What’s not to love about one-pot dishes and what’s not to love about Spaghetti? It’s convenience and comfort food all rolled into one dish!! The combination of these 2 things spells out ONE DELICIOUS MEAL!!! The last thing you want to do when you come back from work is to dirty a lot of dishes and then to wash those dishes. My one-pot spaghetti and meat sauce comes together with minimal prep work and a low simmer on the stove for a delicious, meaty flavored homemade spaghetti for the best weeknight family dinner!!!

As I started writing this post, I was wrestling with its title. I have made this dish for as long as I can remember and never really had a name for it. It was just referred to as “that yummy pasta dish” in my house. You can call it so many names but when I started thinking about it, I realized what makes this so special for us and that’s when the name hit me! You can’t beat the fact that it is one pot, it has meat in it and we use spaghetti. So, I decided to call it One-Pot Spaghetti and Meat Sauce as the title simply sums it up!! If you are ever lost for dinner or need to impress your in-laws/friends/neighbors or ANYONE, you just need to prepare this dish and they will think you are Martha Stewart!!

This dish is Italian in inspiration, American (with a touch of Indian) in its popularity and it is way better than what you will find in restaurants.

This dish is made with the basic ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry which is what makes it so easy and special!

What type of meat did you use?

For this particular recipe, I opted to use Organic Ground Turkey (93% Lean and 7% Fat).

Can you use another type of meat?

Yes, you absolutely can use any meat of your choice. Ground chicken, pork or beef are excellent choices!

Can you make it vegan or vegetarian?

Yes, you can substitute the meat with minced tofu, or mushrooms and add vegetables of your choice. The marinara sauce used in this sauce is the Raos Homemade Marinara Sauce.

Can you do the prep work before?

Yes, you can do the prep work for this dish up to a day in advance and simply put it together 25 minutes before you want to it.

Why are you using a pre-made Marinara Sauce?

I sincerely believe that if you can combine home cooking with some outside help, it makes our job a lot easier. We don’t have to learn to make everything especially sauces!! I have tried and tested many sauces over the years and no one has ever come close to Roas’s which is why I am sharing this recipe with you. I want to encourage everyone to eat a home-cooked meal but not at the cost of slaving in the kitchen for hours. If you would prefer to make a home-cooked marinara sauce then you can certainly go ahead and use it in this recipe otherwise Rao’s is AMAZING!!

Do you have to use Spaghetti?

No, you absolutely don’t!! You can use any type of pasta for this dish, even brown rice pasta or quinoa pasta. Elbow Pasta or Penne Pasta are great choices too! The choice is yours!!

Can you freeze Spaghetti?

You can freeze the sauce and make fresh spaghetti when you want to eat it. You can defrost the sauce by transferring it from the freezer to the fridge the night before or you can even defrost it the same day in your microwave or by placing it in a bath of hot water for an hour.

What can you serve with this dish?

You can serve garlic bread and a green salad or choose to serve it with a nice crunchy bowl of Ceasar salad.

Ready to make this dish?

Refer to my step by step pictures below to help you recreate this dish for your family!!