Those in the know know that Pi Day is the second day of the year to celebrate pie (National Pie Day is January 23rd, and The Great American Pie Month is February).

The actual of Pi Day, which celebrates the mathematical constant equal to 3.14159 (the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter) is a thing of beauty.

So is a great pie, and the year has 31 pie holidays—opportunities for you to taste your way through piedom.

There are savory pies too. Some are familiar, some not (see them here). And we have a fun one for you today:

You can use leftover cooked spaghetti to make this yummy Sausage & Peppers Spaghetti Pie. You can save up to a third of the prep time:

To cook spaghetti al dente, from heating the water to a rolling boil to achieving the desired texture, generally takes around 8 to 10 minutes.

> The history of pie.

> The different types of pie: a photo glossary.
 
 
RECIPE: SAUSAGE & SPAGHETTI PIE
 
Unlike a pot pie, spaghetti pie needs no crust. The spaghetti itself, when cooked and mixed with other ingredients, forms the base and structure of the dish, acting as the crust.

Prep time is 10 minutes prep time, 30 minutes cook time…but if you have leftover spaghetti, you can cut the cook time as noted above.

Thanks to McCormick for the recipe!
 
Ingredients For 8 Servings

The recipe says eight servings, but these are what we would call appetizer servings, or a lunch portion served with a large salad.

 
Note: If you want to substitute fresh herbs for dried herbs, use a 3:1 ratio of fresh to dried. In other words, for every 1 teaspoon of dried herbs, use 3 teaspoons of fresh herbs. The amount of fresh herbs is tripled because drying concentrates the flavor of the herbs.

Preparation

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F. Cook the spaghetti as directed on the package. Drain well. Meanwhile…

2. HEAT the oil in large ovenproof skillet on medium-high heat. Break up the sausage in the skillet. Add the bell pepper and onion; cook and stir for 5 minutes or until the sausage is browned.

3. ADD the tomatoes, rosemary, garlic powder, oregano, thyme and salt. Cook and stir for 10 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated.

4. BEAT the eggs in large bowl. Add the cooked spaghetti and 1 cup of the mozzarella; mix well. Stir into the mixture in the skillet.

5. COOK on medium-low heat for 5 minutes or until the bottom is set. Sprinkle with the remaining 1 cup cheese.

6. BAKE for 8 to 10 minutes or until the center is just set and cheese is melted. Cut into 8 wedges to serve.

We traditionally pass a wedge of cheese and a hand grater so people can grate as much cheese on their pie as they wish.

[1] Spaghetti pie with sausage and peppers (photos #1, #3, and #4 © McCormick).

[2] If you have leftover unsauced pasta, great! You’ll save up to 10 minutes of cooking time (photo © Paoli | Amazon).

[3] Dried rosemary leaves. When stored properly in airtight containers in a cool, dry, dark place, dried herbs can retain their flavor and quality for 1-3 years.

[4] Dried thyme leaves. The way to check if your dried herbs are still potent: first sniff. If you don’t inhale a strong aroma, then taste. If they pass your taste test, great. Otherwise, you need a fresh jar.

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[1] No wonders it’s number one: It’s as American as apple pie (photo © Good Eggs).

[2] Pumpkin pie is delicious anytime, but gets a big boost from holiday sales (photo © Williams Sonoma).

[3] Pecan pie usually needs some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream to cut the sweetness (photo © Sara Cervera | Wesual | Unsplash).

[4] Cherry pie with a lattice crust. We love a lattice crust on any pie (photo © Cherry Marketing Institute).

[5] Lemon meringue’s appeal is slight tartness and fluffy meringue (photo © The Nibble | DALL-E 2025-03-14).

[7] Chocolate pie can be easily made with chocolate pudding, but we prefer a from-scratch recipe (photo © DeLallo).

[8] Key lime pie is our personal favorite (photo © David Hsu | Dreamstime).

[9] Peach pie with an appealing polka-dot top. Here’s the recipe (photo © The Baker Chick).

[9] Sweet potato pie (photo © The Nibble | FLUX 1.1 2025-03-14).

[10] Archimedes of Syracuse envisioned in bronze in 1978 by Gerhard Thieme. It is located in Treptower Park in Berlin (photo Public Domain).

It’s Pi Day—the second day of the year to celebrate pie (the actual National Pie Day is January 23rd, and February is Great American Pie Month).

Pi Day riffs on the actual purpose of Pi Day, to celebrate the mathematical constant, approximately equal to 3.14159, that is the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter.

The first accurate approximation of pi was calculated by the ancient Greek mathematician Archimedes of Syracuse around 250 B.C.E. See a statue of him in photo #10.

But hey, you can’t eat math, so let’s head to pie, the pastry.

Pie is a pastry dough casing that contains a filling of sweet or savory ingredients; but in the U.S., most of the pie consumed is sweet. (See below for examples of savory pies.)
 
> The history of pie.

> The different types of pie: a photo glossary.

> The difference between a pie and a tart.

> The year’s 30+ pie and cobbler holidays are below.
 
 
THE MOST POPULAR PIES IN AMERICA

Different surveys deliver different results, but this list based on sales: the pies ordered in 2024 from Instacart.

 
 
FAMOUS PEOPLE BORN ON PI DAY

And as long as we’re celebrating Pi Day, check out the famous people born today (below). Alas, we could not easily discover their favorite pies.

 

[6] Blueberry slab pie. Here’s more about slab pie (photo © Pillsbury).
 
