4.50 from 2 votes

One-Pan Spaghetti

ByStacie Vaughan On October 3, 2018November 25, 2023 Updated November 25, 2023

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I’m a huge fan of quick, easy dinners, and this one-pan spaghetti truly takes the cake. It’s made in a single pan (as the name suggests!) and creates virtually no clean-up for those super-busy nights. It’s the perfect solution for evenings when you’re craving comfort food but don’t want to slave over a hot stove for hours.

I love that you can lump everything from the meat to the spaghetti into a pan and let it simmer away. There’s a bit of stirring involved, but it’s truly one of the easiest dishes in my weekly rotation. To make things even sweeter, you don’t need to worry about your pasta over-boiling and covering your stovetop!

Sweet, savory, and packed with texture, this is a one-pot dish that you’re going to adore.

Why You’ll Love This One-Pan Spaghetti

Your pasta won’t boil over (or need to be drained!) as everything is cooked in a single pan!
Clean-up couldn’t be easier and you can let your dishwasher do the dirty work.
It’s an incredible comfort food dish that the whole family will enjoy.
Most of the cook time involves simmering your dish on the stove (so it’s ideal for multi-tasking!).

Ingredients

The full printable recipe card with measurements and instructions is found at the bottom of the post.

Lean ground beef. I like using lean ground beef for this recipe as it’s healthier and will seep less fat into the final dish.
Sweet onion. For a touch of sweetness that balances the savory flavors in the dish.
Spaghetti. Regular spaghetti from the grocery store is great as it’s less starchy than fresh pasta.
Diced tomatoes. Gives the recipe a slight sharpness. If you don’t want to use diced tomatoes, marinara sauce works too.
Green pepper. For crunch and color.
Water. To loosen the sauce slightly.
Mushrooms. Virtually any mushroom works well here, but white button mushrooms or cremini mushrooms are particularly tasty in this one-pan spaghetti.
Chili powder. Gives the dish just a hint of spice. You can taper the amount to your taste!
Dried oregano. Grounds the one-pan spaghetti with an earthy and herby flavor that makes it taste authentically Italian.
Sugar. To balance the acidic flavors from the tomatoes.
Salt.
Garlic powder. For a savory kick!
Parmesan cheese. Just a sprinkle at the end will give this one-pan spaghetti an incredible nuttiness.

How to Make One-Pan Spaghetti

Step One: Cook ground beef and onions together in a large skillet until beef is browned and onions are soft. Drain fat.

Step Two: Stir in spaghetti noodles, diced tomatoes, green pepper, water, mushrooms, chili powder, oregano, sugar, salt and garlic powder. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step Three: To serve, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Equipment Needed

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What to Serve with One-Pan Spaghetti

Recipe Tips and Tricks

If you want a slightly chunkier sauce, use whole plum tomatoes from a can. They’ll break up slightly during the cooking process and give you a gloriously textured result.
It’s sacrilege to Italians, but you might want to split your spaghetti depending on the size of your pan. If it’s a large pan you’re using, feel free to leave your spaghetti whole.
This is a dish that can be left to bubble away, but you do need to stir it regularly. Otherwise, it’ll stick to the bottom of the pan as the liquid evaporates.
Don’t forget to salt your pasta. Salting your pasta before it’s cooked will make it taste ten times better!
Keep an eye on your pasta and the amount of liquid in the pan. The water can often evaporate quicker than you think, and you don’t want the pasta to stick. If you notice you’re low on liquid, add a splash of water or chicken broth to the mix.

Variations and Substitutions

For extra flavor, you can throw in Italian sausage or ground pork into the dish along with your lean ground beef.
Although you don’t need to use it, a small amount of chicken stock will make the spaghetti noodles taste even more delicious.
You can create the classic meat sauce for this recipe, but meatballs work too! They’ll require slightly more cooking time, but the rest of the steps will be exactly the same.

Storage Instructions

You’ll want to store this one-pot spaghetti in an airtight container where it’ll last for up to 3 days.

I recommend adding a small amount of water to the spaghetti before reheating to prevent it from drying out.

Can I Freeze?

You certainly can freeze this one-pot spaghetti!

Just make sure you freeze it in clearly-labeled batches and give it time to defrost in the fridge before reheating.

It should stay delicious in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Pasta Recipes

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4 Comments

Jen @ The Frozen Mind says:

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I just added this to my menu for Tuesday night’s dinner! Spaghetti in my husband’s favorite so I am sure this will be a hit! You had me a t only 1 pan to wash!

I am scheduling to share on Pinterest.

#SundayFeatures

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The Freshman Cook says:

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All I can say is YUM!!!!! This looks awesome!

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Miz Helen says:

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Your One Pan Spaghetti looks delicious! Thanks so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great week!
Miz Helen

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Molly says:

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This looks delicious. I might have to give it a try

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