Quick 10 minute Easy Spaghetti Recipe is made simply with tomato sauce, garlic, and Parmesan. This million-dollar spaghetti on a budget will become your new favorite pasta dish on rotation.
Table of contents
This easy spaghetti recipe was created out of one of those moments where I didn’t know what to make and wanted one of my healthy dinner ideas that everyone would eat. Well, we ate…and ate…and ate some more.
It’s a simple recipe using a few basic ingredients and it turned out to be the best spaghetti ever and just as easy as healthy mac and cheese.
No long-simmering sauces or high restaurant bills, save your money and your time and make tastier healthy pasta recipes right at home!
Super Easy Spaghetti Recipe
The flavors come together so nicely in this spaghetti, no one will believe it’s made with plain canned tomato sauce and it’s ready in only 10 minutes!
It’s as easy as cooking your spaghetti, making the sauce with plenty of garlic and oregano, then combining them together. All you need is one pot.
It’s the little things that add up to be timesavers on busy nights.
Garnish with freshly grated parmesan and serve simple spaghetti and sauce dish with a healthy salad recipe or add protein with turkey meatballs.
It’s nice to splurge sometimes on a delicious meal, but it’s even nicer to have that same delicious meal for a fraction of the cost! That’s why we love healthy chicken alfredo, too.
This is the best, cheapest, spaghetti I have ever had anywhere!
Ingredients for Simple Spaghetti
You will be amazed at how these simple ingredients make the tastiest spaghetti pasta sauce recipe!
- Spaghetti: Any pasta will work. I prefer using whole wheat or whole grain because it contains fibre and nutrients. If you use regular white pasta, please note the nutritional information of this delicious spaghetti recipe will change. Gluten free spaghetti such as brown rice, or quinoa, will also work but it does cook faster than wheat. So watch it to avoid a mushy mess.
- Tomato sauce: To make good spaghetti, you need a can of cheap, preferably low sodium, tomato sauce that reads “tomato sauce.” Not “spaghetti sauce,” not “pizza sauce,” not “pasta sauce,” not “marinara sauce.” Just “tomato sauce.”
- Parmesan cheese: I highly recommend using a block of fresh Parmesan and grating your own for this simple spaghetti recipe. Pre-grated Parmesan cheese in a shaker contains cellulose as a filler and does not taste as fresh.
- Extra virgin olive oil and fresh garlic: You’ll need lots of minced garlic in this recipe which makes it just as flavorful as a homemade spaghetti sauce.
- Dried oregano, salt, and pepper: A simple seasoning to add to the sauce is all you need.
How to Make Spaghetti
Everything cooks in one pot for this spaghetti with tomato sauce recipe! That’s why I love my 6 quart Dutch oven so much!
Cook spaghetti: Fill a large Dutch oven or pot with cold water 3/4 full and bring to a boil. Add 2 tsp salt and spaghetti.
Ensure pasta does not stick together: Separate pasta with tongs a few times during the first 2 minutes of cooking to ensure it does not stick.
Keep cooking uncovered for 5 more minutes or until al dente, stirring occasionally.
Drain pasta: Test the spaghetti for doneness towards the end by grabbing one strand onto a plate with tongs. Do not overcook until too soft. The key to tasty pasta is cooked pasta with a bite. Drain in a colander.
Cook garlic: Return the pot to medium heat and add the olive oil, 4 garlic cloves, and oregano. Cook for 20 seconds, stirring constantly.
Garlic cooks fast and can easily burn, so don’t walk away. Turn off the heat.
Add remaining ingredients: Drained pasta, tomato sauce, remaining 1/2 tsp salt, ground black pepper, and 1 more fresh garlic clove. Stir gently until warmed through.
That 1 clove of fresh garlic at the end is a must!
Sprinkle with Parmesan…and serve immediately!
Tips for Best Results
- Cook spaghetti in salted water. This seasons the pasta as it cooks and adds to the flavor.
- Cook pasta only to al dente. No one likes mushy pasta, plus it will break apart when you go twirl it on your fork!
- To customize add cooked ground turkey or ground beef like I do in Instant Pot spaghetti or if you have meat lovers in your household, try my homemade meat sauce recipe. Need low carb? Try zucchini noodles, like I use in zucchini noodles with chicken.
How Much Salt Should I Add to Pasta Water?
While this can vary by how much pasta you are making, for 12 oz. I recommend 2 tsp of salt added to the water.
