My family’s favorite weeknight friendly spaghetti recipe with an easy meat sauce is ready in 45 minutes, and you can use your favorite ground meat.
I love pasta for quick weeknight dinners, and this spaghetti tossed with my easy homemade spaghetti sauce fits the bill! You can use any ground meat for this spaghetti recipe. I love ground turkey, but ground beef, pork, and chicken are all excellent.
Of all the pasta recipes on Inspired Taste, my family makes this spaghetti the most. If you prefer meatballs over meat sauce, see our spaghetti and meatballs. I also love our delicious baked spaghetti and this quick chicken alfredo is also perfect is you feel like a creamy sauce instead.
Key Ingredients
- Spaghetti: I love spaghetti for this recipe, but you can use any pasta shape you love. To cook spaghetti, check the package directions. The box should have an approximate cooking time listed. Set a timer 1 to 2 minutes less than the suggested cooking time, and check your spaghetti. I often find that pasta is perfectly al dente before the recommended cooking time.
- Ground Meat: Really any ground meat will work in this recipe. Ground turkey and chicken are usually a bit leaner, while ground beef and pork will have more fat. Use what you have and love. For a vegetable pasta sauce, see this veggie spaghetti.
- Tomatoes and Tomato Paste: These make the base of our spaghetti sauce. I use canned crushed tomatoes to keep things easy, but you can use store-bought tomato sauce, marinara sauce, or my homemade red pasta sauce (both add more flavor, but in the very best way).
- Onion, Garlic, and Spices: These add flavor to our sauce. I keep things as simple as possible since this is an easy everyday kind of recipe. Most of the ingredients are probably already in your pantry. For a more intensely flavored sauce, see our homemade bolognese.
Find the full recipe with measurements below.
How to Make the Best Spaghetti
Tip 1: Make my quick meat sauce. It’s easy to do. Brown your meat in a bit of oil, and then stir in onions until they soften. Then add lots of flavor with garlic, tomato paste, oregano, and red pepper flakes. To finish the sauce, add a bit of water (or broth) and crushed tomatoes. You only need to simmer the sauce for about 25 minutes, so about 15 minutes before it is ready, you can cook your spaghetti.
Tip 2: Cook your spaghetti in salted water. This is my number 1 tip for the best spaghetti (or pasta for that matter). Pasta water should taste salty. Add one tablespoon of salt for every four quarts (16 cups) of water, which is perfect for cooking one pound of pasta.
Tip 3: Cook to al dente. If you still have it, check your package instructions. If you’ve tossed the package already, spaghetti takes 8 to 12 minutes. We recommend setting a timer for 8 minutes and then checking your spaghetti to see if it needs longer. Al dente means that your pasta has some texture left and isn’t mushy.
Tip 4: Don’t rinse your spaghetti. There’s no need to rinse spaghetti after cooking, especially if you plan to toss it with a sauce. Rinsing removes the starch, which helps the sauce cling to the noodles. My only caveat to this is when I’m making cold pasta dishes, like pasta salad or macaroni salad.
Serving Suggestions
When your spaghetti is ready, toss it with your delicious homemade meat sauce and serve it with some parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. A side of roasted garlic bread or this classic garlic bread is a good idea, too.
I also love adding a salad on the side. caesar salad is classic, but you can toss your favorite salad greens into a bowl and toss with one of our homemade salad dressings. I especially love our simple balsamic vinaigrette.
More Spaghetti Recipes
Easy Weeknight Spaghetti
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
This is our favorite weeknight friendly spaghetti recipe with a meat sauce made completely from scratch. You can use ground beef, turkey, pork, chicken, or lamb to make this simple spaghetti. It’s also great with bulk Italian sausage.
If you want to reduce the carbohydrates in your dish, swap half or all of the pasta with zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash. Here’s our recipe for zucchini noodles, which includes a tutorial for turning zucchini into pasta. Here’s our tutorial for how to cook spaghetti squash.
