Homemade Spaghettios

These Homemade Spaghettios are the perfect combination of sentimental nostalgia and cozy comfort food! They’re an easy 30-minute meal that brings your childhood memories back to the dinner table…but with REAL food instead of the canned stuff. This is a tradition worth passing on to your children!

 

You’ll Love This

• It’s so quick and easy! Whether you make the meatballs ahead of time (here’s my favorite easy meatball recipe!) or buy some good frozen meatballs, this fun, delicious dinner is ready to go in less than 30 minutes and your kids are going to LOVE it! High quality frozen meatballs are the secret to getting this drool-worthy dinner on the table in less than a half-hour – this is our family’s favorite brand!
• It’s comfort food at it’s finest for adults and children alike! This is a fun meal at any time of year, but as we settle in for cooler weather, this dinner warms the soul. It’s perhaps a little nostalgic for the adults at the table, and the rich, creamy sauce will have everyone asking for seconds.
• Some homemade spaghettios recipes skip the all important Midwestern ingredient – cheese! This adult spaghettios recipe is loaded with Parmesan and heavy cream to give it that signature cheesy tomato sauce of your childhood favorite canned spaghettios.
• It’s super simple and made with REAL ingredients. The ingredients list is short and sweet. And best of all these homemade spaghettios are filled with real ingredients that you’ll recognize, and likely already have in your kitchen! To save prep time, I like to make the noodles a day in advance or use leftover noodles from another dinner. Buttered noodles are one of my daughter’s favorites so we’ve usually got some plain noodles floating around in the fridge!

Instructions

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add crushed tomatoes, oregano, garlic powder, onion powder, sugar, and a couple pinches of salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Stir frozen meatballs into the sauce.

Simmer for 12-14 minutes or until meatballs are heated through.

Add grated Parmesan and heavy cream.

Stir to combine.

Stir in cooked pasta.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with grated Parmesan and fresh chopped parsley if desired.

Tips

• No crushed tomatoes? No problem. Use a can of tomato sauce in place of crushed tomatoes. It will give you a smoother consistency overall. If you have picky kiddos (who maybe don’t want to see ANY chunks of tomato) tomato sauce will likely please their taste buds better because of the smoother texture.
• Prefer to make your own meatballs? If you have the time and you’re into it, making your own meatballs is a really simple way to elevate this a bit. You can even make them ahead of time and freeze them for later. Check out my recipe for homemade meatballs if you want to give it a try. Just pan fry homemade meatballs in a bit of olive oil and then add them the pot to finish cooking in the tomato sauce!
• If you’d rather make this dish vegetarian, you can omit the meatballs all together! This will make the overall dish slightly more saucey so you could either use 16 oz. of pasta or just enjoy a little added sauce!
• Consider grating your own Parmesan. Pre-grated cheeses includes preservatives that keep the shreds from clumping together on the shelf. Those same preservatives, however, mean the cheese doesn’t melt together quite as smoothly when cooking. For the best creamy texture, get a wedge of Parmesan and grate it yourself. The food processor works really well for grating Parmesan also!

Family Favorite Dinners

• Creamy Sausage & Mushroom Rigatoni
• Easy Baked Ravioli Lasagna
• 20 Minute One Pot Mac & Cheese
• Copycat Noodles & Co. Penne Rosa
• One Pot Mushroom Stroganoff

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