If looking for a quick, budget-friendly, and nutritious weeknight family meal, this baked low-sodium spaghetti pie is for you! Packed with lean ground meat, fresh vegetables, and whole grains, It’s a delicious and hearty dish that even the pickiest eater would enjoy. What I also love about this pie is its versatility. You can switch it up and make it your own by using whatever ingredients you have on hand! You can choose whatever meat you’d like or leave out completely for a vegetarian meal. Throw in whatever vegetables that you see in the fridge – you don’t have to be super exact with the measurements.
I used Protein Plus spaghetti by Barilla. Love that it contains various grains and legumes like lentils, chickpeas, flaxseed, barley, oats, and spelt! Cook the noodles until al dente (you want to undercook slightly because it’s going to cook more in the oven) and press down on a pan to form a crust.
I say this is comfort food at its best. Imagine this. A dense slice of packed noodles that are chewy yet tender, creamy and saucy. I’ve found that it’s also perfect for baby led weaning! If you’ve given your baby spaghetti with sauce, you know the incredible mess that follows. Noodles are flung and thrown everywhere. With this dish, you can simply cut up the packed noodles into little bite sized pieces. It will still be messy because of the sauce, but it will be much more tamed.
Low Sodium Baked Spaghetti Pie
Ingredients
- 8 oz whole wheat spaghetti half of a typical package
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup whole fat ricotta cheese
- 1 lb lean ground beef or other meat of choice. You can also omit
Veggies (you can use whatever ones you have on hand. The amount doesn’t have to be exact either)
- 2 heaping handfuls of baby spinach
- 8 oz. mushrooms sliced
- 1 small onion diced
- 2 cups chopped broccoli florets
- 2 garlic cloves finely minced
- 1 Tbs oregano
- 2 cups no salt added tomato sauce
- Optional: mozzarella cheese marinara sauce
- to serve: with fresh basil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Grease a 9 by 3 in cake pan
- Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water for 6-7 min, just shy of al dente (pasta will continue cooking in the oven). Drain and set aside
- In a bowl, whisk the eggs, ricotta, and parmesan cheese together. Add spaghetti and toss to blend.
- Transfer the spaghetti to prepared baking pans, pressing it down to form a crust.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, brown meat. Transfer to a bowl. To the same pan, cook the vegetables until softened. Add the beef back in along with the tomato sauce.
- Spoon the beef veggie sauce mixture over the spaghetti. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese, if desired (see note)
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting.
- To serve:for baby, cut pie into little pieces. The sauce will separate so just pour on top of pasta.
Notes
Nutrition
