This spaghetti is loaded with vegetables and a rich sauce to make a perfect comfort-food dinner!
This hearty and healthy spaghetti is such a great easy and hearty meal for any night of the week. If you’re looking to step away from store bought sauces, give this recipe a go! You won’t regret it.
I might try to make my spaghetti saucier in the future, but every time I go to make spaghetti I can’t help but load it up with delicious vegetables and meat and it never disappoints.
For a long time my husband and I didn’t buy canned goods. This was for many reasons. I had more time on my hands to make recipes from scratch and we just wanted to stay away from food stored in aluminum. But, my daughter came along and canned tomato products were a “must have” for me. I use them so often and it saves an incredible amount of time it has been well worth it. This recipe is a great example of why I need canned tomato products in my life right now!
Much of the prep for this dish can be done while some components have started cooking which saves time.
You can choose to cook the sauce just until the meat is cooked which will greatly decrease cook time (cooking for a total of 30 minutes including time for sautéing). Continuing to cook for longer will only enhance the flavor profile.
Vegetables: I like to include onion, garlic, bell peppers, and mushrooms as my staples. Zucchini is a great addition and sometimes I will add diced celery.
Making the sauce: Why so many different tomato ingredients? I have made spaghetti sauce many different ways and I have found this to be the best. The tomato paste adds thickness but also a lot of flavor. The tomato sauce helps to make sure the sauce isn’t too thick but also keeps the tomato flavor. You can replace the crushed tomatoes with about 12 oz. of tomato sauce and 1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes.
More Recipes with Beef
If you're looking for more recipes that use beef, try one of these delicious recipes:
Hearty and Healthy Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 6-7 cups cooked spaghetti noodles (about 12.5 ounces uncooked for thicker spaghetti noodles, 15 ounces for thinner noodles)
FOR THE MEAT AND VEGETABLES
- 2 tablespoon olive oil (for sautéing vegetables)
- 2 cups onion, chopped finely (about 1 onion)
- 3 tablespoon garlic, minced (4 large cloves)
- 1 ¾ cups green bell pepper, chopped finely (1 large bell pepper)
- 1 cups baby bella mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 ½ cups chopped zucchini (OPTIONAL)
- 1 lbs lean ground beef (or ground turkey)
FOR THE SAUCE
- 14.5 oz crushed tomatoes (1 can)
- ¼ cups tomato sauce
- 4 tablespoon tomato paste, no salt added
- ½-3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 teaspoon dried basil
- 4 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¾ teaspoon ground fennel
- ¼ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic granules/garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon olive oil to add to sauce (In addition to oil for sautéing)
- 5 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Begin boiling about 16 oz. of spaghetti noodles (typically 1 package) as directed. This will yield about 7 cups cooked noodles.Once cooked, you can remove from heat and leave noodles in the water or drain noodles and cover to keep warm until ready to serve.
- Heat a large, heavy-bottom saucepan (I use a 5-quart Corning Ware) to medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Once hot, add diced onion, bell pepper, mushroom, minced garlic, and optional zucchini, and sauté for 3-5 minutes or until onions are slightly translucent.
- Add 1 lb. ground beef and cook for another 5 minutes, chopping meat fine. Cover to quicken the cook and keep in the juices.
- Meanwhile, in a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine: crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon olive oil, water, and all spices. Add to the pot with veggies and meat. Decrease heat to low and continue to cook for another 20-25 minutes, covered.
- Choose to add your cooked noodles to the veggie and meat sauce at this point or serve sauce on top of noodles.
- Garnish with grated parmesan and crushed red pepper.
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