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Perfectly browned tender ground beef, flavorful marinara sauce, and pasta are all perfectly cooked together and then topped with lots of savory Parmesan cheese and a sprinkle of fresh chopped parsley to make this super easy 30-minute One Pot Spaghetti! It’s a delicious family favorite that is perfect for weeknight dinners!
Best One Pot Spaghetti Recipe
Spaghetti is a classic that we all know and love! People across the world have been whipping up quick spaghetti dinners for generations now. Yet, normally you have to boil the pasta in one pot and make the meat sauce in another. But not anymore! With this easy one pot spaghetti recipe, everything is cooked together at the same time in the same pot and it’s amazing!
Also, by cooking spaghetti in sauce together with the meat, the noodles absorb all the amazing flavors. So just like my One Pot Sausage Pasta, each and every single bite is like heaven in your mouth. This dish is like no spaghetti you’ve ever had and is so much easier to make. This my friends is a winner and how to make the best spaghetti!
But like any spaghetti dinner, it would not be complete without some addictively good Garlic Bread and a fresh salad like my Caprese Salad or Cucumber Tomato Salad! And if you really want to treat yourself and your family you can finish the meal with a yummy dessert like my Tiramisu or Chocolate Lasagna!
Why We Love This One Pot Spaghetti
- Quick and Easy! This tasty easy spaghetti recipe cooks in just one pot and only takes 30 minutes to make! It’s simply amazing and there is almost no cleanup!
- Affordable and Filling! This delicious pot of spaghetti is budget-friendly and hearty. It will easily feed your family a healthy meal while keeping the costs down.
- Family Favorite! What kid and adult alike doesn’t love spaghetti!?! And this classic is made even better by cooking it in just one pot, which makes it an ideal weeknight dinner that the whole family will enjoy!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Ground Beef: I used extra lean ground beef, but you can use any type. You can also use Italian sausage or ground pork.
- Onion – Brown onion is best, but any type of onion you have is fine.
- Garlic – Fresh minced garlic is the most flavorful. Jarred garlic will work, but it can have a bitter taste if it has been open in your fridge for a long time.
- Red Pepper Flakes – Just a little is used to add a bit of spice to the dish. You can omit the red pepper flakes if you prefer.
- Tomato Paste – It’s a concentrated version of tomato sauce. Tomato paste adds even more tomato flavor to the spaghetti.
- Marinara Sauce – A jar of your favorite marinara is needed for this recipe. You can also use homemade sauce if you like, but a jar of store-bought sauce will work perfectly.
- Italian Seasonings – This mix of dried herbs is typically a blend of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, and marjoram. If you don’t have any Italian seasoning, you can just use a combination of whatever you have on hand.
- Sugar – A pinch of sugar is used to balance the acidity of the tomato in the sauce.
- Beef Broth – Low sodium is best and adds a savory layer to the dish as the pasta absorbs the flavor as it cooks.
- Salt – No pasta dish would be complete without a touch of salt to bring out the flavors.
- Black Pepper – You can use regular or freshly ground black pepper.
- Pasta – I obviously used spaghetti! But, for the most part, you can use any long noodle pasta you like that is similar in thickness to spaghetti.
- Parmesan Cheese – Adds a yummy salty cheesy taste and is always the perfect finish on pasta.
- Fresh Parsley – You want to use flat leaf Italian parsley, which is used to both garnish the pasta and add a fresh herb flavor.
- Brown the meat. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add then add the ground beef. Now, cook the beef until it’s no longer pink, breaking it up as you stir.
- Add the onion, garlic, and pepper flakes. Add the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes to the Dutch oven with the browned meat and cook for another 3 minutes or until the onion becomes soft and translucent.
- Stir in the pasta, marinara, and seasonings. Stir in the tomato paste, marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, sugar, beef broth, salt, and black pepper. Now, bring it all to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer.
- Add the pasta. Add the spaghetti to the Dutch oven and press the noodles down to submerge them in the sauce, but DO NOT STIR. Yet, the pasta must be fully covered in the sauce to cook properly.
- Cook the pasta. Cover the Dutch oven with a lid and cook for 15 to 20 minutes stirring every 5 minutes. When the spaghetti is done all the liquid should be absorbed and the pasta cooked to al dente.
