Easy Spaghetti Recipe

5 from 368 votes

Easy Spaghetti Recipe

This easy spaghetti recipe features a rich homemade sauce and tender noodles, perfect for family dinners everyone will love!

Prep Time5

Cook Time45

Total Time50

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings:

Author: Kristyn Merkley

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef, 80 percent lean/20 percent fat
2 cups hot water
2 cubes beef bouillion, or use 2 cups beef broth and omit hot water
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
pinch of garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
1 (16-ounce) package spaghetti

Instructions

Cook ground beef in a large pan over medium heat, breaking into small pieces, until browned, 8-10 minutes. Drain excess fat.
Dissolve bouillon cubes in hot water and add to meat. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, basil, oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Simmer on low for 30 - 45 minutes. The simmer gives the tomato sauce, beef, herbs, and bouillon time to come together and develop more flavor. NOTE: Taste before serving. Give the sauce a taste near the end of the simmer and add more salt, pepper, or herbs if needed.
A few minutes before the sauce is done, cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions.
Drain spaghetti and add to the sauce, tossing to coat (Don’t rinse the pasta. The starch left on the noodles helps the sauce stick better). Top with Parmesan.

Video

Notes

Recipe Tips:

If using dry herbs, add them at the beginning; add fesh herbs toward the end.
You can add 1 tablespoon of salt to the water before adding the pasta; this infuses flavor directly to the noodles.
To help balance the acidity in the sauce, add sugar or shredded carrots.
If you're watching your carbs, cook up Spaghetti Squash, zucchini noodles. Gluten-free noodles are also a delicious option.

Make ahead sauce. Cook sauce according to recipe directions, let cool, put into an airtight freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 6 months. Reheat the sauce and add it to the cooked pasta.

Store leftovers in the fridge for 3-5 days if properly stored in an airtight container(s), or put in a freezer Ziploc and freeze for up to 3 months.

Make it meatless. For a vegetarian version, skip the ground beef and add a tablespoon of olive oil to the pan before adding the other ingredients. Use vegetable broth instead of the water and bouillon. Another idea is to serve meatballs on the side to add as desired.

For more substitutions and tips, check out the full recipe post

Nutrition