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“Mind. Blown.” I would elaborate, but in the spirit of your amazing post and recipe name, I think that explains everything. Thanks for always being so awesome you guys!
Spaghetti Pie. The End.
I’m definitely resisting the urge to add 27 more descriptors to the name of this recipe. Perfect Baked Spaghetti Pie // Sticky Spaghetti Pie with Marinara // Garlic Marinara Spaghetti Pie with Pan Sauteed Vegetables and Fresh Herbs. It’s a disease. MAKE IT STOP. We only need to call this what it is –> Spaghetti (delicious tasty can’t get enough I even like to eat it cold for breakfast) Pie.
Ever since I’ve started food blogging, I have had this awful mind obsession about naming recipes. It’s almost impossible (today being the rare proof that it is, in fact, possible, because I was starting to wonder) for me to call my recipes by normal-people-food-names. Like “chocolate cookies” – two words – would never be okay for me. They’d have to be Thick and Fudgy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies. As if in my normal life I’d say, Hey guys! Should I make another batch of the Thick and Fudgy Double Chocolate Chip Cookies? Annnd as if in my normal like I’d be asking anyone to help me make a decision about whether or not I should make another batch of cookies.
Which reminds me, in a backwards kind of way, we’re kind of going to try living without refined sugar for the next little while. <– I don’t even know.
How To Make Our Spaghetti Pie (1 MIN):
I was originally inspired to make this when Bjork took me to a brunch cooking class a few weekends ago on his romantically planned “Date Day”. Aw, so sweet, right?
The chef blew my mind when he told us we were going to add cooked spaghetti to the egg and spinach frittata. I was so insanely hungry by this point, because when I go to a brunch cooking class and it starts at 10:30, I assume I’m going to be munching on bacon and pastries and such cooking class things all through the morning so I tragically skip breakfast, but then I realize that we actually have to cook the food (oh yeah, cooking class) before we can eat it, and suddenly it’s lunchtime and then not only am I all crabby about my decision to skip breakfast but I’m also acting a little weird because I’m completely tunnel-vision-hungry. So when the egg and spinach and spaghetti noodle frittata came out of the oven, I pounced. It was so so so so so good that I literally made my own version within 24 hours of the class. My brain: more noodles, more noodles, more noodles.
This isn’t the chef’s recipe because a) I accidentally left my recipe packet sitting on the table like a total dum-dum, b) I like to blaze my own food trails instead of strictly following recipes, and c) I didn’t want it to be breakfasty like the one from cooking class. I wanted it to be like dinnertime Spaghetti, but as a Pie. Spaghetti Pie. Get it?
So today it’s just you and me and two-word SPAGHETTI PIE. That’s all. Plain and simple, with good old jarred tomato sauce – or homemade if you’re the cool kid on the block who makes their own tomato sauce and who I aspire to be when I grow up – and creamy, melty cheese and sticky, dense noodles (noodle crust? no?) that will blow the lid off of your preconceived notions of regular Whitey McWhite Spaghetti Noodles. Not that you couldn’t use whole wheat. I actually wanted to use whole wheat (avoiding refined sugars? yeah whole wheatie) but all I had was this huge package of white spaghetti noodles that I bought at Costco when I was pretending that I had a family of 17 people to feed. So we’ll be working our way through this package for a while and meanwhile, you go get yourself some whole wheat if that’s what’s up for you in the food dept.
Even though it seems like it might be kind of boring (spaghetti noodles baked in a dish, I know I know I know), what you need to know is that the name of the game here is texture. Ohhhh the sweet, satisfying feeling of cutting yourself a slice – not a bite but literally a big, dense slice – of spaghetti noodles. It’s like when all the leftover mac and cheese noodles get stuck together and you eat those cheesy noodle clumps in a mad rush, even though you’re not even in a hurry, because for some reason they are so much more satisfying that the individual noodles and they must be eaten at intense top speeds. No? Just me?
If you’re up for chewy, saucy, dense, velvety, thick, noodley, creamy, and delicious sorts of textures, this = you.
The super packed, dense noodle base is made sticky and thick and creamy with ricotta cheese, a few eggs, and some aromatic sauteed veggies and herbs. Then it’s topped with sauce and cheese and herbs and more cheese because imma blog the heck outta this thing and I must must must sprinkle little decorative foodstuffs on everything.
Someone please just give me a spaghetti pie in the face right now for being so obnoxious.
No, like, PLEEZE.
Spaghetti Pie
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 1x
Description
This Spaghetti Pie is beautifully simple comfort food! Spaghetti noodles are baked into a pie and topped with sauce and melted cheese.
