Easy Spaghetti and Meat Sauce

This easy spaghetti and meat sauce is the perfect go-to recipe for busy weeknights! Have a delicious, satisfying dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Growing up, we never really had spaghetti and meatballs. My mom always whipped up this super simple meat sauce to serve over spaghetti, and us kids were perfectly satisfied.

Now that I am responsible for making breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day, I can understand why my mom took the easy route. I mean, I love a good meatball every once in a while, but more often I just want the simple flavors of meat, spaghetti, and tomato sauce! This meal only takes about 20 minutes to make, which is a huge bonus.

I think that every once in a while, it’s okay to skip the mushing, mixing, and rolling that is associated with making meatballs, and instead have this simple spaghetti with meat sauce for an easy and totally delicious weeknight dinner.

This dinner is so simple, it’s hard for me to call it a “recipe”.

Most of the time when I’m making this dish, I don’t even add in any extra seasonings! I just use salt, meat, and sauce. Generally, tomato sauce comes with some added seasonings in there, such as basil, parsley, salt, and oregano.

If I do feel like adding a little extra seasoning, I tend to look at the back of my tomato sauce can and see what’s already in there! Oftentimes, just added a little more of those same herbs does a lot to jazz things up.

I also really enjoy adding garlic and onion to my tomato sauce. If your family really loves onions, it would be a great idea to dice up about 1/2 of an onion and cook it right along with the ground beef for added flavor. It also doesn’t hurt to make the meat sauce go a little further!

A Nutritious Meal

This can be a very nutritious meal, given you use quality ingredients!

I like to use organic, grass-fed ground beef. Not only is the flavor superior, but it’s more nutritious than conventionally-raised beef.

I always buy organic tomatoes, and I carefully check the ingredients to make sure there aren’t any seed oils or weird ingredients lurking. Tomatoes tend to be heavily sprayed with pesticides, so they’re a great thing to buy organic!

I also buy organic spaghetti noodles. Although dried pasta isn’t a go-to in our house because the grains aren’t soaked or fermented beforehand, I still keep organic pasta on hand for days when I need a quick, tasty dinner!

To keep with the easy, quick theme of this dinner, you can serve this spaghetti alongside a steamed frozen veggie with some grass-fed butter on top. My favorite veggies to have with spaghetti include organic broccoli, organic cauliflower, or organic brussel sprouts – yum!

What to serve with spaghetti and meat sauce

Although this dinner is delicious on it’s own, you can make it extra delicious by serving it with a veggie or sourdough bread!

This Spaghetti is such an easy, quick dish to serve when you’re having guests. When serving to guests, I like to make sure I have a couple things on hand to serve it with, such as:

Sourdough Bread with Butter

Sourdough Bread Sticks

Salad

Steamed Vegetables

Parmesean

Tea or Lemonade

Easy and Delicious

Although I did not grow up with spaghetti and meatballs, my husband did. It took me a while to make this for him because I thought, surely, it could not compare to the delicious spaghetti and meatballs he grew up with.

To my surprise, he greatly enjoyed this spaghetti with meat sauce! Of course, he still appreciates the occasional meatball in his spaghetti, but he truly enjoys the meat sauce and doesn’t mind the change of pace at all. I suppose I need to stop assuming what foods he will and won’t enjoy..

Now that I know he enjoys it, I am happy to make this recipe on a fairly regular basis. Since I grew up making and eating it, I could truly make this recipe with my eyes closed… and I imagine you could, too!

Ingredients

1 lb Ground Beef

24oz Spaghetti Sauce (3, 8oz cans)

1/2-3/4 lb Spaghetti Noodles (Depending on how much sauce you enjoy on your pasta)

1 1/4 tsp. Salt

1/4 tsp Dried Parsley

1/4 tsp Dried Oregano

1/4 tsp Dried Basil

1/4 tsp. Garlic Powder

Instructions

Begin by bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil for your pasta

Brown the 1 lb ground beef in a pan until cooked through

Add the salt, parsley, oregano, basil, and garlic and stir

Pour in the 24oz tomato sauce and allow to simmer for 10-20 minutes, or until pasta is ready.

Once the water is at a full boil, add your pasta and cook according to package directions

Drain pasta and serve with the meat sauce

Notes

If you don’t feel like getting out the herbs, I’ve made this many times with nothing but salt, tomato sauce, and beef. It’s still delicious!

If you’re feeling board of spaghetti, switch up the pasta with angel hair or rigatoni! It really helps keeps things interesting.

Save it for later!

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