One of my personal favorites of my Go-To meals is spaghetti and meatballs. Now, don’t get too excited thinking I am going to share a luscious tomato sauce that was slowly simmered all afternoon. Remember, the purpose of the Go-To meals is to have simple, delicious, quick meals that you can have the ingredients on hand to have any night so you don’t resort to unplanned takeout. So, in honor of the purpose of Go-To meals, this recipe begins with a jar of Prego (insert your favorite jarred sauce here) spaghetti sauce! Here is my Go-To meal recipe for Spaghetti and Meatballs.
Now, remember, the purpose of go-to meals is to have a meal you consistently enjoy and are quick and easy to make. So, this meal works for me and my tastes, but what works for you?
Let’s get cooking!
Go-To Meals: Spaghetti & Meatballs
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound Spaghetti noodles of your choice I used thin spaghetti in this.
- 1 jar Spaghetti sauce of your choice I used Prego.
- 1/2 pound Frozen Italian meatballs of your choice Mine are from Costco.
Instructions
- Fill a large pot with water, enough to cover and cook your pasta and get it on the stove on high with a lid on it.
- While the water is getting hot, gather the rest of your ingredients on the counter so they are easy to reach.
- Defrost meatballs in the microwave for a few minutes to get them ready to cook.
- In a medium-sized pot or skillet (with a lid), heat a little olive oil and pan-fry your meatballs until there are a few sides that are golden brown.
- When the meatballs are browned, open your sauce and add it to the pan with the meatballs. Cover the pan and let the sauce heat up over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
- By now, your water should be boiling, add your noodles and let cook according to package directions.
- Your meal is almost done! Heat up the veggies you chose for a side dish. My favorite is frozen broccoli!
- When the pasta is done, drain and return to the pot.
- Check your meatballs are heated through to the middle. If so, you are ready to go!
- Begin plating your dinner. While I plate, I also dish up servings of pasta into leftover containers so they are ready to go for lunch tomorrow and serving sizes are roughly equal.
- Now relax and enjoy!
Notes
- Using browned ground beef in the sauce instead of meatballs. This makes it more of a Bolognese-style sauce.
- Mixing up the pasta style and using a short penne or rotini style pasta
- Adding some extras to the sauce like a spoonful of pesto or a splash of cream
- Use your favorite sauce. Prego tastes like a childhood memory for me, but if you want to go gourmet and use a fancy brand, you do you!
- Using freshly grated parmesan cheese as a topping (Fresh parmesan cheese can be frozen so it is always available to you to dress up a dinner!)
- Mixing up the veggie to be a side salad, or skipping the veggie in favor of a breadstick or roll!
Are you hungry yet?
One of the goals of go-to meals is to have a hot tasty meal ready to eat quickly. So, let’s coordinate and get the cooking going quickly when you start! I will continue to share more of my Go-To meals and other ideas for Go-To meals that may inspire you to add them to your rotation. Remember, the base of these Go-To meals is quick, ingredients you can have on hand at all times, satisfying, and cheaper than takeout!
Do you have a pasta-based recipe that is one of your go-to meals? Please share it in the comments below or on our Go-To meals Pinterest board!
Very good post about spaghetti and meatballs. Wonderful recipe. Looks yummy and delicious. Nicely written and keep up the good work.
It is a super easy and delicious meal! Thanks for the comment!
Your recipes look amazing!
Okay this is definitely an easy and quick recipe, and I like such recipes. Definitely something I can make for my family that’s yummy but also doesn’t keep on my feet for a long time.
I like this recipe as well but always use the minced pork meat instead. My family does not eat beef so often but still loves Italian food. It tastes good as well.
Yes, Minced pork, turkey, or chicken would all work great as a substitution for beef! Thanks for mentioning that!
I love spaghetti and meatballs, and this looks delicious! We aim to make meals from scratch, but let’s be honest – we don’t always have time for that. I love how you incorporated veggies into the meal 🙂
I do get plant meatballs from Ikea but haven’t had spaghetti and meatballs for a while now. Thanks for the recipe.