Are you currently observing meatless meals for lent or maybe you vowed to make better choices with better portion control? Whatever the reason, Muffin Tin Spaghetti Nests are a mom’s best friend.
If you are like me portion control goes out the door when it comes pasta. Pasta is my weakness and I always find myself eating way more than I should and having complete food guilt afterwards. One of my favorite ways to portion control my spaghetti is to make Muffin Tin Spaghetti Nests. Not only does each nest dish up a nice little serving of spaghetti, the nests are great for young children or a quick grab and go lunch the next day. My boys love the idea of little muffin tin spaghetti nests for dinner. They get a kick out of having something in the shape of a muffin or cupcake for dinner. It’s like breakfast for dinner but in a totally different way.
Muffin Tin Spaghetti Nests
To begin, you prepare plain spaghetti according to the box package. Once prepared, the cooked spaghetti is combined with eggs, bread crumbs, grated parmesan cheese and spices. The muffin tin is then filled with the prepared pasta and baked in the oven until golden brown.
Once baked, the spaghetti nests are served on a bed of marinara sauce and topped with fresh herbs and more parmesan cheese.
Muffin Tin Spaghetti Nests
Ingredients
- 4 cups of cooked spaghetti
- 1/3 cup parmesan cheese plus extra for sprinkling
- 2 eggs
- 4 tablespoons milk
- 5 tablespoons Italian seasoned bread crumbs plus extra for sprinkling
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- Non-stick cooking spray
- 1 cup of your favorite pasta sauce
- olive oil for drizzling
- flat parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat the parmesan, milk, salt, garlic powder and egg together in a large bowl until smooth. Pour the sauce over the cooked spaghetti and add breadcrumbs.
- Spray muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Spoon a teaspoon of pasta sauce into each muffin cup. Pack each muffin cup with the spaghetti mixture. Before placing spaghetti in oven lightly drizzle the tops of the nests with olive oil and sprinkle tops of spaghetti with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Place in oven and bake 15 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before removing from the muffin pan. To serve, spoon a small amount of pasta sauce under each nest. Place the spaghetti nests on the sauce. Garnish with additional pasta sauce and parsley.
Two or three spaghetti nests per serving, paired with a nice salad, and you will have a beautifully prepared, fuss-free dinner ready in no time. While this particular recipe is a meatless version, you could top your nest with a small meatball, a slice of pepperoni, black olives or even mozzarella balls.
Make these Muffin Tin Spaghetti Nests your new best friend – there’s a new muffin in town!
This post was written by Linda Arceo for Giggles, Gobbles and Gulps. All rights reserved.