Spaghetti Pie

January 26, 2022
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This recipe is a huge hit with kids, as well as us adults! This recipe is adapted from a “Cooks Country” magazine recipe, and has stood the test of time in our family for many years. The pasta mixture is pressed into a pie plate to make a pasta “crust”, then it is topped with a cheesy layer, and then a meaty tomato sauce layer, then topped with another cheesy layer. Yum! When serving, you just slice it like a pie. This is so good and makes for easy leftovers. Just pop a slice in the microwave to reheat.

TIPS: You will need a decently deep pie dish for this recipe. The pie freezes extremely well if you want to make it ahead or have on hand for a gift for someone. Just thaw it out before cooking. I often double the recipe and make two at once, one to eat and one for the freezer. It also travels well if you want to bring to a party. You can easily make it in a tinfoil pie dish for traveling or freezing. I always place the pie dish on a sheet pan while baking in case it drips over the sides while baking.

Spaghetti Pie

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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients
  

Pasta Crust:

  • 4 oz thin spaghetti or vermicelli broken into 2 inch pieces
  • kosher salt
  • 1 garlic clove minced
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter softened
  • 1 C parmesan cheese grated
  • 1 large egg beaten
  • 1 Tbsp fresh basil minced

Filling:

  • 2 tsp vegetable oil
  • 3/4 C onion diced fine
  • 1/2 lb 90% or 93% lean ground beef
  • 1 15-oz can tomato sauce
  • 3 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 Tbsp fresh basil minced
  • kosher salt and pepper
  • 1 C ricotta cheese (preferably whole milk)
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 1/2 C shredded mozarella cheese

Instructions
 

For the Pasta Crust:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and place rack in lower part of the oven. Spray a 10-inch pie plate with cooking spray.
  • Cook pasta in salted boiling water until al dente. Drain well.
  • In a medium bowl, combine cooked hot pasta, garlic, butter, parmesan, egg and basil, and stir well to combine.
  • Press mixture into the pie plate evenly, pressing pasta up the sides also to form an edge, and bake until crust is set, about 15-18 minutes. Cool on counter while making filling. Leave oven on at 350 degrees.

For the Filling:

  • While crust is cooking, start the filling. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and cook until softened about 4 minutes. Add beef and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 6-8 minutes. Drain off any excess fat. Stir in tomato sauce, tomato paste, and sugar and simmer about 3 minutes, until thickened. Stir in basil and season with salt and pepper.
  • In a small bowl, stir together the ricotta, egg and oregano until well blended. Spread the ricotta mixture evenly over the pasta crust, but not up the sides. Top the ricotta with the meat mixture, spreading evenly across the pie crust. Sprinkle the top of the meat mixture with the mozarella. Bake until golden brown on top, about 25 minutes. Remove from oven and let rest 15 minutes before slicing.
  • Enjoy!