Meatball Noodle Bake

Are you looking for a delicious new casserole to mix up  your weeknight dinners? This recipe for Meatball Noodle Bake quickly became a family favorite at our house!

The base for this recipe is  a layer of savory meatballs that compliment a delicious cream sauce that is super easy to whip up.

Truth be told, I was immediately drawn to this recipe when I saw it in the new Gooseberry Patch’s Everyday Simple Suppers.

I saw it as a prime candidate for my On the Lighter Side Series. From the meatballs to the cream sauce to the pasta, simple substitutions make it easy to keep the yummy homestyle taste while lightening things up just a bit.

Below are the changes I made to the original recipe to shave off the calories and fat. Feel free to use the original ingredients if you’d prefer.

• Instead of making my own meatballs, I used frozen turkey meatballs and just heated them through before adding them to the casserole. This was both to lower the fat and guarantee a flavor my family loves. They love frozen meatballs.
• Instead of using two cups of full fat sour cream, I used 1 cup of light sour cream and 1 cup of plain non-fat Greek Yogurt. Note: Plain Greek Yogurt tastes a lot like sour cream… Vanilla Greek Yogurt, not so much… not that I know from experience or anything.
• Instead of canned peas, I chose to use frozen peas for a brighter taste. If your family isn’t a pea fan, you could always substitute asparagus or even green beans.
• Instead of regular Cream of Mushroom Soup, I used the Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup.
• Instead of regular pasta, I used Ronzoni’s Smart Taste Pasta for added fiber with less calories. Note: If your family is a big fan of pasta, you could easily add 12 oz of pasta instead of 7 oz o make this dish go even further.

By making these simple substitutions I was able to up the protein (thanks to the Greek yogurt) and lower the fat while keeping things oh-so yummy and super simple.

Puddie raved on this one. It will now be in our regular menu rotation. I was surprised at how much we really loved it. I thought it sounded good, but it was fantastic.

Gooseberry Patch’s Everyday Simple Suppers is proving to be a winner in my book. This is the second recipe I have tried so far and both knocked it out of the ball park. Look for a review and giveaway soon thanks to my friends at Gooseberry Patch.

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