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
1 pound dried spaghetti noodles (450g)
1 pound lean ground meat like ground beef, ground turkey, or bulk Italian sausage (450g)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion (130g)
3 garlic cloves, minced, 1 tablespoon
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup water, broth, or dry red wine (236ml)
1 (28oz) can crushed tomatoes
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Handful of fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving
Parmesan cheese, for serving
Directions
1Brown the meat: Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat (we use a Dutch oven). Add the meat and cook until browned, about 8 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to break the meat into smaller crumbles as the meat cooks.
2Build the sauce: Add the onions and cook, stirring every once in a while, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring continuously for about 1 minute.
3Add liquid and tomatoes: Pour in the water and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits of meat or onion stuck to the bottom of the pot. Stir in the tomatoes, ¾ teaspoon of salt, and a generous pinch of black pepper.
4Simmer: Bring the sauce to a low simmer. Cook uncovered for 25 minutes. As it cooks, stir and taste the sauce a few times so you can adjust the seasoning accordingly (see notes for seasoning suggestions).
5Cook spaghetti: About 15 minutes before the spaghetti sauce finishes cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Then, cook the pasta according to the package directions, but check for doneness a minute or two before the suggested cooking time. Drain.
6To serve: Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the basil. Toss in the cooked pasta and leave for a minute so that it absorbs some of the sauce. Toss again, and then serve with grated parmesan cheese on top.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing/Make-ahead: Leftover spaghetti and meat sauce last in the fridge for 3 days. You can also make the meat sauce in advance and store it in your refrigerator for up to 3 days or in your freezer for about three months.
- If the flavor of the sauce doesn’t pop, you probably need a bit more salt. If the sauce still lacks flavor, consider adding a few dashes of fish sauce, mushroom powder, minced anchovies, or anchovy paste (both add a rich, savory flavor).
- Adding a leftover rind of a parmesan wedge to the sauce while adding the tomatoes adds richness and extra flavor. It won’t melt all the way, just remove what’s left before serving.
- If the sauce is too acidic, add a pinch of sugar.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Spaghetti combined with beef cubes, onions, fatback, with mixture sauce containing, cream, cream cheese, duck nsauce, sweet and sour sauce, soy sauce, ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, blended lemons, brown sugar, cinnamon
this food is very delicious thank you for making this delicious recipe
This was great. I’m going to add this to my rotation. I added bell peppers and mushrooms. Yum
I forgot to give a rating.
Made this recipe for dinner for the family and I’ve never seen a bowl of spaghetti get finished that fast. I followed the recipe albeit with a few substitutions such as (an Italian seasoning mix instead of the oregano because I didn’t have it and I made pork & beef meatballs instead of beef. Super delicious, definitely will try more recipes from here.
Wonderful! We couldn’t ask for a better review than this 🙂
This is a delicious meat sauce that’s surprising simple. I’m only a beginner cook and I found this easy to make. I was worried at first due to the amount of steps and ingredients that I would be overwhelmed while cooking it, but this was simple enough that I was able to handle it. I do agree with Joe that the amount of spaghetti should be reduced, though. Outside of that one little problem, this was a wonderful and easy weekday meal, and both my mom and I greatly enjoyed it.
Awesome recipe!!! Ty!!!! Added some sugar because I like a sweeter sauce!
Very good
Hi, this looks delicious! Can I substitute Italian sausage links instead of the ground beef?
That would be amazing!
it is so good i love spaghetti with meatballs
its nice i used it to write a recipe for my mother
The meat sauce was excellent, however 1/2 lb of pasta would be enough. One lb left little of the sauce, as the pasta dominated the dish.
Fantastic great hit at party. Easy and delicious
I was surprised at how good this was, usually, I load my spaghetti sauce with all sorts of ingredients, this was very basic and delicious
This is so yum. Made it tonight and didn’t have any tinned tomatoes so just chopped up some cooking tomatoes. Added oyster sauce-just a dash, a dash of sesame oil, soy sauce and some spicy red sauce to boost the tomatoes. Used lots of olive oil and left out the Basil. Didn’t have and Oregano so substituted Thyme and Marjoram leaves instead. Even hubby liked it and he’s not great for spaghetti.
