Spaghetti and cheese. Yup. Not much more & not anything less. I cannot think of anyone that does not like a comforting bowl of hearty carbs with gooey melted cheese. With these nests I wanted to get a bit playful with presentation. Not only are they in the shape of well, nests-but I added color to the whole wheat pasta with the spice tumeric. I also added a slightly smoky flavor with my handy dandy smoked paprika. Yes, I did say whole wheat pasta & yes as always I share with you a recipe that has a healthier profile than the usual ones. Why, why not?? Dig in!
These spaghetti nests are great in the kids lunch box. They travel well & can easily be re-heated in the microwave. With a side salad or steamed veggies you have a full meal.
This pasta is also great for #MeatlessMonday. It is always nice to have some vegetarian options in our recipe line up. If you want to make this a heartier meal you can lay a crispy cooked egg on top. Look at what my friend Louise came up with on her blog 2 be satisfied {Caberneti Spaghetti Nests with Crispy Egg and Golden Garlic.} Gorgeous Louise!
These spaghetti nests get a bit crispy on top & warm & creamy in the centers after they are baked. You can also add chunks of chicken breast & small bits of diced steamed broccoli to make a more complete meal. Perhaps you use larger ramekins for baking if you want to go a bit bigger in portion size.
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Variations
- You can try different spices in your spaghetti nests: chili powder, cayenne, thyme, saffron, nutmeg, cumin, etc…would all be fun & unique flavor twists.
- You can play around linguine, angel hair and other pasta shapes.
- Try flavored pasta: Spinach, cabernet, etc.
- Go gluten free: You can use your favorite rice pasta or gluten free product in this recipe too.
- Stay on the Meatless Monday kick & up the protein with chunks of tofu or top with an egg.
- More protein non-veg style? Go with some cubed cooked chicken breast. Toss it in before baking.
Spaghetti & Cheese Recipe Links
- Chicken Spaghetti The Pioneer Woman
- Meyer Lemon Spaghetti with Goat Cheese In Erika’s Kitchen
- Spaghetti Frittata Honest Fare
- Spaghetti Limone with Toasted Pine Nuts Sprout and Pea
- Spaghetti with Creamy Mascarpone Sauce Cookin’ Canuck
68 Comments
Marla, I’m loving this! Very creative, easy and delicious all in one!!
I love them in the individual cups! Perfect for portion control too – thought I’d probably want to eat 6 of them.
The nests are adorabe! Your photography gets better and better! 🙂 I’ll have to make this one for the kids.
These are so cute! I can’t wait to make them with my niece. She loves noodles:)
Those look lovely! A very good idea.
Cheers,
Rosa
I bet these would be great for parties too, they are adorable and tasty looking!
Individual servings always seem so much more fun. Love the idea.
These are adorable, and I could see myself eating them for breakfast alongside some eggs. Smoked paprika’s always a nice touch!
any form of pasta and cheese if fine by me. but these little bite sized portions are so on my radar! i need to make these for the kids! x
Great way to get kids to get gourmet. 🙂 The color is great! Turmeric has a way of making things look pretty.
Yummy! I would need at least 3 nests and a glass of red for the dinner. :-))
Adorable idea, Marla! What a wonderful idea to add some turmeric to make the nests even more visually appealing. My kids would love to find these in their lunch boxes.
Delicious- I did a test recipe the same way with the muffin tins, great idea.
~Chef Louise
After the kids have cleaned their plates, you’ll be empty nesters.
Great idea! Who doesn’t love pasta and cheese? Yum! 🙂
Love the individual servings, they seem so fun and happy sitting there like little nests. Very cool
Oh come on…. those are way too cute to eat!
Great recipe… great photos…. love your blog.
I love how you cooked these in muffin tins, Marla — what a great idea! The turmeric for a little color is great too. Pretty much the cutest pasta I’ve ever seen! 😉
What a fun presentation. I love it when someone puts a new spin on an old classic!
*kisses* HH
This is such a terrific idea and the finished nests looks delightful and delicious. It is a really fun way to serve pasta. I always love to visit here. I like the food and recipes you feature here and your photography is always first rate. I keep coming back for repeats. I hope you are having a great day. Blessings…Mary
Love these! I love them even more that they use the whole wheat pasta. Yum! And perfect for the munchkins in the house. Can’t wait to try!
You never fail to amaze me with your creativity, Marla! These look wonderfully yummy, and they’re such a cute dinner idea. I bet this would also be an impressive little presentation for party guests. Thanks for sharing these gorgeous photos and the recipe, and keep up your awesome cookin’!
