Pasta bakes aren’t generally thought of as a “light” dish, but this one combines whole wheat pasta, vitamin-rich spinach, juicy tomatoes, turkey sausage and reduced fat cheese to create a hearty, satisfying and delicious meal that’s also healthy! I lightened this dish up from the original recipe, but you won’t miss any of the calories once you taste your first bite of cheesy, meaty pasta goodness. I used hot Italian sausage for the added flavor but if you prefer, mild would work just as well. One serving of this is very filling and you could definitely serve this to guests without them realizing it’s been lightened up. Definitely recommended!
This pasta bake combines whole wheat pasta, vitamin-rich spinach, juicy tomatoes, turkey sausage and reduced fat cheese to create a hearty, satisfying and delicious meal that’s lightened up!
Yield: 10servings
Ingredients
16ozwhole wheat pasta, I used spirals
1lbItalian turkey sausage links, casings removed
1medium onion, chopped
5garlic cloves, minced
28ozcan crushed tomatoes
14.5ozcan diced tomatoes
1teaspoondried oregano
1teaspoondried basil
1/4teaspoonblack pepper
10ozpackage frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1/2cupfat free half-and-half cream
1cupreduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese, I used 2%
1/2cupgrated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Pre-heat the oven to 350. Lightly coat a 9x13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
Cook pasta according to directions on box, then drain and set aside.
While pasta cooks, in a large sauté pan, cook the sausage and onion over medium heat, breaking up sausage until it is browned. Add minced garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add the tomatoes, basil, oregano and black pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add pasta, spinach and half-and-half to the sausage mixture and stir to combine. Heat through and then pour into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the mozzarella and then Parmesan cheese evenly over the top. Bake uncovered for 25-30 minutes.
Notes
MyWW SmartPoints per (1/10th of the recipe) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)Green: 8 SmartPoints/ Blue: 8 SmartPoints/ Purple: 4 SmartPointsWeight Watchers Points Plus: 8 per serving (P+ calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)Adapted from Taste of Home
Author: Emily Bites
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: Lightened Up, Weight Watchers, Wheat Pasta, WW Pasta
I am leary of frozen, chopped spinach – last time I used it, there were some hard stems throughout my casserole… Suggestions on how to work with the frozen, chopped spinach – or could fresh be used instead? And, how would I do that?
Oh strange, I’ve never had that problem with frozen chopped spinach! Perhaps you could buy a different brand? If you use fresh I would just recommend you wilt it first in a saute pan with some oil or cooking spray to get it to the same texture/consistency as packaged chopped spinach before using it. Good luck!
Emily! Delicious as always. I made mine with half Johnsonville Chicken and pork mild Italian sausage (not a fan of spice) and half MorningStar veggie sausage as I had family visiting that do not eat meat. Needless to say the meat half was a lot tastier than the veggie half and it took a little longer to make. I also steamed/wilted my own spinach as I find frozen spinach has an after taste. Everybody loved it! Will put this into the rotation. <3
Welcome to Emily Bites, a cooking blog proving that healthy can be delicious by offering lightened up recipes that never compromise on flavor. All recipes include Weight Watchers values and nutrition info!
This looks so yummy! I really want to try it…wondering how much a serving is for 8 points? A cup or more? Less? I’m always unsure about that!
I just cut into into 10 pieces (once down the middle lengthwise and then 4 cuts horizontally) in the pan and serve!
I am leary of frozen, chopped spinach – last time I used it, there were some hard stems throughout my casserole… Suggestions on how to work with the frozen, chopped spinach – or could fresh be used instead? And, how would I do that?
Oh strange, I’ve never had that problem with frozen chopped spinach! Perhaps you could buy a different brand? If you use fresh I would just recommend you wilt it first in a saute pan with some oil or cooking spray to get it to the same texture/consistency as packaged chopped spinach before using it. Good luck!
I used my store brand spinach and it turned out great! I would definitely make this one again, but half the size. Thanks Emily!
Glad it turned out well!
Emily! Delicious as always. I made mine with half Johnsonville Chicken and pork mild Italian sausage (not a fan of spice) and half MorningStar veggie sausage as I had family visiting that do not eat meat. Needless to say the meat half was a lot tastier than the veggie half and it took a little longer to make. I also steamed/wilted my own spinach as I find frozen spinach has an after taste. Everybody loved it! Will put this into the rotation. <3
This looks so yummy! I really want to try it for dinner ,Thanks for sharing