Homemade Alphagetti Recipe made healthy with a few simple ingredients in one pot super fast. Make once, send in a thermos for lunch all week.
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If your kids like all this canned pasta in tomato sauce products, they will love this homemade alphagetti recipe.
Pack it for their healthy lunch, they will love it!
Ingredients for Alphagetti
- Pasta
- Tomato sauce
- Cheese
- Maple syrup
- Cornstarch
- Dried oregano
- Ground coriander
- Salt and pepper
How to Make Alphagetti Recipe
Here’s a quick overview how to make alphagetti from scratch at home. Full recipe card is located below.
- In a large pot, add tomato sauce, 7 cups water, honey, garlic powder, salt, oregano and coriander; bring to a boil.
- Add 1 cup water and cornstarch into a small bowl and whisk until dissolved. Pour into a boiling pot.
- Add pasta and cook uncovered on low – medium heat for about 7 – 10 minutes or until pasta is al dente, stirring occasionally. Do not overcook pasta as it will continue cooking off the heat. Add cheese and stir until melted; remove from heat.
- Cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes to thicken and flavours marry each other although it’s OK to eat right away. After an hour or two it will be even thicker. Serve hot.
How Long Does It Last?
Alphagetti thickens with time as pasta keeps cooking in a hot sauce. So, don’t worry if it’s too thin first thing off the heat. Photo above shows you before and after an hour or two sitting on a counter.
It can be refrigerated for days and even frozen. My boys had it for lunch 3 days straight and I had nothing to freeze. In fact, both kids had it some days twice, for lunch and dinner.
You can easily freeze the leftovers as soon as your kids get tired of it. In fact, I have made this pot mainly for freezing.
More Pasta Recipes to Try
- Healthy mac and cheese
- Instant Pot mac and cheese
- One pot spaghetti
- Easy spaghetti recipe
- Lemon chicken pasta
- Chicken spinach pasta
Alphagetti
Ingredients
- 2 x 14 oz cans tomato sauce low sodium*
- 8 cups water divided (I used boiled kettle water)
- 2 tbsp raw honey or maple syrup
- 1 tbsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp oregano dried
- 1/2 tsp coriander ground
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 3 1/2 cups any small pasta I used brown rice for GF version
- 1 cup any cheese shredded
Instructions
- In a large pot, add tomato sauce, 7 cups water, honey, garlic powder, salt, oregano and coriander; bring to a boil.
- Add 1 cup water and cornstarch into a small bowl and whisk until dissolved. Pour into a boiling pot.
- Add pasta and cook uncovered on low – medium heat for about 7 – 10 minutes or until pasta is al dente, stirring occasionally. Do not overcook pasta as it will continue cooking off the heat. Add cheese and stir until melted; remove from heat.
- Cover and let sit for at least 30 minutes to thicken and flavours marry each other although it's OK to eat right away. After an hour or two it will be even thicker. Serve hot.
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freeze: Fully cook, cool completely and freeze in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Thaw on a stovetop covered on low.
- *Feel free to use not low sodium tomato sauce (that’s what I had) and adjust salt to taste.
This is perfect for when your kids stay home were there’s no school or the weekend. Good stuff Olena.
So I’m slightly confused on how many pots are used. I read to combine tomatoes and a few other ingredients into a pot, and then pour the whisked ingredients into a different boiling pot, pot of what; the tomato water or just another pot and then boil the rue in that second pot? Please advise. Thank you.
Hi Fran. Everything is cooked in one pot. You add whisked ingredients to the same pot with tomato brew. Then pasta.
Wondering if it’s the same measurement if you are actually using the alphaghetti noodles (the ABC pasta)? Still 3 1/2 cups? Worried about it skewing the recipe.
Great thinking! I would probably use 2 – 1/2 cups.
I have heard that tomatoes especially leach out the can lining due to their acidity. How would you modify this recipe to avoid that issue?
You can buy strained or crushed tomatoes in a glass jar or bottle. Apparently there are a few organic brands, especially in Whole Foods, which I don’t have nearby. I currently use BPA free Kirkland tomato sauce, the can inside is golden colour, made out of steel. I just tried to find if that is OK without BPA and couldn’t find anything. I know tomatoes are acidic…My head is spinning these days as I’m reading about plastics, cookware, natural cleaners. These toxins and harmful chemicals are everywhere! I wonder what is better: organic tomato sauce in a can or not organic in a glass jar?! Go figure…
It worked!!! I poured boiling water into my Klean Kanteen food jar for 5 minutes and the food was warm, almost hot, after 4 hours sitting in a lunch bag! Yay! Thank you for this tip!
Gaah! I just remembered to check this now! So sorry for the delayed follow up. I live in New York and the Spaghetti-O’s here have tiny meatballs sometimes. Before we went clean my son loved them. I would love to make a replacement, I haven’t figured out a good one yet. So glad the thermos trick worked for you. My husband heard it from a friend, I’m glad to pass it along!
You can use your favourite meatballs recipe and roll into tiny meatballs. Have never seen those Spaghetti-O’s in the West but I honestly have never looked either LOL. Although I know West and East food selection differs.
It does but not as well. The water does the trick! I do it first thing when I wake up and let it sit while I make breakfast. Switching the water to the food is the last thing I do before my husband walks out the door. He doesn’t leave until after I’m up for a while so it’s easy for me. It you are more time crunched it could be a pain. There are all different rated Thermoses. Make sure you get the expensive one and you should be good. Good luck!
Thank you. I will try that trick with Klean Kanteen and maybe go buy a Thermos to try to. We have Target going out of business in Canada so maybe I get a deal lol. I have time in the morning, I shouldn’t complain. Especially since I boil water for my green tea anyways.
I finally made this and my son loved it, yay!!! Now I need to figure out little meatballs. Thank you!
Yay. What meatballs?
I have been searching for a recipe like this for a long time for my 4 year old boy, who is the pickiest eater of my 4 children. I am so excited to try it. Thank you for sharing such practical family recipes!
Welcome. I have the same situation. I hear ya lol. He will eat this for days straight.:)
Thanks for this recipe! I am pinning and I will make it for my children:)
Would you mind sharing the brand and name of the Thermos you purchased, which you found kept the food warmer than others? Thanks!
I now have Klean Kanteen. The trick is to pour boiling water in it before adding hot food. The food is very warm after 4 hours. I love that it is 100% stainless steel, even the lid.
This sounds so good and so easy. My kiddos will love this. I’ll add to my menu an for next week. Thanks for all the healthy and wonderful recipes.