Spanako-Pasta

9

I love Greek food. Feta, spinach, hummus, olives…what’s not to love? Spanakopita is delicious, and if you’re unfamiliar, it’s traditionally made with spinach, Feta, onions and seasoning, wrapped in sheets of flaky phyllo dough and either formed into triangular servings or baked into layers and served like a casserole. When I found this recipe for Spanako-Pasta in Taste of Home’s latest issue of Healthy Cooking magazine I was immediately sold. What a genius idea to turn spanakopita into a pasta dish! I played around with the serving size (a 13.25 oz box of spiral pasta serves 7, which turns out to be a little over 1 1/3 cups per serving with the added ingredients) and this turned out to be a delicious, filling, cheesy pasta dish with tangy fresh dill and salty Feta cheese creating a delicious flavor profile. This may be an American twist on a traditional Greek dish, but I think it captures the flavors really nicely in a new and unexpected way. To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

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Spanako-Pasta

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 20 minutes mins

Total Time: 25 minutes mins

Calories: 297kcal

Spanako-Pasta has all the Greek flavors you crave in a filling, meatless pasta dish!

Yield: 7 (1-1/3 cup) servings

Ingredients

• 13.25 oz box of uncooked whole wheat spiral pasta
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup fat-free reduced-sodium chicken broth OR vegetable broth
• 3/4 cup skim milk
• 1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 oz of 1/3 less fat cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

Instructions

•  Boil water and cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. When finished, drain and set aside. Reserve up to 1 cup of the pasta water if desired (I didn’t, but if you want your sauce at the end to be more of a liquid, you can take this step).
• While the pasta is cooking, pour oil in a large sauté pan and add onions. Cook and stir until onions are tender. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add flour and stir to coat/combine. Add the broth and milk, stir and bring the mixture to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes until thickened.
• Add the spinach, Parmesan cheese, Neufchatel cheese, lemon juice, dill, nutmeg, salt and cayenne and stir to combine. Cook until heated through.
• Pour the pasta and sauce into a large serving bowl and toss well to combine. If desired, add some of the reserved pasta water to taste. Sprinkle with feta cheese or mix through as desired.

Notes

To view your WW PersonalPoints for this recipe and track it in the WW app or site, click here!

NUTRITION INFORMATION:

297 calories, 45 g carbs, 2 g sugars, 9 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 16 g protein, 6 g fiber (from myfitnesspal.com)

MyWW SmartPoints per (1 1/3 cups) serving: (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)

Green: 9 SmartPoints/ Blue: 9 SmartPoints/ Purple: 4 SmartPoints

WEIGHT 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, Mediterranean

Keyword: 30 Minute Meal, Feta Cheese, Meatless, WW Pasta, WW Vegetarian