. Season with garlic powder, oregano and salt as it is cooking. Drain off any fat that comes off of the meat.
- Add the pasta sauce to the meat and allow to simmer until lightly bubbling.
- Add the spinach to the skillet, mix, and allow to wilt.
- Spread the cottage cheese in an even layer over the spaghetti pie crust, then top with the meat mixture.
- Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Sprinkle mozzarella over the pie and bake for 5-10 more minutes, until the cheese melts.
Notes
Nutrition info is for 1/12 of the pie made with whole wheat pasta, low fat cottage cheese, part-skim mozzarella and 93/7 lean ground turkey.
398 calories – 14 fat – 34 carbs – 34 protein