We’ve tried several spaghetti pie recipes before. This one is different. It reminded me of a cross between spaghetti and lasagna—with spaghetti noodles of course. It’s easier to make than one might guess and even my pickiest kid chowed this one down.

This great main dish is made with spaghetti noodles, Italian sausage, cheese, and spaghetti sauce. If you like, you can top it with a sauce but we don’t think it is necessary.

Preparation has four parts: browning the meat and vegetables, cooking the noodles, assembling the pie, and baking the pie. None are complicated and the pie goes together reasonably quickly. (And thinking of it in four parts helped keep me organized.)

Ingredients

about 3/4 pound spaghetti noodles cooked al dente, almost tender
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1 pound ground Italian sausage

2 cups, about 15 ounces, ricotta cheese
1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
1 tablespoon dry basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 jar of spaghetti sauce, 26 to 32 ounce
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Baker’s note: This is a large dish. It will not fit in a nine-inch pie pan. A springform pan is ideal because you can cut the finished pie into attractive wedges. We used a ten-inch glass base springform pan and served the pie from the glass base.

Directions

Prepared a 10-inch springform pan by lightly greasing the insides.

1. Cook the spaghetti.
2. Sauté the onion, green pepper, and sausage until well-browned.
3. Mix the ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, eggs, oregano, salt, pepper, and basil together in a large bowl. Add the meat and vegetable mixture.
4. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Assemble the pie by placing one half the noodles in the prepared springform pan. Pour one half of the spaghetti sauce over the noodles. Spoon one half of the cheese and meat mixture over the spaghetti sauce. Cover the mixture with the other half of the noodles, then the rest of the spaghetti sauce, and finally, the rest of the cheese and meat mixture. Top the dish with the remaining mozzarella cheese.
5. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes or until just set. Remove the foil and bake for another five minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for ten minutes. Remove the ring and serve the pie.

Cheese Cream Sauce

Baker’s Note: I thought the dish was a bit dry but no one else did. We included a cream sauce in case you would like to serve it with your spaghetti pie.

4 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups half and half or one cup milk and one cup cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pinch white pepper
1 pinch ground nutmeg
3/4 cup grated mozzarella

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour. Add the half and half a little at a time, stirring well after each addition, until you have a smooth sauce. Add the remaining half and half.
2. Cook over medium heat, stirring nearly constantly, until the sauce starts to bubble and thickens. Cook over low heat for two more minutes.
3. Add the salt, pepper, nutmeg, and cheese. Stir until smooth.

Printable Version