Ingredients
- 1 lb. uncooked spaghetti
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 yellow onion
- 2 cloves of garlic (optional)
- 3 stalks of celery
- 3 carrots
- 1 handful of spinach
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- tiny tiny sprinkle of nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 15 ounces part skim ricotta cheese
- 2 eggs, beaten (see notes)
- 3–4 cups of your favorite tomato sauce (see notes)
- 1 cup shredded cheese, like Mozzarella
- parsley and Parmesan for topping
Instructions
- Cook the spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and set aside to cool.
- Mince the onion, garlic, celery, and carrots. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet; add the onion and saute for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, celery, and carrots; saute for another 5 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until wilted. Stir in the spices and set aside to cool.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix the ricotta and eggs together. Toss the cooked noodles with the vegetable mixture and the ricotta mixture. Transfer to a greased pie dish (mine was 9 inches – you could also just use a 9×13 rectangular pan). The mixture will be heaping in the dish. Top with the sauce and the cheese and cover with oiled aluminum foil so the cheese doesn’t stick. Bake for 20 minutes; remove foil and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 5-10 minutes to soak up any excess moisture. Top with parsley and Parmesan. Cut into wedges or scoop out with a spoon and serve.
Notes
You may need extra olive oil to toss with the noodles so they don’t stick together.
Adding one or two more eggs will give the whole thing a little more firmness and help it hold together better. Two eggs was enough for me, but if you really want to get the pie effect and you don’t mind a little extra eggy-ness, you could use three or four eggs.
I used a Kirkland brand marinara sauce that has lots of real tomatoes and garlic, and no funky ingredients or added sugar. Yey! Use more sauce to top each individual piece if you luv sauce like me.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: Italian
Keywords: spaghetti pie, spaghetti in pie, spaghetti recipe
So many years later/ I made this tonight. Thank you for the recipe. I had some leftovers to use. This was perfect recipe for me. I subbed kale for the spinach. Worked great!
Can I use cottage cheese instead of ricotta?
We haven’t tried that yet, but we’d love to hear if you try it out!
Please please find a way to separate the praises from the questions and comments from those actually cooking the recipes! You deserve all the accolades. I need to know what issues real people encounter! Example: Cottage cheese, make ahead.
Thanks! Love your site, which is why I am asking!!!
Why do you people leave a comment that a recipe “looks great, terrific or I’m gong to try it”. What I’d like to know is did you like it? Would you make it again? What is your opinion?
Could you freeze this and then bake later?
I find it amazing that most of the responses are from people who NEVER MAKE your dishes. They just think they look pretty or sound good. What does that say?
in place of the garlic I used pesto sauce I love this recipe it’s fantastic easy to make.
So much for sugar free eating, huh? Pasta sauce? Sugar. Spaghetti noodles? Sugar. Carrots? Sugar. 6.5 grams per serving? Low sugar maybe, if you have a small serving. But sugar is sugar. Fruit has it, honey has it, pasta has it, sauces have it. What you have is an affiliate deal. Lol
Good point, Fredd! Thanks for the feedback. Our goal at POY is to use limited amounts of refined sugars, because you’re right – natural sugars are in lots of foods!
I used to make a variation of this, it was called baked spaghetti and it was layered like lasagna. The first time I made it I made it for my mom’s ladie’s mission group and there were no leftovers in the 9x13x. Strange that such a basic meal as spaghetti becomes way better just by adding a bunch of cheese and making it in a different shape!! Try Peppridge Farm 5 cheese Texas Toast to go with!!
Love the suggestion, Judy. Thanks! š
I’ve made a meat version of spaghetti pie several times as I raised my children. I’m not a big fan of meat and was looking for a vegetable version. I made this tonight for dinner and it was wonderful. I’ll be making it again Easter weekend when the whole family is in town.
Thanks!
I love hearing that! Thanks for the comment Judy!
Just made this for Pi day 03.1415! It was so delicious! I just subbed the ricotta with homemade vegan ricotta because of dairy allergies. Everyone loved it!!
so great! Thanks Boni!
Humongous hit here in England! The whole family loved it. My son who is nearly two just kept saying “more please mummy”. Five year old said “make this again please mummy!” hubby 2nd and 3rd helping gave me an inkling that he may have liked it too. Plus we had two new students who said “wow, this is very delicious”. Thank you so much for sharing. X
So glad! Thanks for the comment Su!
