| Level: | Easy |
| Total: | 45 min |
| Prep: | 10 min |
| Inactive: | 10 min |
| Cook: | 25 min |
| Yield: | 4 servings |
Ingredients
- Butter, for greasing the pans
- Kosher salt
- 1/2 box spaghetti (about 8 ounces)
- 2 packed cups spinach leaves, finely chopped
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg
- Olive oil, for drizzling
- 2 cups marinara sauce, warmed
- 12 small fresh mozzarella balls, such as ciliegine or bocconcini
Instructions
- Place an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottom and sides of four 4-inch-diameter springform pans.
- For the pasta: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and place in a large bowl. Add the spinach, cheese, oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Toss well until the spinach is wilted. Set aside to cool.
- For assembly: Beat the Parmesan, milk, salt and egg together in a large bowl until smooth. Pour the sauce over the spaghetti mixture until well combined. Twirl 1/2 cupfuls of the spaghetti mixture around tongs or a large fork and transfer to the prepared pans. Make an indentation in the middle of each nest of pasta and drizzle with olive oil. Bake 15 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before removing the sides from the pans. Remove the bottoms of the pans from the nests using a thin metal spatula.
- Spoon 1/2 cup of the marinara sauce on each of 4 serving plates. Place the spaghetti nests on the sauce. Place 3 balls of the mozzarella in each nest and serve.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 4 servings |
| Calories | 1582 |
| Total Fat | 106 g |
| Saturated Fat | 55 g |
| Carbohydrates | 61 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 5 g |
| Sugar | 13 g |
| Protein | 94 g |
| Cholesterol | 347 mg |
| Sodium | 2996 mg |
Reviews
A family favorite! So easy to make, and our entire family loves them. I usually double the recipe so my girls can take leftovers in their lunches for school!
it’s so cute my kids adore it
I have four kids and there is only a handful of QUALITY dishes that all of them love, and this is one of them. I think next time I won’t use quite so much salt, but it was great!! The kids loved the nests. By the way, four minI springform pans are not something I have, so I just used regular old ceramic cereal bowls that were about the same size, buttered them well, and they popped/fell right out with no problems!!
I made this with my 4 and 6 years old grandkids this weekend. It was not only easy but my grandson (6 said this was the best spaghetti he had ever had. Great! They loved the way they looked too.
I made this recipe as a whole side dish and did not divide it up in 4 separate containers. I also did not use the marinara sauce and mozzarella balls. We just had the noodles as a side to grilled chicken and it was delicious!