Spinach and Ricotta English Muffin Pizzas

I think that spinach and ricotta might be one of my favorite combinations. Full disclosure, I only realized this about a year and a half ago when my husband and I moved to Bethpage. When moving to a new town, it's important to scout out a few locations. You need to find a new go-to restaurant, bagel place, sushi place, and of course, pizza place.

In our search for our new go-to pizza place, one of the places we tried had this amazing spinach ricotta slice. Cheesy, warm ricotta cheese mixed with spinach and topped with melted mozzarella. DROOL. It's absolutely delicious, but I can imagine the nutritional stats are less than impressive.

I knew I wanted to create a lighter version. Enter the English muffin.

What a great lower-calorie alternative for crust! English muffin pizzas are nostalgic for me. My mom used to make them for dinner from time to time when I was a kid. As an adult, I've created and eaten many variations of the English muffin pizza, with many different toppings, but I have to say this version is my favorite. And it's really easy, too!

While the oven is preheating, toast your English muffins. It's not a necessity, but I prefer my English muffin pizzas to be a little crispy.

Mix the ricotta, spinach, salt, pepper, and garlic powder in a small bowl.

Distribute evenly among the toasted muffins, and top with grated cheese.

Sprinkle with the shredded mozzarella, bake for 8-10 minutes, and that's it - dinner's ready!

Easy, fast, and delicious - what more could you ask for? As always, feedback is appreciated if you give this one a shot. 

Until next time!

Ingredients

• Two Fiber One English muffins (I like the original variety)
• 1/4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, cooked according to package instructions (TIP: I cook the whole package [9 or 10 oz, depending on the brand] and just store the leftovers in a tupperware in the refrigerator)
• 1/4 tsp salt (or more, to taste)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper (or more, to taste)
• 1.4 tsp garlic powder (or more, to taste)
• 2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup fat-free shredded mozzarella cheese

Serving size: Entire recipe

Weight Watchers PointsPlus value: 11

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.
2. Toast the English muffins to your desired level of crispiness. Arrange on the foil.
3. In a small bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, spinach, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Spread evenly over the four English muffin halves.
4. Sprinkle the ricotta cheese and shredded mozzarella evenly over the muffins. 
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the mozzarella is melted completely. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and then enjoy!

Nutritional information