Haven’t made it yet. Spaghetti sauce
I hope you enjoy it! If you have any questions while making it, just let me know.
I say experiment away do what you heart desires when it come to cooking. Taste it feel it and best of all make it your own.
Thank you very much for the resipe l enjoy the pasta and also my family loved it
You’re absolutely right! The best recipes come from fearless experimentation. Don’t be afraid to put your own twist on things.
This is my go to spaghetti recipe. I’ve made it several times now and I love it. I really appreciate the additional tips on how to adjust the flavor. You can really make it to suit your taste. Personally, I make mine a bit sweeter than most since that’s what I grew up with as a typical Filipino.
I’m so glad you enjoy the recipe! It’s always wonderful to hear from people who have made it and loved it. Thank you for sharing your tip about making it a bit sweeter – that’s a great way to personalize it to your taste. I love that you mentioned your Filipino heritage and how it influences your preferences.
This is goated
It is good…
Glad you liked it!
Delicious! I actually turn to Inspired Taste a lot for recipes. 🙂
That makes me so happy! Thank you for the support and kind words.
Awesome! I loved it!
Yay! That’s fantastic!
It was great im from iran and made this recipe thanks
Me too, im from iran
We are so happy that you enjoyed it!
Hello!!! I can’t find any cans of crushed tomatoes in shops around me as of right now… is there anything I can substitute for crushed tomatoes?
Absolutely! Any canned tomatoes will work. You can use a blender, food mill, or even your fingers to crush/blend them into more of a crushed tomato consistency.
Thank you for your recipe.
You’re welcome! I hope you enjoy it.
wow!
We hope you try it!
It’s very delicious, i like it. It’s my favourite food.
Awesome!
Just one question do you drain off the fat from the ground beef?
I have used ground round or ground sirloin to solve the fat problem and whole wheat pasta. Delicious either way.
Great tips! Using leaner ground meat and whole wheat pasta are excellent ways to make this dish healthier without sacrificing flavor.
It is up to you. I will if there is a lot left from browning the beef. You want a tablespoon or so left in the pan.
Its very delicious 😋 my mother liked it.
Wonderful! It’s always extra special when a recipe gets the family seal of approval.
Great recipe! Thank you.
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you enjoyed it.
Definitely easy, making the sauce for the second time. Family likes it.
That’s wonderful to hear! So glad your family enjoys it too.
Super delicious! Used more spices and added a couple punches of brown sugar. Super yummy! Must try, and easy to put your spin on it.
That sounds fantastic! I love hearing how people adjust recipes to make them their own. So glad you love it!
Knowing how much water would be helpful. Looks good.
When would you add the fish sauce in? After it’s already cooked? Or toss it in with other ingredients? Thanks so much!
Yep! Just add a few dashes when the sauce is cooked.
Meat sauce almost EXACTLY how my mother and grandmother made it – YUM! Next time I will try adding the anchovies or fish sauce. Thanks for sharing!
That’s wonderful! There’s nothing quite like the taste of family recipes. So glad this one brought back good memories.
I made this and it was delicious. You are my kind of cooks. I’ve never come across anyone who made cooking so easy, nutritious and delicious. I want to make the food you present, and I will. Thank you so very much for sharing your talents and hard work. The very best to you.
You are very kind. Thank you for coming back and reviewing the recipe! So happy you enjoyed it.
My family and friends have fallen in love with your brownie recipe. Since then we love to cook your recipes. Tonight I made this new spaghetti recipe for dinner, and it turns out that it’s hard to stop to have another one! I definitely have to share this recipe with my friends 🙂
This makes us so happy! Thanks for coming back and letting us know.
I want to cook everything I see on this channel and also it started on YouTube. Cant get enough you guys aren’t getting your proper dues.
This is so kind of you to say. We are thrilled that you have found us.
Yum. Will make this. Thank you!