Spanakopita is such a great dish. But let's face it. It's a pie. And as a pie, it's not always great for the waistline. But now you can have your pie and eat it too. As the recipe below shows, you can combine all the ingredients (except for that calorie-laden pastry) and still enjoy all the great flavors of spanakopita. But without any of those nasty carbs dragging you down.
Of course, you could use regular cheese in this casserole. But why do that when you can substitute cottage cheese and cut down on even more calories? And, it's delicious! It makes the perfect filler and let's be honest, you won't even notice that it's lower-calorie cottage cheese rather than fatty other stuff. And there's a little it of that in there too, so don't think you'll be sacrificing on flavor. In fact, with this dish, you won't feel as though you're sacrificing anything at all. And it might just become your new favorite way to enjoy spanakopita.
Spanakopita Cottage Cheese and Egg Casserole
6
10 minutes
60 minutes
1 hour, 10 minutes
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped in a small dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed of excess moisture
2 cups cottage cheese
6 egg whites
2 teaspoons dried dill
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup Feta cheese, crumbled
Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
Heat skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add oil and allow that to get hot. Add the onions and saute for about 3 minutes, just until the onion is translucent.
Add garlic and saute for another 30 seconds. Add spinach and saute for another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the burner and set aside to cool slightly.
While onion and spinach mixture is cooling, mix together the cottage cheese, egg whites, dill, and nutmeg in a large bowl. Fold all ingredients together until everything is incorporated. Add the feta and stir that in as well.
Pour the egg and spinach mixture into a greased 6" x 9". casserole dish. Place in the oven and bake for 45 - 50 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.