Don’t worry. You will not be eating 2 teaspoons of salt. Saltwater boils faster than unsalted water, it also adds a ton of flavor to the pasta and helps the pasta keep from clumping together.
How Long to Cook Spaghetti?
If you use white pasta, whole wheat pasta, or gluten free pasta, the time will be different. Always check the directions on your package. For this recipe, I used whole wheat spaghetti and cooked it for a total of 7 minutes.
Now to tell when it’s done, do you know that old trick of throwing pasta against a wall to see if it sticks? Yeah, don’t do that. Although, that is a great way to tell if it’s overdone!
Really and truly, the only way you’re going to tell for sure is to test it along the way. Take one out, blow on it, or run it under cold water to cool it off, and take a bite!
If it’s edible with a bite, but not undercooked and hard, it’s probably done. This is what al dente means.
How to Reheat Spaghetti?
Refrigerate spaghetti leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days. To reheat, add to a pot with a splash of water and simmer on low.
More FAQs
Turn off the heat before adding it and it will cook with residual heat rather than burning.
To keep your spaghetti strands whole hold a bundle of spaghetti for 20 seconds when you first add it to the pot with boiling water, then push in the rest as the submerged portion of pasta softens.
Serve healthy spaghetti recipe with Parmesan cheese and Italian chopped salad on the side. For some heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes. A sprinkle of fresh basil would be amazing if you have some!
For restaurant quality at home add some nice crusty bread with garlic olive oil bread dip or these cauliflower breadsticks and a glass of red wine.
More Easy Pasta Recipes
- Crockpot chicken spaghetti
- Ground turkey and broccoli pasta
- Chicken and whole wheat spaghetti
- Pasta with zucchini and tomatoes
Need more help with dinner? Check out iFOODreal meal plans.
10 Minute Easy Spaghetti Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 oz any spaghetti uncooked
- 15 oz can tomato sauce low sodium
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 5 large garlic cloves minced
- 2 1/2 tsp salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 2 tsp oregano dried
- Parmesan cheese grated
Instructions
- Fill large Dutch oven or pot with cold water 3/4 full and bring to a boil. Add 2 tsp salt and spaghetti.
- Separate pasta with tongs a few times during first 2 minutes of cooking. This will ensure spaghetti do not stick together.
- Cook pasta uncovered for 5 more minutes or until al dente, stirring occasionally. Taste for doneness while cooking. Do not overcook until too soft. The key to tasty pasta is firm cooked pasta. Drain spaghetti in a colander.
- Return pot to medium heat and add olive oil, 4 garlic cloves and oregano. Turn off the heat. Stir constantly for 20 seconds.
- Add drained pasta, tomato sauce, remaining 1/2 tsp salt, black pepper and 1 garlic clove. Stir gently until warmed through.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately. This is the best cheap and quite healthy spaghetti I have ever had anywhere!
Video
Notes
- Store: Refrigerate spaghetti leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days. To reheat, add to a pot with a splash of water and simmer on low.
- Freeze: Do not freeze. Pasta generally does not freeze well.
- Spaghetti: Any pasta will work, whole wheat, whole grain, even gluten free.
- How do you know pasta is ready? Remove one piece of pasta on a plate, let cool for 30 seconds and taste. Also if you can easily cut it with a fork, pasta is ready.
- Tomato sauce: To make good spaghetti, you need a can of cheap tomato sauce that reads “tomato sauce”. Preferably low sodium. Not “spaghetti sauce”, not “pizza sauce”, not “pasta sauce”, not “marinara sauce”.
- Parmesan cheese: Pre-grated Parmesan cheese in a shaker contains cellulose as a filler. Use fresh and real Parmesan.
- Why so much salt? It is important to cook spaghetti with salt to prevent pasta from sticking. And to add flavor during cooking.
Why Tomato sauce specifically? Why not pasta or marinara?
We are adding salt, oregano, garlic, olive oil to the plain tomato sauce. It’s simple, wholesome and so good! You can use marinara and omit the other spices if you would like as that usually already has them in it.
Another yummy recipe from Olena!! I made this for the fam tonight. I cooked lean ground beef with onions. Then I boiled and drained the pasta. Followed the recipe but added the beef/ onions to the pot with the pasta and sauce. It’s my new go to recipe for spaghetti!! My son and I thought it was better than using jarred sauce!! And no sugar, or extra sodium!! Thanks Olena!!
So glad you enjoyed it!
uhm what are the utensils needed?
Tongs are always great for handling spaghetti and then a fork to eat it with 🙂