Whole Wheat Pasta Pie
Posted in: Dinner Ideas, Food Photos, Pasta Ideas, Toddler Approved | 47 Comments
I can’t believe I pulled it off!! A few weeks ago I saw this awesome post on Noble Pig with a recipe for Pasta Pie and I knew immediately had to make it. Of course I couldn’t leave it alone, I HAD to give it my own spin. What can I say? it’s a disease. 
As for the family, they LOVED IT and so did I! The toddler was completely interested in the entire process. Here he is stealing piece of zucchini from the cutting board. Look at that expression, I love it!
When we sat down to eat he was at first, a little intimidated by the pie piece but once I showed him how to eat he went to the town. Even the husband had nothing but good things to say. I was shocked! Although he thinks it would be better with my sauce. Ok, how can I argue with that? :)
My strategy was simple… reduce, replace and add some veggies. It’s what I always do! 
- 12 oz whole wheat rigatoni
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz extra lean ground turkey
- 1 medium onion diced
- 3 gloves garlic minced
- 1 medium zucchini diced
- Kosher Salt & Pepper
- 1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 tsp dried basil (or more to taste)
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 4 oz fancy shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
- dried parsley
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the pasta until just done. Shave off 1-2 minutes from the time given on the box. I cooked mine for 10.
While preparing the pasta you’ll be making the sauce. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the turkey with the olive oil, onion and garlic. Add the zucchini and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.
By this time your pasta should be ready. Drain, rinse with cold water and put back in the pot. Add 1/4 cup of the crushed tomatoes and stir to coat the pasta. Set aside.
Add the remaining crushed tomatoes to the skillet. Stir and add the tsp of basil. It should boil fairly quickly. Lower to a simmer.
Returning to the pasta, add the 1/2 of Parmesan cheese and stir to coat.
Spray a 9-inch springform pan with non-stick cooking spray. Begin to place the pasta upright in the pan. It will be a little touch and go for a bit but you’ll get the hang of it. I started with the perimeter and worked my way to the center. It took me about 10 minutes. Don’t worry some will be taller and shorter. Some will even have a bend. It will all work out once you are finished.
Top the pasta with the meat sauce. Now, I do NOT have patience to make sure there is meat and sauce in every tube. I just banged the pan a few time allowing things to setting and then added some more sauce until all but about a cup or so was on left in the skillet.
Bake in the preheated 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. Remove and top with the mozzarella. Sprinkle a bit of parsley on top. Return to the oven for 10 more minutes.
Remove and let sit for at least 5 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edge. Release the spring form and viola!
Add a splash of water to the remaining sauce in the skillet to serve on the side in case anyone wants a little extra.
Now, for the nutritional information. I reduced the amount of pasta, cheese and meat from the original recipe, yet used the same size pan. Using the ingredients originally posted on Noble Pig and using the same number or portions for each recipe (6), I reduced everything but fiber, that I increased. :) Here is a little side by side from Nutrition Data. Remember these are just estimates.
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Thank you! This is amazing-looking, and I’m sure its delicious!
that sounds good, I so need to get back into making some of your recipes Roni now that summer is around the corner…thanks for the recipes! :)
Oh my! That’s a work of edible art. I bet it takes some patience to stand all of those noodles up.
I’d love to make this for company sometime.
Your son is so cute. :)
wow Roni, this looks sooo good. Not sure i have the patience to make sure all those noodles stand up right. i give you credit!!
I actually said “Cooooooool!” out loud when I saw the pictures!
Yours looks waaaaay better than the noble pig version. ;o)
how many servings?…it looks soooo yummy! gotta try it! :o0
This looks REALLY good! At first i thought it was spaghetti and i was wondering how it was all standing up straight! lol
Yum. Any thoughts on how to make this vegetarian? Obviously, I’ll leave out the turkey… Worth adding extra veggies? Any protein ideas?
I think standing up all the pasta is exactly the sort of obsessive thing I’d be great at!
Thanks for all the ideas.
Looks amazing Roni — and like a fun Sunday dinner/hostess meal!
rebekah – Woops! FOrgot to mention.. 6 servings. :) Pretty big to!
O.k….so I have to say…I am sooooo impressed!!! I have been looking for an alternative to Lasagna(love lasagna) and I think this will satisfy my cravings!!! Once again you amaze me!!
Look at how much LESS FAT your version has! This looks great! I’m making it tonight!
What brand of whole wheat rigatoni did you use? All I can usually find is penne but that wouldn’t work very well.
I’m going to have to try this, and the “lo-mein” too!
this is an amazing presentation… food and art at its best! thanks, roni, for the healthier version; can’t wait to it.
