This retro baked spaghetti pie gets a dash of Mediterranean flavor from a creamy feta-based cheese sauce. This fun twist on a traditional dish makes a great weeknight meal for two - with leftovers for later in the week!
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When you are really into food and also have a really busy schedule, finding time to cook can be a challenge. You want to create really great, unique meals. This is where easy weeknight options come into play. This baked spaghetti pie with Mediterranean flavors infused in the ground beef tomato sauce gives you a relatively easy recipe without being boring. When it comes to preparing weeknight dinners I really try to do a bit of planning and prep over the weekend. It makes life so much easier. And helps to make sure you're not staring into the refrigerator at 7:00 pm wondering if it's OK to eat cheese and crackers for dinner. 🙂
While there are a few steps to this recipe some of it can be made ahead of time and a lot of the time required to make this dish comes from the cooking time. Check out the meal prep tips below so you can have ready to go next time you are craving pasta.
The recipe is adapted from something that found in Cooking Light magazine many years ago. Like a lot of recipes I make, I take something as a starting point, test and adapt it over time, making changes so it's easier to make or works better for meal prep.
How to make this recipe
While spaghetti pie is traditionally an Italian dish, I think of it more as a retro, throwback to potlucks and cozy Sunday suppers. There are a couple of steps to create this recipe so let's go thru them.
Cook the Pasta
Make the Meat Sauce
The meat sauce is pretty much like a traditional meat sauce with ground beef, tomatoes, wine and spices. You can make just the meat sauce a day or two ahead of time or you can make the spaghetti and meat sauce ahead of time and then keep in the refrigerator for a few days. Leftovers of this dish keep well, so unless you are wanting to serve the entire pie whole I actually recommend making it ahead of time and then storing any leftovers in an airtight container.
Create the Cheese Sauce
This fun twist on spaghetti and meat sauce is a great winter comfort food dish and using the springform pan to get that nice, round cake-like shape is a big hit with guests too!
Recommended Tools
7" Springform Pan – You'll notice this is a bit smaller than the "normal" springform pan but I think it's the perfect size for most kitchens. Unless you have a huge family or are mad-crazy about making cheesecake all time this works for just about anything. Cheesecake or other desserts for a small group - perfect size!
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Mediterranean Spaghetti Pie
Ingredients
- 5 ounces of uncooked spaghetti
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
For the meat sauce:
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
- ¾ pound lean ground beef
- ¾ cup chopped yellow onion
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- ½ cup red wine, I like to use Pinot Noir but you can use whatever you prefer to drink
- 1 (15- ounce) can diced tomatoes
For the cheese sauce:
- ¾ cup milk
- 1 large egg
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- 6 ounces crumbled feta cheese
Instructions
- Heat the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F. Wrap aluminum foil around the bottom of a 7" springform pan to prevent leaks.
- Cook the pasta. Heat a large pot of water over medium-high heat. When the water is boiling add the pasta and cook for 7-8 minutes until al dente. Remove from stovetop and drain.
- Make the meat sauce. While the pasta is cooking add the olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook for 5 minutes until it begins to crumble. Add the onions, garlic, cinnamon, nutmeg and cardamom. Continue cooking until the beef is cooked through. Add the wine and the tomatoes. Stir to incorporate. Remove from heat and set aside until you are ready to assemble the pie.
- Make the cheese sauce. Add the milk, egg, pepper, salt and nutmeg to a medium saucepan. Whisk to combine. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until small bubble form at the edge of the pan. Remove from heat and stir in the feta until it is mostly melted. You will still see small chunks of feta in the cheese sauce.
- Assemble the pie. Add the spaghetti to the meat sauce. Using a pair of kitchen tongs, stir to incorporate the two. Add the spaghetti mixture to the springform pan. Pour the cheese sauce over the mixture in the pan.
- Bake the spaghetti. Place the springform pan on a baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Sprinkle with grated parmesan and bake for an additional 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove springform pan ring and serve.
Notes
- You can use a larger springform pan it just won't end up being full to the top.
- If you are making the pie ahead of time add 5-10 minutes to the cooking time to ensure it gets hot in the middle.
- You can also bake this spaghetti in a deep pie dish.
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