 
TYPES OF SAVORY PIES

Savory pies exist in cuisines around the world. In fact, they were far more abundant than dessert pies due to first, the availability of sugar, and second, the high cost of it.

Some savory examples:
 
Meat-Based Pies

Shepherd’s Pie: Ground lamb with vegetables, topped with mashed potatoes (UK).

 
There are also meat pot pies variations of chicken pot pie, made with beef, ham, game, lamb, pork, and sausage.

Poultry and Seafood Pies

 
Vegetable/Vegetarian Pot Pies

 
 
________________
 
*The history of Braham Pie Day: This celebration was founded in 1990 by Phyllis Londgren of Braham, a city in east-central Minnesota about 60 miles north of Minneapolis-St. Paul. That same year, Braham was named the “Homemade Pie Capital of Minnesota” by Governor Rudy Perpich. Londgren (d. 2019) sought to honor the pie-and-coffee heritage of the park and town. The town’s pie fame dates back to the 1930s and 1940s when travelers taking the “shortcut to Duluth through Braham” would stop at Braham’s Park Cafe for pie and coffee.

The first Braham Pie Day was a pie and ice cream social. It has since grown to include craft shows, performances, pie-baking and pie-eating contests, and more. Here’s more about it.

Yes, there is still a café located in Braham Park. The Park Café is situated at 124 Main Street South in Braham. It serves breakfast and lunch daily, including the tradition of homemade pies and fresh-brewed coffee.

Surprisingly, there is no “Braham pie.” Seems to us that a pie-recipe contest is in order.
 
 

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National Peanut Cluster Day is March 8th, but there are too many people who have peanut allergies. Thus, we’ve reworked the classic recipe into almond clusters.

> The recipe is below.

And for a spicy twist, we used Blue Diamond’s Limited Edition Almonds With Mike’s Hot Honey.

First, a few words about these almonds: How could they be a limited edition???

They’re too wonderful: sweet heat, a spicy honey coating on crunchy almonds. And a bonus: they’re a protein snack: almonds have 6 grams of protein per 1-ounce serving, plus more good nutrition*.

> The history of peanut clusters.

> The history of peanuts.

> The history of almonds.

> The history of chocolate.
 
 
INTRODUCING BLUE DIAMOND ALMONDS
WITH MIKE’S HOT HONEY

What happens when two number-one brands team up? You get something truly delicious: Blue Diamond Almonds With Mike’s Hot Honey (photos #2 and #7).

Blue Diamond Almonds, the world’s leading almond processor, has just launched its new flavor innovation, Hot Honey Almonds, in partnership with Mike’s Hot Honey, America’s No. 1 (and the original) brand of hot honey.

And oh my: How did we ever live without this perfectly blend of honey and chili with crunchy, high-protein almonds? These addictive, sweet and spicy nuts are so much more than snacks. Use them:
 
 
SNACKING & BEYOND: MORE WAYS TO USE HOT HONEY ALMONDS

 
Blue Diamond Almonds With Mike’s Hot Honey are now available on Amazon, as well as select Walmart locations nationwide plus Walmart.com.

Here’s more about them.
 
 
RECIPE: EASY ALMOND CLUSTERS

This recipe (photo #1) was adapted from a peanut cluster recipe submitted to Taste Of Home by Joy Dulaney of Highland Village, Texas.

We used spicy almonds, but you can use any nut(s) you like. You can also add dried fruits: cherries, cranberries, raisins, etc.

The total prep time is less than 30 minutes.

If your palate can tell the difference, it’s worth it to spend more on a quality chocolate couverture (we used Guittard). You can also use real chocolate chips.

You can use dark, milk, or white chocolate, or split the recipe and make some of each.

The recipe also uses toffee bits, an easier option than making caramel. However, if you have caramels on hand, you can chop up an equivalent amount to substitute for the toffee bits. We took that route, and preferred the chewiness of the caramel.

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. MELT chocolate in a double boiler or in a microwave-safe dish. Stir until smooth.

2. STIR in the almonds and toffee bits. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto waxed paper-lined baking sheets. If desired, garnish with sea salt. Let stand until set.

3. Store in an airtight container. Yield: 5 dozen clusters.
 
Variations

You can substitute the toffee/caramel bits for more nutritious inclusions, or divide the eight ounces into equal portions of toffee/caramel and the following::

 
________________
 
*Almond Nutrition: A one-ounce servings of almonds had these daily values: calcium 6% DV, iron 6% DV, potassiuum 4% DV, Vitamin E 71% DV, magnesium 15% DV. DV, or Daily Value refers to the recommended amount of a specific nutrient that a person should consume each day. Almonds are one of the “Magnificent Seven” heart-healthy nuts.

†Pun intended.

[1] It’s pretty easy to make nut clusters (photo © Chocolate.org).

[2] We made the nut clusters even better with the new Hot Honey Almonds from Blue Diamond (photo © Blue Diamond).

[3] If you want to make your own hot honey almonds—great for guests or gifts—we recommend this recipe from Natasha’s Kitchen. But limit yourself to eating 10 almonds a day or else make triple batches (photo © Natasha’s Kitchen).

[4] Start the recipe with dry-roasted almonds (photo © Walmart).

[5] You can find Heath Bar or Skor toffee bits at many grocers and online (photo © Webstaurant Store).

[6] With after-dinner coffee, how about these stand-ins for mignardises: almond clusters for those who want chocolate, without chocolate for those who want to save the calories? These almond clusters are available at Snowflake Chocolate.

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