- Garnish and serve. To serve, sprinkle the spaghetti with grated parmesan cheese and freshly chopped parsley.
What Does It Mean To Cook Pasta Al Dente?
Cooking pasta to “al dente” basically means it’s tender but still firm to the bite. The best way to cook pasta to al dente is to check the doneness of the pasta about 1 to 2 minutes before you think it’s finished cooking and then just keep an eye on it until it’s done. You also want to keep in mind that pasta will keep cooking for a little bit longer even after it’s removed from the heat.
Can I Make Gluten-Free One Pot Spaghetti?
Yes! Just use your favorite gluten-free noodles to make this one pot pasta recipe.
Can I Make Vegan One Pot Spaghetti?
Yes! And it’s super easy to do. All you have to do is replace the ground beef with your favorite plant-based “grounds”, use vegetable stock in place of the beef stock, and substitute a plant-based Parmesan cheese or omit it altogether.
Expert Tips
- Brown the meat well. You want to cook the ground beef before adding the other ingredients and not just toss everything in together. The brown bits on the bottom of the Dutch oven produced by cooking the meat add layers of yummy meaty flavor to the dish.
- Submerge the spaghetti. For the pasta to be properly cooked it must be completely submerged in the pasta sauce. However, it’s important to push it down into the sauce, but not stir it in when it’s first added to the pot.
- Don’t overcook the pasta. The spaghetti noodles do need to be fully cooked to al dente, but you also don’t want to overcook it or it will turn to mush. So keep an eye on the pasta towards the end. I always suggest setting a timer.
Leftovers
One pot spaghetti leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days in an airtight container. To reheat, just add a few tablespoons of water or leftover marinara sauce to add some moisture, then cover, and pop it in the microwave for a few minutes on medium power. Or, you can add a little water or sauce and reheat it in a pan over medium heat on the stove.
Other Delicious Pasta Recipes To Try
- Buttered Noodles
- Pasta Alla Norma
- Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper
- Cheesy Taco Pasta
- Easy Pasta Alfredo
- Creamy Parmesan Orzo with Chicken
- Stuffed Shells
- Taco Spaghetti
- Spaghetti Bolognese
One Pot Spaghetti
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef extra lean
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 3 cups marinara sauce 24 ounce jar
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 cups beef broth low sodium
- salt and pepper to taste
- 8 ounces spaghetti broken in half
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese
- 1 tablespoon fresh parsley chopped
Instructions
- Brown the meat. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add then add the ground beef. Now, cook the beef until it’s no longer pink, breaking it up as you stir.
- Add the onion, garlic, and pepper flakes. Add the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes to the Dutch oven with the browned meat and cook for another 3 minutes or until the onion becomes soft and translucent.
- Stir in the pasta, marinara, and seasonings. Stir in the tomato paste, marinara sauce, Italian seasoning, sugar, beef broth, salt, and black pepper. Now, bring it all to a boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer.
- Add the pasta. Add the spaghetti to the Dutch oven and press the noodles down to submerge them in the sauce, but DO NOT STIR. Yet, the pasta must be fully covered in the sauce to cook properly.
- Cook the pasta. Cover the Dutch oven with a lid and cook for 15 to 20 minutes stirring every 5 minutes. When the spaghetti is done all the liquid should be absorbed and the pasta cooked to al dente.
- Garnish and serve. To serve, sprinkle the spaghetti with grated parmesan cheese and freshly chopped parsley.
Tips & Notes:
- Brown the meat well. You want to cook the ground beef before adding the other ingredients and not just toss everything in together. The brown bits on the bottom of the Dutch oven produced by cooking the meat add layers of yummy meaty flavor to the dish.
- Submerge the spaghetti. For the pasta to be properly cooked it must be completely submerged in the pasta sauce. However, it’s important to push it down into the sauce, but not stir it in when it’s first added to the pot.
- Don’t overcook the pasta. The spaghetti noodles do need to be fully cooked to al dente, but you also don’t want to overcook it or it will turn to mush. So keep an eye on the pasta towards the end. I always suggest setting a timer.
This turned out perfectly and I saved this recipe in my cook book
Glad you liked it!