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One Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce – classic spaghetti with meat sauce that comes together in just minutes all in one pan!
When I was growing up we had spaghetti with meat sauce probably every other week. It was something that I loved. My mom always made a homemade pasta sauce and sometimes, if my dad had his way it would include meatballs. Served with Cheesy Garlic Bread and it was my favorite dinner as a kid.
To this day, spaghetti is one of my go-to comfort foods. But sometimes I don’t have the time to make the sauce and let it simmer and be perfect. So I love this one pot pasta version for busy weeknights. It takes about 20 minutes together, has a homemade sauce, and is absolutely delicious.
You can mix up the flavors and make all sorts of different one pot pastas. I have a TON of them on the blog. This Homemade Hamburger Helper Lasagna in another great version.
What Do You Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Olive Oil
- Ground Beef – you can use ground turkey if you prefer
- Onion
- Garlic
- Crushed Tomatoes
- Water
- Italian Seasoning – store bought works great, or you can make your own Homemade Italian Seasoning to have on hand at all times.
- Dried Oregano
- Dried Basil
- Sugar
- Salt
- Pepper
- Dried Spaghetti – can use other shaped pasta as well, linguine or fettuccini work great, they will just take a little longer to cook.
- Parmesan Cheese
The list looks long because you are making your own sauce, but if you want to take a shortcut you could use a jar of premade sauce and cut down on the ingredients quite a bit.
How to Make One Pot Spaghetti
- Beef. Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and brown the ground beef and onion together until the beef is cooked and the onions are soft. Add in a little garlic and let it cook until it is fragrant.
- Sauce. Next add in the tomatoes, the seasoning, water, and spaghetti. You can use any combination of tomato products you want. I like to use a big can of crushed tomatoes so you get a little tomato texture, but plenty of sauce. You can use tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes or even a jar of marinara sauce in place of the tomatoes and the spices. This recipe is super flexible.
- Boil. Bring the liquid to a boil and make sure to stir every couple of minutes. You do not want the spaghetti to stick together or it will not cook properly and it will not turn out right. So just cover and then stir every couple of minutes.
- Serve. Once the pasta is cooked top with shredded Parmesan cheese to serve. You can mix in some if you like it cheesy or just serve it on the top. Either way it is delicious.
Storage
I love this spaghetti with meat sauce recipe because it makes enough that we can have leftovers for lunch the next day. Just like any pasta sauce, this is even better the next day! Makes for such a great lunch. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Freezing
Make sure it is completely cooled and placed in an air tight container. Thaw in the fridge and then you can reheat. You can reheat on the stove top or in the microwave.
Serving Suggestions
Serve with a Tossed Salad or even Olive Garden Breadsticks for a delicious meal! Pasta is always a filling meal, but it is always great to round out with Garlic Monkey Bread or even Roasted Asparagus.
More Easy Dinner Recipes
- Pizza Pasta Skillet
- Creamy Pesto Tortellini
- Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup
- Chicken Parmesan Sandwich
- Creamy Chicken Stroganoff
One Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons Olive Oil
- 1 pound Ground Beef
- 1 small Onion, finely diced
- 3 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 28 ounce can Crushed Tomatoes
- 3 cups Water
- 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano
- 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
- 1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper
- 12 ounces Dry Spaghetti
- 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
- In a large skillet heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add ground beef and onions breaking apart. Cook for 4-5 minutes until the beef is cooked and the onions are soft.2 teaspoons Olive Oil, 1 pound Ground Beef, 1 small Onion
- Add garlic and let cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.3 cloves Garlic
- Add tomatoes, water, all of the spices and seasonings, and spaghetti. Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat. Cook for 10-12 minutes until the pasta is cooked, stirring every few minutes.1 28 ounce can Crushed Tomatoes, 3 cups Water, 2 teaspoons Italian Seasoning, 1 teaspoon Dried Oregano, 1 teaspoon Dried Basil, 1 teaspoon Granulated Sugar, 1 teaspoon Salt, 1/2 teaspoon Black Pepper, 12 ounces Dry Spaghetti
- Add Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I love how easy this is to make! Thanks for the recipe!
I want to make this for dinner on a busy weeknight! Love it!
I made this tonight and it was super tasty! I added beef broth instead of water and some crushed red pepper and we really enjoyed it! My husband is super picky, but he gave his seal of approval! Thanks for the great recipe. It’s definitely going into our dinner rotation.
So glad that you enjoyed it!! We always add a little crushed red pepper to ours when we serve it too.
One pot? Sign me up! Perfect dinner for everyone.
I absolutely love one pot meals and this one looks downright amazing!
One pot meals are the best! Makes clean up so much easier and less hassle
This is really flavorful! A huge hit for dinner at my house!
Mmmmm…. what a hearty dish! This will be our new favorite dish!
I made this last night and it was a huge hit with my guys -especially my picky 12 year old. I felt like a real cook making this and proud of the dinner that I served. I grew up (and now at 51 still doing it the same way) where I never made my own sauce. This was SO EASY and really excites me that I branched out from my usual. Thank you for the great recipe!
I would love to try this recipe but I don’t think my family would like the crushed tomatoes is it possible to use tomato sauce or tomato paste with water and if so how would you substitute it
Yes, you can use tomato sauce in its place, the same amount is fine.