This One Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce is a healthy, easy and delicious meal for any night of the week! Made healthier with hidden veggies and whole grain pasta.
Step by step recipe video included in the recipe card.
Table of Contents
I can’t speak to how things go at your place, but some days 5:00 hits and I stand in my kitchen, casually looking around for dinner to jump out and make itself.
And then nothing happens.
Sometimes I even — gasp — go to the emergency boxes of mac & cheese.
This One Pot Spaghetti? It’s made for Real Life.
(This Chicken Pesto Pasta, One Pot Taco Mac, and Easy Mac and Cheese are other one pot pastas we adore!)
As a working mom of 3 kids 9 and under, the one pot pasta is a lifesaver.
When there is nothing else in the house, and the fridge and the veggie drawer are empty, I can still whip up some kind of one pot pasta because that is something we always have on hand.
This One Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce has got to be the favorite with my kids.
All three of them are big spaghetti lovers and will easily take a bowl of this over any creamy, cheesy pasta concoction I might come up with (which is why I had to whip up this Instant Pot Spaghetti recipe as well!)
I originally created this recipe after coming up with my Ultimate Mix and Match One Pot Pasta Guide, and it’s been a hit ever since.
It’s actually amazing how many veggies and healthy things you can stir into a bowl of pasta without anyone noticing 😉
Tips for making this One Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce:
- I mean, I love to twirl, but do yourself a favor and break those spaghetti noodles in half. They will cook much more easily and you’ll have less clumping!
- Use a big pan. The right pan is going to make a world of difference here — no one wants pasta juices sloshing over their stove top!
- The secret to sneaking in veggies (not that we need to sneak them in, my girls actually prefer raw veggies!), is to shred them, puree them, or dice them up super small. If you have a selective eater, this is a great way to show them that they actually do enjoy a lot of the things they might think they don’t.
Variations of this One Pot Spaghetti:
- For more flavor, swap the ground meat for Italian turkey sausage.
- If you really like a punch of flavor, you can add a little more red pepper flakes to bring the heat.
- You can leave out the meat and add extra veggies — mushrooms and peppers are great additions!
Like this one pot Spaghetti? Here are more spaghetti recipes you might enjoy:
- Cheesy Crockpot Chicken Spaghetti Recipe
- Healthier Slow Cooker Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
- Healthier Creamy Chicken Spaghetti Bake
Healthy One Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 1 lb lean ground beef or use turkey or pork if you want
- 1 small onion finely diced
- 1 large carrot (peeled and shredded)
- 1 cup freshly chopped spinach
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 4 cups low sodium chicken, beef or vegetable broth
- 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
- 375 grams box of whole grain spaghetti (about 13 oz)
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook ground beef and onion over medium heat, stirring often, until beef is browned. (If not using lean ground beef, you may want to drain excess fat from the pan)
- Add shredded carrot, spinach, salt, garlic, Italian seasoning, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes and cook 1-2 minutes.
- Add broth and crushed tomatoes. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and then dry spaghetti and reduce to medium heat. Cover and cook for 10-15 minutes until pasta is cooked, stirring often to keep spaghetti from clumping. (If sauce thickens too quickly and pasta is not yet cooked, simply add another ¼-½ cup broth and keep cooking)
- When pasta is cooked, taste and adjust seasonings as desired. Optional: add 1 teaspoon granulated sugar if tomatoes are bitter.
- Serve with shredded Parmesan cheese and fresh basil as desired.
Nutrition Information
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Eva larkins says
Best spaghetti with meat sauce ever! Love it, will make again and again. Thank you!!!!
The Recipe Rebel says
Great to hear! Thank you Eva!
Kai says
Bro this was so good. I rarely like red sauce pasta but I loved this. I was very heavy handed with the seasonings lol but overall I didn’t change much. The only thing I added was adobe. Def will make this again!! Thank you 🙂
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Kai! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Michelle says
Wow! Adding this to my favorite recipes. The best part was barely having anything to clean up afterwards! But seriously a delicious dish that tastes like it took all day to make. 100% recommend
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Michelle! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Vonda Coy says
This was great! I needed to half the recipe and it still made plenty for leftovers. I love the one pan prep. Makes clean up so much quicker!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Vonda! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this kind review!
Melinda says
Followed the directions exactly but found the sauce way too starchy. The addition of the chicken broth made the dish taste strange. Not sure why there are so many positive reviews
The Recipe Rebel says
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it Melinda. Myself (and others) have enjoyed it, so I wish it would of been a hit for you too.
Dianne says
I’ve made this recipe twice now, and it’s so delicious, and very easy to prepare. One dish recipes are the best! Try this, you won’t be disappointed?
Lacee Minney says
Hi. I make this all the time but I’d like to double for a bigger crowd. Would I just double everything? 8cups of beef broth seems excessive. Thoughts?
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Lacee, you’ll need some kind of liquid to cook the pasta. If you are doubling it, then you will need 8 cups of liquid. You could always use half broth, half water, but it might affect the flavor some.
Justine says
I finally made this recipe last night after wanting to try it for some time now, and honestly, I was underwhelmed. The sauce was way too watery and it was just overall bland and lacking flavor. I think the 4 cups of broth is what dilutes all the flavor and makes it too watery. Very disappointed.
The Recipe Rebel says
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy the recipe Justine. Myself (and others) have enjoyed and wished it would of been a hit with you. We all have different taste, so you should definitely adjust the seasoning based on your needs.
Michelle says
I added a tiny bit of cornstarch mixed with water when I started to worry about the consistency and it worked perfect. I think it depends what kind of pot you use, I used a Dutch oven.
Debbie says
Made this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely the best spaghetti I’ve ever made!!!! It was easy to put together….all in one pot!!! Loved sneaking in the extra veggies….personally thought it helped add extra flavor! Will definitely make again…and again!!!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Debbie! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!
Tricia says
I have tried cooking the pasta in the same pot is the sauce, but it never turns out for me, any tips would be great as I find the pasta is hard and sticky
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Tricia! I have a few tips in the post, but I also recommend checking out the video and reading through all of the directions carefully.
Roland says
This was sooo delicious. I subbed celery for the spinach since that was all we had. It didn’t expect it to taste like it did(in a good way). Will be making this again. Thank You!!!!
The Recipe Rebel says
Hi Roland! So glad you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for this review!