One-Skillet Beef and Spinach Noodles

This skillet meal packs a double punch of protein from lean beef and cottage cheese, while sneaking in a generous serving of iron-rich spinach.

Ingredients

Calories next to each ingredient are for that ingredient across the whole recipe (8 servings), not per serving.

• 1/2 pound lean ground beef · 265 kcal in the whole recipe
• 1/2 cup onion, chopped · 23 kcal in the whole recipe
• 1 can (15 ounces) low-sodium tomato sauce · 111 kcal in the whole recipe
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 3 cups uncooked egg noodles · 443 kcal in the whole recipe
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen chopped spinach, defrosted · 128 kcal in the whole recipe
• 1 cup fat-free cottage cheese · 142 kcal in the whole recipe
• 1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese · 128 kcal in the whole recipe

Method

1. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain and rinse the beef to remove excess fat, then return it to the skillet.

   

2. Stir in the chopped onion, tomato sauce, water, garlic powder, oregano, and basil. Bring the mixture to a boil, then stir in the uncooked noodles. Cover and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes.

   

3. Stir the defrosted spinach into the skillet. Cover and simmer for another 5 minutes, adding a splash of water if the mixture becomes too dry.

   

4. Stir the mixture once more, then spoon the cottage cheese on top and sprinkle with shredded mozzarella. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes until the cheeses are melted and warm.

   

Adapted from a USDA MyPlate Kitchen recipe (public domain). Portions, macros, diet checks and step photos by Besly.