I know April Fool’s Day, which is April 1, is not until next week, but next week is also Easter so I have to get this one done first!

I admit the April Fool’s is a bit of a stretch here, since this looks like a pie yes,  but it’s pretty clear it’s not any type of regular dessert pie. But, I like the call back to my favorite on the Wikipedia list of April Fool’s jokes, the BBC’s Panorama Programme reporting about spaghetti crops in Switzerland.

I was also inspired to make this Recipe for Spaghetti Pie by this great recipe by Bobcatsteph3, which itself is a copycat recipe for Old Chicago Pizza and Taproom’s Oh My Spaghetti Pie. The description on the Old Chicago website describes this as “This Old Chicago exclusive starts with spaghetti tossed in Alfredo sauce made from scratch daily with Parmesan, mozzarella, Romano and provolone cheeses, topped with even more cheeses and slow-baked to toasty perfection. Served by the slice over our house marinara.”

This is a dish I have never had, and also a restaurant that I’ve never been to, even having lived in Chicago, because it doesn’t actually exist in Chicago – the 3 locations in Illinois are in Peoria,  Rockford and Champaign which are all significantly *outside* Chicago. There are 3 locations here in Portland though I’ve never been to any of those either! I’ve actually only seen Old Chicago when I’ve been in Colorado, which seems to be where they have the most franchise locations since they started out in Boulder in 1976.

While I respect the true alfredo used to make the pie in the BobcatSteph3 copycat recipe (and which Old Chicago Pizza probably makes in its own kitchen),  the “calories, schmalories” concern me too much so I did a different white sauce. I could have used the cauliflower alfredo that I shared in a previous recipe post, but this time I tried a different cheese mixture that uses low fat ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan along with Tofutti Sour Supreme (or you can use light or regular Sour Cream). If that sounds like something you might put into a lasagna, that’s where I got my other part of this inspiration.

And here I go again, making a savory pie (the last one I did was the bacon cheddar potato one using Michael Smith’s recipe). I think this pie serves 4-8 people depending on what else you are serving the slice on the plate with.

Ingredients:

• 20 ounces of spaghetti noodles (I did not use all of my 13.5 Oz box), cooked to al dente and drained from pasta water. It will cook again when you bake it, and further soften so it’s ok for it to be less than al dente. I personally like wheat or veggie noodles so mine are not the same color as normal noodles
• 2 cups of  shredded mozzarella cheese (about 8 ounces)
• 8 ounces ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese, divided
• 8 ounces Tofutti Sour Supreme (or you can use light or regular sour cream – I think using 1 beaten egg would work too as the binding agent here for the cheese)
• 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• Salt to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 4 cups of your own marinara sauce, be it from a jar or your version of homemade, your choice. I put quite a bit of red pepper in mine to make it spicy, you might consider adding mushrooms, or even your choice of crumbled meat if you don’t want it vegetarian

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.
2. While the pasta is cooking to al dente, mix together the 1 cup of the shredded mozzarella, all 8 ounces of the ricotta, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan aka 1/4 cup (you will use the rest of the mozzarella and Parmesan for topping later), and all the Tofutti Sour Supreme/sour cream, Italian Seasoning, basil, garlic, and to taste the salt and pepper.
   
3. Mix the cheese sauce to the al dente spaghetti until it is well incorporated, and then place the cheese and spaghetti into the greased pie plate.
   
4. Cover the pie dish with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, remove the pie briefly to spread the rest of the mozzarella and Parmesan cheese that is left on top of that pie and then bake for another 10 minutes until the cheese is all melty. If you wanted to, you could add a bit of panko or breadcrumb while adding the mozzarella and Parmesan topping if you’d like a bit more crunch.
   
5. After you remove your spaghetti pie, let it cool for at least 10 minutes so it can solidify and stay together when you cut your pie slices.

To serve, make a layer of the red marinara sauce onto a plate, and then on top of that serve a slice of the spaghetti pie, sprinkle with a bit of fresh basil chiffonode or chopped basil or some crispy fried sage if you’d like. Or add another layer of sauce on top of your pie!

I usually see this dish served with a side salad and also some garlic bread, which you can use to further dip into the sauce. The key here is that this mashup lasagna spaghetti dish is a taste of both creamy cheesy white and tangy (and in my case spicy) red sauce. Plus you are having spaghetti but without having to slurp it up and get the sauce on your face and clothing.

Are you doing or making anything for April Fool’s Day? Have you ever had Spaghetti Pie or been to Old Chicago Pizza?