Friendship Spaghetti Pie
The perfect meal to bring to a friend!
you're making mealtime meaningful.
You know what food is pretty much universally loved? Spaghetti. You know what everyone loves to receive when going through a major life event — a new baby, moving into a new house, recuperating from surgery? A homemade meal. Especially when it’s spaghetti, I find. That’s where this Friendship Spaghetti Pie comes in handy. This recipe makes two pies, so you can keep one and gift the other, or gift both (it freezes very well!), and it’s so delicious that it’s always well received. A layered dish with spaghetti, ricotta, meat sauce, and mozzarella, it makes for a crave-worthy anytime dinner or the perfect meal to take to a friend.
What Ingredients Do You Need For Friendship Spaghetti Pie?
It’s a hearty meal but it’s not a long list. You’ll need:
- Spaghetti. One pound.
- Ground beef. Lean. Again, one pound.
- Butter.
- Yellow onion. (White is fine too.)
- Marinara sauce. Your favorite kind.
- Eggs.
- Parmesan, ricotta, and mozzarella.
- Garlic.
- Basil. (Dried is fine.)
And two 9-inch pie pans. I like to pick up the disposable aluminum kind from the grocery store so my friend doesn’t need to worry about getting a dish back to me.
How Do You Make Friendship Spaghetti Pie?
It’s very easy!
You start by cooking the spaghetti according to the instructions on the spaghetti package. Drain it, return it to the pot you cooked it in, and stir in the butter. To the buttered spaghetti, you’ll stir in four beaten eggs and some parmesan cheese. This acts as a binder so the spaghetti pie is truly a sliceable pie and not just a plate of regular ol’ spaghetti.
While the spaghetti is cooking, you can work on browning the ground beef and cooking down the onion. (Together. It’s easier.) Then, simply stir in that jar of marinara and set the meat sauce aside. You’ll stir some garlic and basil into the ricotta, and then you assemble:
Divide the spaghetti evenly between the two pie pans…
…and then top that with the ricotta mixture, which you’ll want to spread out with a spatula or spoon.
The meat sauce goes over that…
…followed by the mozzarella.
If you’re ready to serve this or eat it, you pop it in the oven for about 25 minutes. If you’re not?
How Do I Freeze Friendship Spaghetti Pie?
You want to freeze it before the baking step. Simply cover the pie pan with plastic wrap, followed by some foil, and then freeze it until you’re ready to use it. If baking from frozen, you’ll want to increase the bake time to 45 minutes.
If you buy the pie pans that come with the plastic lids, I still like to wrap the pie in plastic wrap and foil to keep them airtight and prevent freezer burn. You can write the instructions right on the foil or lid to make it easy for whoever you’re gifting this to.
An easy delicious dinner, no work to reheat, and no dishes to wash… what a great gift!
Friendship Spaghetti Pie
Yield(s): Serves 8
10m prep time
40m cook time
you're making mealtime meaningful.
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry spaghetti
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 4 tablespoons butter
- 1/2 small yellow onion, diced
- 1 (32 oz) jar marinara sauce
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- 1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 9-inch pie pans (aluminium)
Preparation
- In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Drain and stir in butter. Set aside.
- While spaghetti cooks, brown ground beef and onion over medium-high heat until beef is cooked through. Drain fat, if needed.
- Stir in marinara sauce and remove from heat.
- Stir beaten eggs and parmesan cheese into drained spaghetti, season with salt.
- Divide spaghetti mixture evenly between two pie pans. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta, garlic, and dried basil, along with a pinch of salt. Dollop mixture over the spaghetti in the pie pans, then smooth out evenly.
- Top each pie pan with half of the meat sauce, followed by half of the mozzarella.
- If freezing, cover pie pan with plastic wrap then foil, and freeze until solid.
- If ready to bake, preheat oven to 350°, then bake until bubbly and cheese has melted, about 25 minutes. If frozen, increase baking time to 45 minutes.
Recipe adapted from The Country Cook.