Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Skinny Spaghetti Pie


A lot of my friends know how much I love spaghetti pie. I have been making it for a while, and over the years I have modified it to make it healthier, but it is still absolutely satisfying and yummy. :)

The original recipe called for ground beef, spaghetti noodles, a jar of marinara, cream cheese, sour cream, shredded cheddar, and green onions.

I now make it using the following list of ingredients:


1 lb of lean ground turkey
1/2 box of whole wheat thin spaghetti
1 jar of marinara (or blend your own stewed/crushed tomatoes in a food processor)
1/2 cup of cream cheese
1 cup of low fat plain organic yogurt (are you surprised???) :)
1 TBSP onion powder
2/3 cup green onions

2/3 cup shredded cheddar/jack cheese

***And before you wonder how something that contains cream cheese and shredded cheddar can be healthy, think about this. You are going to eat one serving of this dish (which is definitely filling), which means you will only be eating 1/6 of the entire pie. 1/6 of 2/3 of a cup of shredded cheese isn't much (it's 1/9 of a cup to be exact). You will also only be eating 1/12 a cup of cream cheese in your serving. That is miniscule. Sure, you can use low fat cream cheese and low fat cheese, but I generally prefer not to (especially for the cheese; lowfat cheese is NOT the same). Stick to the serving size and you'll be full, happy, and healthy. :) ***


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Brown the turkey and drain the grease (you may not have to drain any grease if the turkey is lean enough). Pour in the jar of marinara, and simmer on low for 15 minutes while stirring occasionally.

Cook the spaghetti according to the package, which should be pretty quick since you are using thin spaghetti. Drain and set aside.

In a mixing bowl, blend the cream cheese, yogurt, onion powder, and chopped green onions.

Pour the cooked pasta into a greased (100% canola oil spray) baking dish (I used a piece of Polish pottery that is slightly larger, but you can use an 8x8 glass dish). Using a spatula, pour and smooth the yogurt mixture over the pasta. For the third layer, you will pour the ground turkey mixture over the yogurt mixture. Finally, sprinkle the shredded cheese evenly over the top. Place the baking dish in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.


Pull it out of the oven, let it cool for 10 minutes, then serve with a side salad.



This recipe yields six servings.

2 comments:

  1. "that is miniscule"

    haha, i love it! and your spaghetti pie!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds yummy and kid friendly! Plain yogurt is a great sub for sour cream!

    ReplyDelete