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This easy one pot spaghetti recipe couldn’t be simpler! The meat, sauce, and pasta all cook together in one pot for a classic spaghetti dinner that the family loves – all with minimal clean up!
Do we really need to make spaghetti any easier? Nah. But we’re doing it anyway.
One Pot Spaghetti For The Win!
I don’t know what it is about serving your family a pot full of spaghetti, but there’s something that feels so homey and cozy and magical about watching them slurp up saucy noodles while telling you about their day.
It’s just…such a vibe.
Spaghetti, when made with a jar of sauce the way many busy families do in America, is definitely not a complicated dinner – but hey. Why not make it even easier and cook it all in one pot?
Our one pot spaghetti is a 30 minute meal that has all the steamy hot twirly pasta vibes a person could ask for.
The noodles cook right in the sauce so they soak up all that glorious beefy tomato flavor.
If pasta is a major weeknight go-to situation for you, you’ll also want to try our chicken spaghetti and taco spaghetti. And, if you are really feeling indulgent, our baked spaghetti is the stuff of dreams with it’s gooey layer of allllll the cheese.
Ingredient Notes:
Spaghetti – Feel free to use any brand of spaghetti that you like, but let me put you onto something real quick…Barilla Protein+ Spaghetti. I’ve tried ALL the protein pastas (because who doesn’t want to feel a little better about a pasta dinner?) and this one. Oh, man. This one is good. No one ever notices that it’s ANY different than the regular stuff and I feel really good about feeding it to my family. This isn’t sponsored. I just love this stuff and we eat pasta often.
Ground Beef – I always use ground beef in my spaghetti, but you can use a mix of beef, veal, sausage – whatever you like!
Tomatoes – We’re using a mixture of canned tomato sauce and canned diced tomatoes to make our sauce. Easy and we always have them on hand. I like Red Gold.
Seasoning – Add flavor by stirring in onion, garlic, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Sugar – Quite the controversial addition, but we add sugar to help cut down on the acidity in the tomatoes. A pinch of baking soda does the trick, if you’d like to skip the sugar.
Topping – To finish this one pot spaghetti recipe you’ll top it of with some Parmesan cheese and freshly chopped parsley!
How to Make One Pot Spaghetti:
Beef: Brown the beef, onions, and garlic until cooked through.
Spaghetti Sauce: Stir in the tomato sauce, undrained canned tomatoes, and some water. Stir in the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and sugar and bring the sauce to a boil.
Spaghetti Noodles: Add the noodles directly to the boiling sauce. We break them in half to make sure they fit nicely. Cook until al dente.
Serve: Stir the spaghetti to make sure everything is all mixed up and then stir in some shredded Parmesan and minced parsley before serving.
My Favorite Dutch Oven!
This gorgeous Dutch oven is perfect for making soup, pot roast, and more. It goes from stove to oven as needed and looks pretty enough to leave out on your stovetop as decoration.
Helpful Tip!
Spice up your sauce by stirring in some red pepper flakes!
How Long Does Leftover Spaghetti Last?
Store your leftover spaghetti tightly covered in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Many people believe that spaghetti tastes best as leftovers, because the pasta soaks up a lot of the flavors in the sauce. Since our spaghetti cooks right in the sauce, it’s delicious on day one!
More Pasta Recipes!
- Homemade Alfredo Sauce
- Garlic Parmesan Spaghetti Squash (Low Carb)
- Air Fryer Pasta Chips
- Amish Egg Noodles
- Feta Pasta
- Creamy Garlic Pasta
- Monterey Chicken Spaghetti
One Pot Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 sweet onion diced
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 15 ounces canned tomato sauce
- 15 ounces canned diced tomatoes
- 2 3/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 12 ounces dried spaghetti noodles
- 3/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Add the ground beef and onion to a large dutch oven over medium heat and cook until browned. Drain the grease.
- Add the garlic to the pan and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, undrained canned tomatoes, and water. Add the Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
- Once boiling, break the spaghetti in half and add to the pot. Stir to submerge the noodles in the liquid.
- Return to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover.
- Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10-12 minutes or until noodles are cooked through.
- Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese and parsley over the top and stir to combine.
- Serve immediately.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This recipe was originally published in February 2018. It was updated with new photos in February 2022.
Lisa D McMullin says
Oh my gosh!!!! This was amazing!!! The flavor was soooo good and the pasta was perfectly cooked with no watery sauce.
The one thing I would say as a negative is that the pasta, being spaghetti, clumped together and it took a bit on the first stir to get it separated. But that’s it.
We will definitely make this again!!
Kathleen says
Hi Karly this meal is delicious! I having this tomorrow my son and his girlfriend will love it! My husband will also love it!
Edith Kane says
Absolutely delicious! I’ve been looking for a new spaghetti recipe and this is perfect. Followed the recipe as is with no changes. My husband and four kids loved it. Thank you!
Karly Campbell says
Yay! Love to hear that!
Darlene says
My go to recipe for spaghetti. I also add a little sugar and extra seasonings. Sometimes I add pepperoni slices. Leftovers are baked in the oven topped with cheese.
Melisa says
How would this work with jarred spaghetti sauce? Thank you so much!
Karly says
It would probably work fine, though I haven’t tried that myself.
Melisa says
Thank you!
Darlene says
I use jarred sauce as my base adding other seasonings as desired. Works great!
james juszczyk says
what kind of device are you cooking on…
Karly says
It’s an induction burner. We don’t have space for a full sized stove in our studio and don’t like working around the lighting in our real kitchen. 🙂
james juszczyk says
thank you for telling me
Kim says
I will never make spaghetti any other way! Great recipe. In addition to your ingredients I added shredded carrots and a tablespoon of soy sauce and it turned out perfect. Thanks!