My family’s favorite weeknight friendly spaghetti recipe is quick and simple. The super flavorful spaghetti sauce is ready in 45 minutes and you can use your favorite ground meat to make it (beef, turkey, and chicken are all excellent).
I love pasta for quick weeknight dinners, and this spaghetti tossed with my quick and easy meat sauce fits the bill! You can use any ground meat for this sauce. I love ground turkey, but ground beef, pork, and chicken are all excellent in this recipe.
Of all the pasta recipes on Inspired Taste, my family makes this one 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 for weeknights!
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 recipe.
- 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 spaghetti sauce or this 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.
How to Make the Best Spaghetti
You’ll start by making the easy meat sauce. 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. Our easy sauce simmers for about 25 minutes, so about 15 minutes before it is ready, you can cook your spaghetti.
For the best spaghetti, cook it in salted water. Pasta water should taste salty. I add a lot of salt to our pasta water (it makes the pasta taste delicious). I add about one tablespoon of salt for every four quarts (16 cups) of water, which is perfect for cooking one pound of pasta.
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.
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 our sauce cling to the noodles. My only caveat to this is when I’m making cold pasta dishes, like pasta salad or macaroni salad.
When your spaghetti is ready, toss it with your delicious homemade meat sauce and serve with some parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Yum!
What to Serve with Weeknight Spaghetti
This spaghetti recipe is on regular rotation in our house. Our family loves serving it with cheese garlic bread or this roasted garlic bread. 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.
