10 minute Easy Spaghetti Recipe with tomato sauce, garlic, oregano and Parmesan. It’s quick and simple recipe for spaghetti everyone loves!
We also love this 30ish minute one pot spaghetti, Instant Pot spaghetti and shrimp spaghetti recipe.
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This easy spaghetti recipe was created one of those moments when I didn’t know what to make, and wanted one of quick healthy dinners that everyone would eat. Well, we ate…and ate…and ate some more.
It’s a simple spaghetti recipe using a few basic ingredients and it turned out to be the best spaghetti ever and even easier than healthy mac and cheese!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Quick: No long-simmering sauces and it’s ready in only 10 minutes.
- Easy: It’s as easy as cooking your spaghetti, making the sauce, then combining them together. All you need is one pot!
- Budget-friendly: No high restaurant bills, save your money and your time and make tasty pasta dinner right at home!
- Tastes like a restaurant’s meal: The flavors come together so nicely, no one will believe it’s made with plain canned tomato sauce!
Ingredients for Easy Spaghetti Recipe
You will be amazed at how these simple ingredients make the tastiest easy spaghetti recipe.
- Spaghetti: Any pasta will work. I prefer to use whole wheat or whole grain noodles because they contain fibre and nutrients. If you use regular white pasta, please note the nutritional information will change.
- 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 Parmigiano Reggiano and grating your own. Pre-grated Parmesan cheese in a shaker contains cellulose as a filler and does not taste as fresh.
- Garlic: You’ll need lots of minced garlic in this recipe which makes it just as flavorful as a homemade spaghetti sauce.
- Olive oil: Use quality and extra virgin olive oil because you it adds to the flavor.
- Dried oregano, salt, and pepper: A simple seasoning to add to the sauce is all you need.
How to Make Easy Spaghetti Recipe
Here is a quick overview hot to make this easy spaghetti recipe. Everything cooks in one pot! 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 teaspoons of salt and spaghetti. 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, al dente pasta. Drain in a colander.
- Cook garlic: Return the pot to medium heat and add 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: Combine drained spaghetti, tomato sauce, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, ground black pepper, and 1 more fresh garlic clove in same pot. Stir gently until warmed through. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve this spaghetti immediately!
Tips for Best Results
Here are my top tips for the best easy spaghetti recipe in the world!
- Cook spaghetti in salted water: Don’t worry, you will not be eating 2 teaspoons of salt. Salted water boils faster than unsalted water, it also adds a ton of flavor to the pasta and prevents spaghetti noodles from clumping together.
- Cook pasta only to al dente: If it’s edible with a bite but not undercooked and hard, it’s probably done. This is what al dente means. No one likes mushy pasta, plus it will break apart when you go twirl it on your fork.
- Using gluten-free pasta: Gluten free spaghetti made with brown rice or quinoa will work but it does cook faster than wheat. So cook for shorter amount of time and watch it to avoid a mushy mess.
- Don’t reduce amount of garlic: That one clove of fresh garlic at the end is a must!
- To prevent garlic from burning: Turn off heat before adding the garlic and it will cook with residual heat rather than burning.
Variations
Here are a few variations to adjust this spaghetti recipe to ingredients you have on hand or your tastebuds:
- To add protein: You can add cooked ground turkey, chicken, beef, pork or Italian sausage. Saute it first after cooking the spaghetti but before sauteing the garlic, and transfer to a large bowl. If you’re cooking ground beef or pork, I also recommend to drain the fat. Then add to the recipe along with tomato sauce and cheese.
- Add some heat: Add up to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes along with garlic and saute.
- Fresh herbs: Add 2 or 3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil or parsley. Or add 1 to 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme or lemon thyme. Fresh herbs and another wonderful layer of flavor!
- Cheese: Instead of Parmesan cheese use freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese. It’s harder to find but has very nice flavor!
What to Serve with Simple Spaghetti Recipe?
Garnish your cooked spaghetti with more freshly grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil or parsley. This dish is flavorful so it will go well with a simple salad like simple butter lettuce salad or spring mix salad. Both of these salads will complete the concept of “easy dinner”.
For restaurant quality meal at home, add some nice crusty bread with olive oil bread dip or garlic bread and a glass of red wine.
