Pizza Pasta Pie Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Fresh-cooked spaghetti forms the "crust" for this deep dish "pizza" casserole layered with ricotta cheese, meaty marinara, and melted mozzarella cheese. This quick and easy dish is part pizza, part pasta, and part pie--and it delivers the flavor of lasagna. This spaghetti casserole can also be assembled ahead and refrigerated until you are ready to bake it.

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: baked pasta, baked pizza pasta, baked pizza pasta pie

Servings:

Author: Martha McKinnon | Simple Nourished Living

Equipment

Ingredients

6 ounces dry spaghetti
1 large egg, lightly beaten
6 tablespoons grated Parmesan, divided
1/2 pound extra-lean ground beef
2 cups sliced mushrooms, optional
1-1/2 cups marinara sauce (such as Classico tomato basil)
1/2 teaspoon oregano (I used Italian seasoning instead)
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
3/4 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Lightly spray a 9-inch pie plate with cooking spray.
The first step is to prepare the spaghetti. Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions, drain, rinse and shake well to remove excess water. Place the spaghetti in a large bowl and toss with the egg and 4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) of the Parmesan cheese. Press the spaghetti onto the bottom and up the sides of the prepared pie plate and set aside.
Next prepare the meat sauce. Spray a large non-stick skillet with cooking spray and place it over medium high heat. Add the beef and mushrooms, if using, and cook until the beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes or so. Add the marinara sauce and oregano. Stir it to mix it with the meat and cook 2 to 3 minutes, then remove from the heat.
Then assemble the pizza pasta pie. Stir the ricotta well to loosen it and then and spoon it onto the spaghetti crust, spreading it out evenly. Spoon the meat sauce over the ricotta layer. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and remaining Parmesan cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes or until fully heated through. Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes before cutting into six wedges to serve.

Notes

Servings: 6

WW Points: 5

Check your WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app.
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)

9 SmartPoints (Green plan)

9 SmartPoints (Blue plan)

9 SmartPoints (Purple plan)

8 PointsPlus (Old plan)

My go to jarred marinara sauce when I'm paying close attention to WW Points is Classico Tomato Basil. It tastes great and has only 2 WW Points per half cup serving.

The mushrooms are optional but do add bulk for Zero Points. I would have added them, except my sister, who abhors mushrooms, was having dinner with us.

Using fat-free ricotta, instead of part skim, will shave 1 Point.

This recipe is very flexible. Add pizza toppings to suit your tastes. Bell pepper, olives, and pepperoni would all be delicious. Just be sure to adjust the Points if you are following WW.

It also can be assembled ahead and refrigerated until you are ready to bake it.

Nutrition