I am new to your blog and entirely taken with it. Enjoying your youthful & enthusiastic approach. My spirit is youthful. My years are plenty. We’ve enjoyed spaghetti pies with leftover pasta for years. Honestly never thought to include vegetables. Often chicken or sausage. Wonder if there couldn’t be a delicious Asian Flavored spaghetti pie featuring maybe ginger, five spice etc? Would love to see you take this challenge if doable. Keep up the good work… and Thank You too… to hubby for the budget of blogging feature. Utterly fascinating!
Thanks for the nice comment Heather!
this looks fabulous and i will make it for my husband and i very soon. i have to take dinner to a family that is gluten-free. do you think i could make this with nasty old gluten-free pasta and have it be any semblance of what you have created here? i worry the GF noodles will glom into a icky mass rather than staying separate. what do you think? would you try a GF version and let your reading masses know?
Yes, for sure! I actually enjoy gluten free pasta (well, some of the brands). Can you find a brown rice variety? Those usually taste best to me.
This was a winner!
I had never thought of baking spaghetti in a casserole before, I guess it makes sense like Mac and cheese but different, but wow it wasn’t just good it was REALLY I want another slice even though my first slice was HUGE and my tummy really doesn’t need more food GOOD.
And bonus my hubby didn’t end up wearing tomato sauce, which typically is the case….
I cooked it for 35 min, a small bit of it were still a little white creamy sauce not cooked stuck together, but it was tasty and I am sure the microwave will fix that up with the leftovers.
Thanks for another great recipie!
Thanks for the comment – I’m so glad to hear that Kristy!
I made this last night and it was fabulous! I was wondering what you thought about using goat cheese in place of the ricotta? I love the flavor of goat cheese but wasn’t sure how it would do in this recipe. Thanks for a winner!
I think that would be too strong for me personally but if you really like goat cheese you could give it a try!
Can’t wait to make this! One question – the cooking time at the top of the recipe says 1 hr 20 min but the recipe says “cook for 20 min then uncover and cook for 5 more min”. Which is the correct cooking time? Thank you!
Great catch, Laura! Looks to be a typo! Follow the recipe instructions for the correct cook time (20 min + 5 min)!
This looks delicious! We would get something like this from Tucci Benuch when we were younger and at MOA with our family.
Wondering if you think this would freeze ok?
Also, I have made my own marinara sauce and I’ve got to say the jar stuff doesn’t even compare. I used a recipe from the book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and it was some of the best sauce I have had.
http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/recipes-summer-family-secret-tomato-sauce.htm
Yes! I’ve had that and it’s amazing. I do think this would freeze alright, since it’s okay if the noodles sort of mush together a little bit. š Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Would i be able to prep this the night before and then refrigerate and cook the next day? That would save me some time after work tomorrow.
Yep! I would add a little more liquid to the sauce – maybe an extra egg or two – since some of it will soak up in the fridge.
I just got a spiralizer and am obsessed with zucchini noodles – do you think this dish would work with zoodles instead of regular noodles?
Gosh, I don’t know, I have never used zoodles before! I think it’s worth a shot – the only thing I’m thinking is that they might leach liquid as they cook, so maybe use more eggs to make sure it binds together.
This is blowing my mind right now!! What a great meal idea!! Can’t wait to give it a try.
Thanks Rebecca! Hope you like it!
Oh man, this looks insanely good!
I’m excited to try this over the weekend. And if all goes well I’ll make a second batch for friends who are moving this weekend. This was a childhood favorite, but I love the addition of veggies to yours, and the height of the noodley goodness- wow! I’m hungry just thinking about it!
Quick question on the sauce- do you know the volume equivalent to a pound of marinara sauce?
Sorry! Should have clarified that. 1 pound = 16 ounces = 2 cups. But I always like to use a little more than that… I’ll update the recipe to be in cups.
Thanks! We made it tonight and it was delish! It makes a LOT! Great leftovers!
So glad! Thanks Jen!
Oh my yum! My mother-in-law makes a similar dish. I’m going to try this and hopefully the wifey’s version wins š
Hahahaa! Good luck!
O.M.G. Yes. This is exactly what I am hungry for. Like this minute. Nevermind that it’s almost 11pm and I would totally wake up my family by clanging around in the kitchen. Eh – they’ll sleep after I wake them up to eat this. Y-U-M!!!
I’ve always wanted to do a fun cooking class – thanks for the tip that I’ll need to eat breakfast beforehand! Lol – I would have thought just like you!!
“Mind. Blown.” I would elaborate, but in the spirit of your amazing post and recipe name, I think that explains everything. Thanks for always being so awesome you guys!
Wow! I love spaghetti pie! I make it too, but I have a different recipe. I will post one of my recipe sometime š