Spaghetti Casserole
Make low-carb Spaghetti Casserole with Palmini Pasta for a delicious comfort food dish that’s perfect when you want pasta without the carbs! Or make the original version with whole wheat spaghetti. This will be delicious either way!
PIN low-carb Spaghetti Casserole to try it later!
I’ve been experimenting with Palmini Low-Carb Pasta, and my niece Kara and I have made some tasty recipes with the noodles made with hearts of palm, learning some tricks along the way to give the best flavor with this interesting ingredient. And we loved this low-carb version of Spaghetti Casserole that has Palmini Angel Hair Pasta, Italian Sausage, Ricotta Cheese, Mozzarella, Rao’s Pasta Sauce and the perfect seasonings.
The is just the kind of comfort food dinner that won’t taste a bit like it’s low in carbs! And it makes eight generous servings, so you can have it again another time, or even put some in the freezer! This is an updated version of a Spaghetti Casserole recipe I made for years with whole wheat spaghetti, and if that suits you better you can also find those instructions in the post.
What ingredients do you need?
Why did we use Palmini Angel Hair for this recipe?
The Palmini Angel Hair (affiliate link) is actually more like thin spaghetti and it comes in cans or packages. It worked perfectly in this recipe, but you could also use Palmini Linguini if that’s what you have. And I know there are other brands of pasta made with hearts of palm; I haven’t tried those but I feel sure they would also work.
Do you really need to use two cans or packages of Palmini Angel Hair?
One drawback to the Palmini Pasta (affiliate link) is definitely the cost, and we were hesitant to use two cans (or packages) in one recipe. But we really did need that much pasta, and this recipe makes eight generous servings (or more if you’re feeding kids or people with smaller appetites.)
How to add flavor to the Palmini Pasta?
We experimented with this recipe a couple of times to get it just right. Kara and I both feel that either pre-cooking the Palmini Pasta in boiling water or cooking it in the sauce you’re using for the recipe is essential for good flavor and texture. In this recipe the noodles were rinsed, cut into shorter pieces, then layered into a casserole dish, covered with a flavorful Italian Sausage sauce sauce and cheese, and baked in the oven until it was bubbling hot. That relatively long cooking time really flavored the noodles!
What Pasta Sauce Did I Use?
I’m a huge fan of Rao’s Pasta Sauce (affiliate link), which is low in carbs and doesn’t have added sugar.
What Italian Sausage did I use?
We used sweet Italian sausage for this Spaghetti Casserole, but you can use the hot sausage if you’d like a bit more spice. We used pork Italian Sausage but turkey sausage would be great if you can find it. This casserole can also be made with ground beef if you prefer.
How to make low-carb Spaghetti Casserole:
(These photos show the Spaghetti Casserole being made with Palmini Angel Hair. Scroll down for complete recipe with nutritional information and instructions for making this with Whole Wheat Spaghetti. .)
- Spray a 9″ x 12 ” casserole dish with non-stick spray.
- Drain 2 cans Palmini Angel Hair into a colander, rinse well, use kitchen shears to cut Palmini into slightly shorter pieces, and let it drain well.
- While pasta drains, heat olive oil in a non-stick frying pan with high sides.
- Add the onion and saute about 5 minutes, until it’s softened and starting to brown.
- Add the garlic and ground fennel and cook 1-2 minutes more.
- Then add the Sweet Italian Sausage, squeezing it out of the links.
- Cook sausage until it’s browned, breaking apart with a turner as it cooks.
- When sausage is well-browned, add the pasta sauce and cook at a low simmer until the sauce is thick, about 15 minutes.
- Stir beaten eggs and Italian seasoning into the Ricotta (or cottage cheese) and measure out the grated mozzarella and Parmesan.
- In the casserole dish, make layers with 1/2 the Angel Hair pasta, 1/2 the reduced sauce/sausage mixture. 1/2 the Ricotta/egg mixture, and 1/2 the grated Mozzarella.
- Make another layer each of Angel Hair, sauce/sausage mixture, Ricotta/egg mixture, and mozzarella. Top with coarsely-grated Parmesan.
- Bake the casserole uncovered about 45-50 minutes, or until it’s bubbling and the top is nicely browned.
- Let sit for 5 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.
