I used to make lasagna, but now when we have the hankering, I make this casserole instead. With the light pork sausage, fiber-enriched pasta, fresh spinach leaves, light cottage cheese, and light mozzarella cheese, this pasta bake is fairly lean & has tons of fiber and protein! Not to mention it is absolutely delish!
You can customize the flavor a bit by choosing the jar of spaghetti sauce you want to use – I often change it up. Sometimes I use tomato & basil, sometimes I use four cheese, and sometimes I use spicy spaghetti sauce. Any will work!
And, like much of the food I make, this pasta bake makes excellent leftovers. Sometimes I wish I could just cook leftovers because casseroles and soups are even better on day 2 (and 3 and 4)!
I hope you, your fam, and folks hanging out around your dinner table enjoy this as much as we do!
Protein-Packed Pasta Bake
Ingredients
- 12oz box of fiber-enriched penne pasta
- 1 lb lean ground pork sausage
- 1/2 sweet or yellow onion, chopped
- 24oz jar of spaghetti sauce (any flavor will do!)
- 14.5 oz can Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained
- 3 oz (2 handfuls) fresh spinach leaves
- 16oz low fat cottage cheese
- 1 egg
- 1/3 c grated Parmesean cheese
- 8 oz light shredded Italian or mozzarella cheese
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