If you are like me, your kids gobble up spaghetti. And really, they chow down on pasta of any kind. I always have pasta in the cupboards ready to go for quick dinners or leftover in the fridge. Today, I’ve got a fun and creative appetizer or main dish idea that will use up leftover spaghetti. This recipe is part of our Cooking With Kids A-Z series and S is for Spaghetti. It’s hard to believe we’ve already cooked our way up to letter “S”, but it sure has been a tasty series!
These Spaghetti Cups are miniature nests and perfect for kids and adults. I was going for a crunchy pasta nest to hold sauce and meatballs, but ended up with a chewy pasta cup that (still held sauce) but was also a fun way to eat our pasta leftovers!
Spaghetti Cup Nests Recipe
To make these pasta cups, we used leftover spaghetti noodles, but you can quickly cook up a batch of pasta. If you do cook spaghetti noodles for this dish, you’ll want them to be cool to the touch. So, if you are cooking pasta specifically for this dish, cook the noodles, rinse with water, and let the pasta cool. You’ll then be ready for making the spaghetti nests.
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Ingredients to make Spaghetti Noodle Nests:
1 1/2 cups cooked spaghetti
1 egg yolk
1 Tbsp milk
You can add a Tablespoon of sauce for added flavor and “chewiness”, too.
Prepare the muffin tin by first spraying it with non-stick spray. In a bowl, mix the spaghetti, egg yolk, and milk. Stir to combine. Using a fork, drop a small amount in the bottom of each muffin tin section. You’ll want to fill them about half way full. Using your hands, spread the spaghetti up the sides and make a small well in each cup. Kids will love getting their hands messy! Squishing the spaghetti is such a sensory experience and a fun way to create an edible product through sensory exploration.
Heat the oven to 35 degrees and bake for 20 minutes. You want the noodles to brown slightly on the edges. Keep an eye on the noodles towards the end of the 20 minutes to avoid burning.
Using a fork, pop the noodle cups from the muffin tins and place onto a plate.
Now is the fun part! You can fill these little spaghetti nests with anything you might top your typical spaghetti with! We used canned seasoned tomatoes, but you could add a meatball and tomato sauce, chicken, cooked vegetables, or seafood. Get creative and enjoy!
And, as your kiddos are gobbling up this pasta, just smile and know they are loaded with veggies!
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