Recipe Box, Loaded Spinach Spaghetti Alfredo

the Painted Apron

6 years ago

I know January is a month for a healthy new beginnings

And we have been eating lots of salads, veggies and lean protein…

But when the temperature is 22 degrees,

and there is 1/2 inch of ice on everything in a subtropical zone,

and your pipes are frozen for the 2nd time in 2 weeks

😵

You need something warm, filling and comforting!

This truly isn’t quite as decadent as it looks, promise

I used light Alfredo, light whipped cream cheese, protein enriched pasta,

and only 1 slice of bacon per serving

Start by cooking the bacon, then remove it to drain, reserving 1-2 T bacon fat,

Add the spinach to the skillet

Once the spinach has wilted and cooked down, add garlic and cook for a minute

Next stir in the cream cheese to melt

Add the light Alfredo sauce, 1 serving has only 45 calories and 3 grams of fat

Add the drained pasta to the sauce

Stir to combine and turn out into a prepared baking dish

Sprinkle with Parmesan and bake now or cover and refrigerate for baking later

Parmesan cheese is such a great way to get a rich flavor without a lot of calories, a little goes a long way

All done, dig in!

Variations:

Cooked chicken, ham, sausage, turkey would all be a wonderful addition to this dish, but you might need to increase the sauce amount depending on how much you add.

Also, asparagus, peas, kale, broccoli, just about any vegetable you love would work well too

You could also add the bacon into the dish before baking but I didn’t want to loose the crispy texture so it was added as a garnish

Loaded Spinach Spaghetti Alfredo

Add chopped cooked chicken, ham, broccoli, asparagus, peas to make it even better if desired!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword chicken spaghetti, Loaded spaghetti, pasta casserole, Spaghetti, Spaghetti Pie, Spinach Spaghetti Alfredo

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 30

Servings 4

Ingredients

6 oz. thin spaghetti
4 strips bacon
6 cups baby spinach
1-2 T bacon fat*
1 tsp minced garlic
1 cup light Alfredo sauce
4 oz light whipped cream cheese
2 oz Parmesan
Salt & pepper
Chopped green onion tops for garnish

Instructions

Bring salted water to boil, add pasta, stir down into water. Cover and turn off burner. Pasta will cook while you prepare the rest.
Fry bacon until crisp. Drain on paper towels, reserving. 1-2 T of fat in skillet*.
Add spinach to skillet and saute until it wilts down. Add garlic and cook 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper.
Add cream cheese and Alfredo to spinach. Cook and stir until melted together. Add drained pasta. Turn out into a greased casserole and sprinkle with Parmesan. Cover and refrigerate until baking for up to 48 hours.
Bake at 350 until heated through and bubbling, 30-45 minutes. Baking time will depend on how cold dish is at the beginning.
Garnish with chopped green onion tops and crumbled bacon