More Tasty Recipes Using Palmini Pasta:
Pasta with Sausage and Mushrooms
Weekend Food Prep:
This recipe has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep to help you find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!
Ingredients
- two 14 oz. cans Palmini Angel Hair (or use 8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti, broken into thirds)
- 1 T olive oil (more or less, depending on your pan)
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 2 T minced garlic (or less)
- 2 tsp. ground fennel
- one 19 oz. pkg. Sweet Italian Sausage (see notes)
- 24 oz. jar Rao’s Pasta Sauce (see notes)
- 2 cups Ricotta Cheese
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 2 tsp. Italian seasoning
- 2 cups grated Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/2 cup coarsely-grated Parmesan
Instructions
Instructions for Spaghetti Casserole with Palmini Angel Hair Pasta:
- Preheat oven to 375F/190C.
- Spray a 9″ x 12 ” casserole dish with non-stick spray.
- Drain 2 cans or packages Palmini Angel Hair into a colander placed in the sink. Rinse well, use kitchen shears to cut Palmini into slightly shorter pieces, and let it drain well.
- While the pasta drains, heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan with high sides.
- Add the chopped onion and cook about 5 minutes, until it’s softened and starting to brown.
- Add the garlic and ground fennel and cook 1-2 minutes more.
- Then add the Sweet Italian Sausage (or Italian Sausage of your choice), squeezing it out of the links.
- Cook sausage until it’s nicely browned, breaking apart with a turner as it cooks. (You might need a little more oil, depending on your pan.)
- When the sausage is well-browned, add the pasta sauce and cook at a low simmer until the sauce is very thick, about 15 minutes.
- Mix the beaten eggs and Italian seasoning with the Ricotta (or cottage cheese) and measure out the grated mozzarella and Parmesan.
- In the casserole dish, make layers with 1/2 the Angel Hair pasta, 1/2 the reduced sauce/sausage mixture. 1/2 the Ricotta/egg mixture, and 1/2 the grated Mozzarella.
- Make another layer each of Angel Hair, sauce/sausage mixture, Ricotta/egg mixture, and mozzarella. Top with coarsely-grated Parmesan.
- Bake the casserole uncovered about 45-50 minutes, or until it’s bubbling and the top is nicely browned.
- Let sit for 5 minutes, then cut into squares and serve.
Instructions for Whole Wheat Spaghetti:
- Preheat oven and spray casserole dish as above
- I used 8 ounces of whole wheat spaghetti, broken into thirds.
- Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil, add 1 teaspoon salt, then add the pasta and cook until pasta is barely done (a little less than package directions.)
- Drain pasta well.
- Follow the rest of the directions as above, substituting whole wheat spaghetti for the Palmini Angel Hair Pasta.
- Cooking time might be slightly shorter for the version made with spaghetti; I would start to check after 40 minutes.
Notes
The version with whole wheat spaghetti will have 22 net carbs per serving.
Use turkey or pork Italian Sausage, whichever you prefer.
Use cottage cheese instead of Ricotta if you prefer.
Use the lowest sugar pasta sauce you can find if you don’t have Rao’s.
Italian Seasoning is a blend of dried basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, and rosemary.
This freezes well, so you can pull it out on those nights you need some comfort. It can also be kept in the refrigerator for at least a week. I reheated it in the microwave for about 2 minutes, but if you don’t have a microwave I would reheat in a small glass dish covered with foil.
Recipe inspired by Baked Spaghetti at Budget Bytes.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8
Serving Size:
1
Amount Per Serving:
Calories: 415Total Fat: 27gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 13.8gCholesterol: 113mgSodium: 1020mgCarbohydrates: 13gFiber: 1.5gSugar: 3.5gProtein: 28.5g
Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.
Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
When made with Palmini Low-Carb Angel Hair, this recipe would be approved for low-carb diets, probably even for Keto, and it would be gluten-free. The version with whole wheat spaghetti is not gluten-free and has 22 net carbs per serving.
Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Casserole Recipes to find more family-friendly casseroles for dinner! Use the Diet Type Index photo index pages to find more recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to Follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.
Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe made with whole wheat spaghetti was posted in 2012. The recipe was updated to a low-carb version and improved with better photos and more information in 2021.
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This article was originally published by kalynskitchen.com. Read the original article here.