With ingredients like this I’d have to put them into one of those giant cupcake pans for a individual serving that would be enough for Craig (which probably defeats the purpose of individual portions huh?). These look fantastic!
I love these! And, the idea of adding broccoli and/or chicken sounds great! My 17 year old son can eat almost a pound of pasta alone, so he’d need about a dozen of these! Thanks for the recipe!
Those nests are adorable!! Love the idea!!
You can’t go wrong with pasta and cheese!
I do love pasta and cheese, and the paprika sounds great here!
As always with your blog, I love the way you really think through the process of making delicious dishes that are healthier, innovative, and (dare I say it?) fun. Looks wonderful, with a great balance between the lighter cottage cheese and richer cheddar.
Barbara: Yes you said it….FUN!! I do love to have fun with my recipe development as you can tell. Also, gotta use fat it is the only thing that helps to satisfy. Going completely fat free tastes yucky, generally has lots of fillers and added sugars. I like clean fat free/low fat choices mixed with the richer stuff, as you have noticed.
These look like so much delicious fun!
cheese AND an adorable presentation–this is a winning idea!
Lovely to have come across your site, hope to come here more often, best wishes.
Sometimes you just need to splurge a little on some comfort food and this is perfect for when that craving hits! Especially because they are pre portioned…the splurging can only go so far!
These really are fantastic Marla – have never in a million years thought to add smoked paprika to pasta but since that is one of my all time favorite spices, will be doing so in the future! Love that these can go for lunch – and since I pack The Professor’s lunch and since he loves pasta and cheese . . . well, these will be heading to campus with him!
I love, love love these, too cute! At first I thought it was a version of spaghetti pie in muffin cups, which would also be great, but this is much better, thanks for sharing!
What a great way to serve spaghetti! I’ve done mini mac n cheese in muffin tins and they are such a hit at parties.
I can’t wait to make these! How fun! I know my kids will enjoy them too. I’ve been hunting around for some interesting and different lunchbox ideas. 🙂
I love your playful spin on spaghetti. You never cease to amaze me with your presentation and yummy yet healthy combinations!
this is brilliant marla and love your use of spices. The smoked paprika is awesome, can smell it already over here!
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What a fun idea! I am just doing homemade pasta sauce with my grade 9’s and then we are doing homemade pizza, after that, spaghetti… so guess what will be next? YES! This will be a blast for them and I have never thought of this.
Thanks, Marla!
Valerie
How cute and creative are these?! Oh my goodness…I’m definitely adding this recipe to my “to make” list!
Oh yum! I love a creative twist on good ol’ fashioned pasta. So cheesy and hearty… can’t wait to try.
A nifty idea! And I love the taste and color that tumeric provides. Looking forward to making my own nest o’ noodles to dig a fork into.
These are so FUN!
Marla – those look so delicious!! =) Yum!! You can’t ever go wrong with pasta & cheese!
Wow, beautiful presentation; what a fab idea, thanks for sharing.
You have added the twist by adding turmeric and paprika for color and spice! What I love is using muffin tin to make nest! It would be perfect one serving to serve and looks so gourmet!
I love this idea! My son is only 6 months, but as soon as he can eat pasta I’m making these!
I just ate and are delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Sonia: I just woke up to your sweet comment. I am so happy you enjoyed this recipe. It thrills me when my readers can add something new, healthy & tasty to their meal selections. I need to play with a red sauce version of this too.
This is a fantastic idea, one which I have to make. I printed the recipe which is a first step. My grandkids would love these and so would I.
Marla this is seriously one of the most creative dishes I have ever seen. I LOVE IT. I already has spaghetti twice today but after seeing this post i’m seriously tempted to make some more.
delicious recipe. i’ll make it again.
These look tasty!
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Hi, love most of the recipes you put on. This one (spaghetti nests) sounds great! You say one can add chicken and broccoli to them for more of a meal? How many does one get then? Only 1? I thought we got all 3 in the picture! LOL!
Pamela, simply add some chopped chicken or broccoli to the mix before baking the spaghetti nests.
Hi Marla,
These look awesome. I have a few questions.
1. You mention putting them in the kids lunch. Do these reheat well? Or do you eat them cool?
2. Can you make these ahead of time? I was considering them for a party. It would be really convenient if I could put them together ahead of time and just pop them in the oven to cook when everyone arrived.
Hi! They would reheat fine. As far as the temperature in a lunchbox – all depends on whether your kids like cold or hot pasta. Mine will eat it either way 🙂
You can assemble before a party & keep cool in the fridge until ready to bake.
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Hi..these recipe looks yummy!!! Can’t wait to try… Anyway, do you mind if I copy this recipe as well as the pictures and rewrite it by using our language which is Malay?
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