That looks yum-o! Did it take forever to get all those noodles to stand upright? I haven’t been cooking at all lately and must get back into it!
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this idea!
So freakin’ cool! LOVE this. (and the toddler looks soooo much like your husband, but with blonde hair. :o)
I’m so making this next week, it looks great!
Holy crap that looks good!
OMG! I have to make this over the weekend. My family will love it! It looks so fun too!
That looks awesome, Roni! I’m totally making it this weekend! Can’t wait!
Looks like another winner!
Must use RIGATONI for desired effect! I tried using penne rigate (I had it on hand) Who would have thought a slant end would be such a pain! lol! I thought it would look cool, but in the end I had to admit defeat. They wouldn’t stay upright. I just threw it into a baking dish and went from there. It was still delicious! (just not as cool looking!)
LOL I should have warned you! Glad it tasted good though! :)
I simply cannot wait to try it! I’m sad I don’t have the rigatoni or parmesean in my pantry, or I’d do it tonight! Wow.
Hi Roni ~ I made this for dinner tonight and it was delish! The whole family loved it!!! The only problem was that my springform pan was larger than yours and there wasn’t enough pasta to completely fill it, so it kind of fell apart when I cut it. I’ll cook more pasta next time – or get a smaller pan! :)
I do have one question. In the list of ingredients at the beginning of your recipe, you have 1 tsp. of dried basil and later on when you’re describing what to do, it says to add the tbsp of basil. Should it be a tsp or a tbsp? I ended up using a tbsp and it tasted great.
Thanks again for another great recipe!
~Sandy
I used a tsp but hey! A tbsp works!
As for the pan. SO Sorry! I’ll have to measure mine and put that up there. I didn’t realize there were sizes! I thought they were all pretty standard!
that is SO NEAT! i love the stood up pasta!
This looks very good! I might have overread it, but how many points per serving do you have to count? I estimate about 7-8?
Lots of love!
Nina
I love spaghetti pie!! I have only ever made it with linguine shaped pasta, so setting up the rigatoni in that really neat formation really intrigues me!! Great idea Roni!!!
Yup! It’s 8! I forgot to list it. :)
Where did you find whole wheat rigatoni? What brand? I haven’t been able to find that one yet.
Hi Lauren!
Do you have Giants around you? Their own brand, umm Natures Promise is what I used. Also my fav brand has a good rigatoni…
bionaturae Organic Whole Wheat Rigatoni
that looks pretty fun, but i don’t know if i’d have the patience :)
Love this idea, I have it all prepared to go in the oven right now. But for the brand pasta I used I should of used all 16oz bag to fill MY pan.
How many servings is this for the 8 points?
Ok I entered it in the WW Recipe builder, if made as is and served:
6 Slices it is 8 points per serving.
Or
8 slices it is 6 points per serving.
It was delish and my family loved it as they always do with your recipes!~
My mouth literally started watering the second I laid on that. I know what I’m making the boyfriend for a special dinner this weekend! Thanks for your spin on it–I’m sure it will be just as delicious as the original and even more guilt free!
I just decided that this will be tomorrows dinner.. I cannot wait to try it out! =P
I made this last night and it was REALLY good and the presentation was even better.. Thanks again for all the awesome recipes Roni! Im always making something from GreenLiteBites =]
Do you have to use a spring form pan for this? I don’t have one. Can I use a pie dish or something like that? This looks great and I want to make it but don’t want to have to buy a pan to do it! Thanks!
Lisa…. You can use a round cake pan but you’ll loose the effect of seeing it stand on it own. Other then that it would taste the same.
Hi there! This recipe looks SOOOOO good. Where do you find “whole wheat” rigatoni? I have looked in soooo many different places without any success, so thought I’d ask you. Please let me know. Thanks in advance.
Hi Connie!
Do you have Giants around you? Their own brand, Natures Promise is what I used. Also my fav brand has a good rigatoni…
bionaturae Organic Whole Wheat Rigatoni
This. looks. amazing.
And I just bought springform pans a few weeks ago :)
Hi Roni! My name is Gretel and I was up very very late tonight looking for a fun healthy and delicious idea for breakfast and I came upon your site, the name captured me! I have to say Im trying two of your recipes today and I cant WAIT to taste them, the pizza egg looks so fun and yummy. The lettuce tacos look AMAZING as well and this is going to be made sometime this week!!! It’s so hard to find good healthy recipes that arent loaded with tons of fat or excess calories. Your blogging is just delightful to read and your personality really shines through. Your adorable child and the fact that these are kid ,and hubby, friendly just adds to the appeal! Thank you so much you’ve officially become my number one site for meal ideas!
PS. Hope you dont mind, I posted your site on my facebook account to let all my friends know about you!!!
Just gorgeous!