To add some protein, make a batch of turkey meatballs or Instant Pot meatballs and serve on a side.
How to Store and Reheat
Store: Refrigerate spaghetti leftovers in an airtight container for up to 2 days. To reheat, add to a pot with a splash of water or vegetable broth and simmer on low heat while covered for a few minutes.
You can also reheat it in a microwave without extra liquid for 30-60 seconds or until heated through.
Freeze: I don’t recommend to freeze cooked pasta. It becomes mushy and unappetizing once thawed.
FAQs
If you use white pasta, whole wheat pasta, or gluten free pasta, cook 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.
Really and truly, the only way you’re going to tell for sure is to test pasta along the way. Take one out, blow on it, or run it under cold water to cool it off, and take a bite.
Yes, to make it low carb use spaghetti squash noodles or zucchini noodles.
To keep your spaghetti strands long and avoid having to break them, hold a bunch 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.
If you find your spaghetti sauce tastes too acidic, add 1-2 teaspoons of any sugar, honey or maple syrup.
More Easy Spaghetti and Pasta Recipes
- Caprese pasta
- No boil pasta bake
- Crockpot chicken spaghetti
- Chicken and whole wheat spaghetti
- Ground turkey and broccoli pasta
- Mongolian ground beef noodles
- Alphagetti
Be sure to check out more of our healthy pasta recipes!
Easy Spaghetti Recipe
Ingredients
- 12 ounces any spaghetti uncooked
- 15 ounces can tomato sauce low sodium
- 2 tablespoons olive oil extra virgin
- 5 large garlic cloves minced
- 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
- Ground black pepper to taste
- 2 teaspoons 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 teaspoons 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 teaspoon salt, black pepper and 1 garlic clove. Stir gently until warmed through.
- Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.
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 or broth and simmer on low heat.
- 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.
- 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.
and many times instead of the tomato sauce I use a tin of diced tomatoes, sometimes adding a small tin of tomato paste. I also have added left over cooked meat and really like browning lean ground beef with the oil and garlic (and onion) then added the tomato and pasta.
Yes, a fav recipe all winter.
Yay, sounds great!
Excellent! I like the way you use garlic here…
Garlic every day haha. Glad you liked it.:)
A friend gave me some green peppers and I’m making this today.
Hope you like it. I love green peppers!!!
This has become my go-to spaghetti recipe I use every couple of weeks. It is so easy and so tasty and I feel better about making it myself than buying a jar of sauce. I usually add some ground turkey to it also.
Fantastic! Glad you enjoyed the recipe, Veronica! Yes, adding turkey works!
Quick, easy & surprisingly really tasty. This recipe is now one of my ‘go to’s’. On a side note, I like to garnish it with some chilli flakes to add a bit of spice and it’s bloody awesome!
Yum! Enjoyed the combination of the cooked garlic and the clove or raw garlic at the end. The whole family loved.
Yay! That clove of garlic changes everything in almost any dish. So happy to hear everyone enjoyed this spaghetti with tomato sauce recipe.
Really enjoyed this lovely, simple recipe. I tweaked it a bit and added crushed red pepper and anchovies. Melted the anchovy into the olive oil before the addition of the garlic and oregano. I have always loved the subtle, delicious flavor of cooking with anchovies. The additional raw garlic at the end was lovely. Definitely would make this again!
I LOVE anchovies too. Anchovies + garlic are heaven. I so agree lol. So happy you enjoyed this simple spaghetti recipe, Sarah!
Amazing! Quick, easy and very simple! Thank you. Again
You are very welcome, Diane.
I love that it is so easy and cheap. Although I will have to use less sodium cause of weight gain. Otherwise, I will make it as is. I love sardines too from a can.
Sounds good.:)
The best spaghetti with tomato sauce I ever tried!
Hi Olena, you are so right on the mark up of pasta at restaurants. We rarely dine out and I never order pasta when we do. I will try your recipe soon. I was wondering about the garlic in the photo at the top. Is it from Costco?
“the more I live, the less I dine out” LOL. It’s from Save on Foods, my local grocery store. Didn’t say from China so I bought it. Very convenient I have to say!Hope it’s at least from USA LOL.