Why you’ll love these homemade spaghettiOs
I’ll be the first to say that I wasn’t a fan of SpaghettiOs when I was growing up. We were team Chef Boyardee in our house – should I be embarrassed to admit this now that I’m a food blogger? – and I was so obsessed that my mom was forced to deal with packing me a thermos for lunch because I refused to eat sandwiches.
But, I know that spaghettiOs have a huge place in many of your hearts, so I thought I’d make some from scratch – without milk – so that you can enjoy a it of nostalgia, or offer a bit of normalcy to a lifetime of dealing with food allergies.
So, these homemade spaghettiOs completely dairy free and I made them egg free too. You could potentially make them gluten free, too, if you use a pasta like this one and replace the breadcrumbs.
More meatball recipes: Grape jelly meatballs / Baked turkey meatballs / Buffalo chicken meatballs / Greek meatballs
Ingredient notes:
- Ground beef – at least 80 – 85% lean, you could also substitute ground turkey if you prefer.
- Pasta rings – we used little rings, but you can really use any small pasta you want. I think alphabet pasta would be great, too.
- Dairy free milk – any dairy free milk will work, but make sure it’s unsweetened and plain. If dairy is safe for you, feel free to use it.
- Nutritional yeast – this is our cheese replacement and you can usually find it in the organic/natural section of your grocery store. If you want to use cheese (or dairy free cheese), double the amount.
- Tomato sauce – the basic canned stuff, not store bought marinara or pasta sauce.
Making changes to a recipe can result in recipe failure. Any substitutions listed are simple changes that I believe will work in this recipe, but results are not guaranteed.
How to make homemade spaghettios
Make the meatballs. Mix the meatball ingredients in a mixing bowl until they’re well combined. Portion them into miniature meatballs and bake them in 400˚F oven for about 10 minutes.
I like to use a small measuring spoon to portion my meatballs, because I find that my small cookie scoop is too big. You want them to be about 1 – 1 1/2 teaspoons in size.
I’ve added The Pasta Twins‘ lazy meatball method to the recipe card, so if you don’t fee like turning on your oven, make sure you follow that method instead!
Cook the pasta. While the meatballs are cooking, boil the pasta in a large saucepan with salted water. Just follow the package directions for al dente, and drain when they’re done.
Make the sauce. While the pasta cooks, measure out the ingredients for the sauce. I like to combine them all in a small bowl so that I can just add them to the tomato sauce when it’s time.
Combine everything. Once the pasta is drained, let it sit in the colander, and add the sauce ingredients to the saucepan. Cook the sauce, stirring to combine the ingredients, until the sauce is hot.
This should only take a minute or two, but turn up the heat if you need to. Add the pasta and meatballs back to the pot and cook until heated through.
More pasta recipes you’ll love:
Homemade Spaghettios
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
- 1/2 pound lean ground beef
- 1/4 cup Panko breadcrumbs
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
For the sauce:
- 1 15- ounce can tomato sauce
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened, plain dairy free milk
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar, optional
- Salt & pepper to taste
For the pasta:
- 8 ounces pasta rings, or other small pasta
Instructions
- Cook the pasta. Cook the pasta according to package directions for al dente, in a large saucepan of salted water. Drain pasta and let rest in colander or strainer.
- Baked meatball method: Preheat your oven to 400˚F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (optional).Combine the meatballs ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix until evenly combined. Portion meatballs into teaspoon-sized balls and place on prepared baking sheet.Bake for 10 minutes, or until the meatballs reach 165˚F. Remove from oven and set aside.In the same saucepan that you cooked the pasta, combine the sauce ingredients. Cook over high heat, until heated through.Return the pasta to the pot and add the meatballs. Stir to coat the pasta and meatballs with sauce.
- Lazy meatball method: Combine the meatballs ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix until evenly combined.When the pasta is cooked, use the same saucepan to cook the meatballs.Then, heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the meat, breaking it into large pieces while it cooks. Sauté until browned and fully cooked through, about 5 minutes.Combine the sauce ingredients in the pot with the meatballs. Stir and cook until heated through.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Recipe was pretty good, we do actual cheese in my house so we used milk and some shredded romano. I do understand ads on the blog but holy crap I tried to print it and on the print page it kept interrupting with an ad FIVE times! I almost didnt care to print it anymore because thats ridiculous.
So
What you’re saying is that you completely ignored the “ask yourself” section after the recipe.
We love this recipe! So delicious and my kids loved it.
This is also my go to meatball recipe for whatever dish I’m making. We add them to stir fry, subs and all kinds of things. We’ve also tried the meatballs with ground turkey and pork too and they’ve been very good!
Thank you!