You know how much I love to take comfort food classics and turn them up a notch? Well, this One Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs is exactly that!
Everything gets cooked in one pan – pasta, sauce and meatballs! It doesn’t get much easier than this!
I know, I know… spaghetti and meatballs? How many ways do you need to know how to make it, right?
Well, this dish actually came to me out of necessity. Over the summer we spent over 3 weeks on the road in our tiny travel trailer, with a tiny little kitchen.
My kids love spaghetti with meatballs, but with such a tiny space to cook, I had to get creative.
Plus I was hand washing all the dishes, so you know that’s never fun. That’s when I decided to just toss everything in one large pot and let it go.
I used some canned spaghetti sauce, cause that’s always cheap and ready to go! But I infused it with more seasoning and a can of diced tomatoes.
The pasta practically absorbs the sauce and seasonings making this dish extra flavorful without a lot of fuss!
Plus only one pan to clean, so you know this is a dish that’s going into rotation frequently.
And yes, my kids LOVED it! We all did, in fact!
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One Pot Spaghetti and Meatballs
Ingredients
- 24 oz. spaghetti sauce
- 14.5 oz diced tomatoes, Italian seasoned would add great flavor
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 12 oz. spaghetti noodles, uncooked
- 2 cups water
- 15 to 20 frozen meatballs
- 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded (optional)
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients (except the parmesan cheese) in a large dutch oven or pot (with a lid). Bring mixture to a boil, stirring frequently.
- Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook until pasta is tender, stirring occasionally (about 15 to 20 minutes).
- Serve with shredded parmesan cheese on top if desired. Enjoy!
I just made this for my kids, and they loved it! I doubled the recipe and made it in my big cast iron Dutch oven. I used 2 cups of chicken broth instead of water, and doubled the sauce, meatballs and pasta. Everything came out perfect! I threw in some shredded sharp cheddar at the end, my mil taught me that. It sounds weird but it melts perfectly in and gives red sauces great texture and flavor.
We were moving and I don’t have all my tools, so this one pot recipe saved the day!
I will definitely make this all the time. Thank you Shawn!
Tried this tonight…..not again…….came out like Chef Boyardee…..all of the starch from the spaghetti is left in the sauce…..very sticky….sounds like a great idea when you are pressed for time but not so much….lots of other recipes here have been great…but I will stick with the conventional way of cooking pasta
can this be made in a slow cooker/ crockpot?
Hi, this sounds so good. Did you use store bought frozen meatballs? Or do you have a recipe that you use to freeze and store ahead for other recipes as well?
By the way…I love your videos!
Thank you
Do you pre cook the pasta before adding? If not, do you add water to the ingredients or is the sauce enough liquid to get the job done?
The noodles were a little doughy. Should I add more water or sauce?
Was looking for a quick, one pot dish to break in my new Le Creuset and this was so easy and delicious! My 2 picky kids devoured it and both commented on how thick the sauce was. I used a 3.75 qt deep skillet and it was just the right size. I used a jar of Rao’s which is 28 oz, added some red wine and reduced the water by 6 oz so it wouldn’t be too runny,
Fun! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Jody!
Can u add hamburger neat drained to receipe?
If you’re going to add hamburger, I would brown first, then drain any fat.
This was insanely delicious. I was skeptical of how it would turn out but the noodles were cooked perfectly and the flavor was so good. My only complaint is that a lot of the spaghetti stuck to the bottom of the pan in spite of frequent stirring Any suggestions for avoiding that in the future?
Hi Hannah, I would try rinsing your pasta to start to wash away as much excess starches as possible. This should help with any sticking noodles.
Great recipe—soooooo easy, tasted great, and I love that it can all be done in one pot.
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it!
I cant wait to try this. But can i double the recipe? In a large deep pot with a lid?
Definitely!
I tried this tonight and found it very difficult to stir. A lot of pasta stuck and there was not enough sauce. My noodles did not cook through either. Maybe it was me but this did not work and ending up making something else.
I just came across your recipe! I am using what I have in the pantry, given everything going on right now. I do not have diced tomatoes. Just 1 fresh tomato and a can of tomato paste and sauce. Would you suggest chopping up the tomato and putting some of the sauce with it?
Yes definitely! That would work! Enjoy!
I have never printed out a recipe until today, it turned out so good thank you !
That’s great to hear Karina! Glad you enjoyed it!
So nice and interesting items! Lovely selection darling! Nice post.
What a great idea! I love how simple this is!
Thanks Chels! 🙂
Yummy !! I tried this recipe and it was so delicious and perfect. Thanks Shawn for sharing this recipe.
This will definitely make it to my kitchen in the next few weeks as school starts and my time to cook is cut down to almost nothing! I usually have everything on hand but the meatballs, so that gets added to my current grocery list. Thanks Shawn!
When and where do you add the meatballs. I don’t see them in the recipe or the instructions. Thanks Sharon
Hi Sharon, You’ll add everything (including the meatballs) to the pot at the beginning, bringing it all to a boil. This will let the frozen meatballs have time to cook through as the pasta is cooking. Enjoy!
Are the frozen meatballs cooked or not?
Mine are cooked and frozen. I also add cooked mushrooms, this is really good! Sometimes I use browned kielbasa chunks!
Sweet! Hope you enjoy it! 🙂