Kid-Friendly Spaghetti
A simple, kid-friendly spaghetti with a mild tomato-beef sauce that’s easy to make.
Equipment
- Large skillet or saucepan
- Pot for boiling pasta
- Colander
- Spatula or wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (80% lean / 20% fat)
- 2 cups hot water
- 2 cubes beef bouillon or use 2 cups beef broth and omit hot water
- 8 ounce tomato sauce 1 (8-ounce) can
- 6 ounce tomato paste 1 (6-ounce) can
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- garlic powder pinch
- salt and pepper to taste
- 16 ounce spaghetti 1 (16-ounce) package
Instructions
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it into small pieces, until browned, about 8–10 minutes. Drain excess fat.
- Meanwhile, dissolve the 2 beef bouillon cubes in 2 cups hot water; add the bouillon mixture to the browned beef.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, dried basil, dried oregano, a pinch of garlic powder, and salt and pepper to taste.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer the sauce, uncovered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- During the last few minutes of the sauce's simmer, cook the spaghetti in a pot of boiling salted water according to package directions until al dente; drain well.
- Add the drained spaghetti to the sauce and toss to coat evenly. Serve warm with grated Parmesan if desired.
Notes
- If using dry herbs, add them at the beginning; add fresh herbs toward the end.
- Add 1 tablespoon salt to the pasta water to season the noodles if desired.
- To balance sauce acidity, add sugar or shredded carrots.
- Use spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, or gluten-free noodles as low-carb or gluten-free options.