One Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Square photo of an overhead view of a pot with spaghetti and meat sauce garnished with parsley in a blue Dutch oven.

4.58 from 26 votes

One Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

This spaghetti with meat sauce is cooked in only one pot, with only three main ingredients! Since you aren't draining anything, not only is this recipe incredibly easy and hands-off, but the starch from the pasta stays in the pot, thickening the sauce to a luxurious consistency that sticks to every noodle. You'll love this easy basic recipe that can be whipped up in only 25 minutes!

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Pasta

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: servings

Calories: 462kcal

Author: Elizabeth Lindemann

Equipment

Dutch Oven (or large heavy pot with lid)

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb. ground beef or other ground meat of choice, see notes
24 oz. jarred marinara sauce I used Rao's
4 cups water
16 oz. dried spaghetti or other pasta, see notes
½ teaspoon kosher salt more if needed
¼ teaspoon black pepper more if needed
cracked black pepper, parmesan cheese, olive oil, and/or crushed red pepper for serving, optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

In a large heavy pot with a lid, such as a Dutch oven, brown the 1 lb. ground beef in the 1 tablespoon olive oil until fully cooked and crumbled apart.
Add the 24 oz. jarred marinara sauce 4 cups water (a jar and a third, if you want to use the marinara sauce jar to measure - exact precision isn't necessary here), and ½ teaspoon kosher salt to the pot and stir together. Add the 16 oz. dried spaghetti to the pot, breaking the noodles in half as you go. Push the noodles down to submerge in the liquid as best you can (it's OK if they don't submerge all the way).
Bring to a boil, cover, and turn heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes total, stirring every five minutes (tongs work well for this), and adding more water toward the end if it seems dry. Taste to test the pasta for doneness. It should be almost done at this point. Turn off the heat, cover, and allow to sit for 5-10 more minutes, to finish cooking and absorbing the sauce.
Serve with cracked black pepper, parmesan cheese, olive oil, and/or crushed red pepper, if desired.

Notes

Feel free to use another kind of ground meat - turkey or sausage will work, or a plant-based ground meat substitute.
You can substitute another shape of pasta if you want - it may need a little more or less water, but not so much that you shouldn't be able to adjust course as needed while cooking! Don't use angel hair or a very delicate pasta, as it will turn to a mushy texture.
This was made with regular semolina spaghetti. I have not tried a one pot pasta recipe with other kinds of pasta, such as whole wheat, chickpea, or gluten-free. If anyone tries this variety with another kind of pasta, please make sure to let us know in the comments how it turns out for you!

Nutrition