The secret is on the back of the can 🥫
Funny how a silver metal Thermos brings back memories.
When I was in elementary school my dad was the one in charge of packing up my lunch. And about once a week I was able to convince him to make me my favorite lunch… SpaghettiOs with meatballs. (The plain version simply wouldn’t do!)
He’d microwave them in our white Corelle bowls until they came out steaming hot, making sure they’d stay warm enough until my 11:30 lunchtime.
It was on those days when I opened up the lid to that metal Thermos at the cafeteria table, I felt like the coolest. kid. ever.
So recently when I saw that nostalgic O-shaped pasta at Central Market, I knew I had to try recreating those classic flavors at home.
Why I think this homemade recipe is the best:
- They actually taste like the canned kind. I really studied the ingredient label, right down to the tomato puree, that hint of sweetness, and yes… cheddar cheese in the sauce.
- The meatballs come out SO juicy, even though they’re baked. A couple tablespoons of the same half and half you use in the pasta, plus Parmesan right in the mix (same trick as my Easy Italian Meatballs).
- The pasta and sauce cook in one pot. No boiling the noodles separately and then adding them to the sauce.
Ingredients and Substitutions
For the exact measurements and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card below.
- Ground beef: An 85/15 is the ratio I like here, since it’s got enough fat to keep the meatballs tender without leaving the sauce greasy. Ground turkey or chicken will work if that’s what you’ve got, they’ll just come out a little leaner.
- Panko breadcrumbs: Panko keeps these light instead of dense. Regular breadcrumbs are fine too, and Aleia’s gluten-free panko is what I reach for when I need these to be GF.
- Parmesan cheese: It doesn’t have to be grated at home, but if your store has a freshly grated option at the cheese counter, grab that one.
- Half and half: Regular milk or heavy cream can be subbed, just use a little more milk or a little less cream to land in the same creamy spot.
- Italian seasoning: I used my homemade Italian seasoning when testing, but any brand works, just check the salt content on the label and adjust if needed.
- Tomato paste: Cooking this with the garlic for a minute before anything else goes in is what builds the deeper tomato flavor.
- Tomato sauce: Plain canned tomato sauce, not marinara or pasta sauce. You want something unseasoned so the flavors you’re adding come through.
- Chicken broth: I like using water mixed with Better Than Bouillon chicken base for the best flavor but cartons work great.
- Worcestershire sauce: It’s a small amount that gives the sauce a savory note.
- Sugar: Take a look at a can of SpaghettiOs sometime and you’ll find high fructose corn syrup sitting near the top of the ingredient list. The sugar here is doing that same job, and it’s a big part of why this tastes like the real thing. Feel free to adjust to taste or leave it out.
- Anellini pasta: The little O shapes are the whole point, and they’re genuinely hard to find in a regular grocery store. See my note above for where I get mine and what to use as a sub if needed.
- Cheddar cheese: This is my secret ingredient and it’s what makes this taste SO much like the canned kind. Shred it from a block if you can for the best cheesy melt, but pre-shredded will work if that’s all you can find.
Step-by-step Instructions
Please see the recipe card below for the full instructions, ingredient amounts, and a printable recipe.
Roll and bake the meatballs.
Mix the meatball ingredients together and shape them into ¾-inch balls, which gets you right around 100. (Go bigger if that’s too many to roll, just add a few minutes to the bake time.) Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes, then broil for up to a minute if you want browned tops.
Start the sauce.
Melt the butter, then cook the garlic and tomato paste together for a minute or two before anything else goes in.
Pro Tip: This little step is doing more than it looks like. Cooking the paste in fat concentrates it and cooks off that raw, tinny flavor canned tomato paste has straight out of the can.
It saves SO much time!
Since it’s super important to get the garlic pretty small for this recipe, a garlic press like this one is a lifesaver!
It’s easy to use, finely minces the garlic, and does it in a fraction of the time as chopping it up by hand.
Cook the pasta right in the sauce.
Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and bring everything to a boil, then stir in the pasta. Drop the heat to medium-low and keep it at a gentle simmer, uncovered, for 13 to 15 minutes.
Pro Tip: Stir every 1 to 2 minutes with a flat-ended silicone or wooden spatula, scraping right along the bottom of the pot, and resist the urge to turn the heat up. Those little O shapes are delicate, and anything that makes the pasta stick to the bottom is what breaks them when you finally move it.
Stir in the cream and cheddar.
Turn the heat down to low, stir in the half and half, then add the cheddar and stir until it’s melted and smooth.
Pro Tip: Low heat is the whole trick here. Dairy and cheese added over high heat will separate or go grainy on you, and you can’t really un-do it once it happens.
The one tool you’ll need…
If you don’t already have one, a really sturdy boxed grater is SO handy for shredding up the cheese quickly and to the perfect size. I love this one by OXO since it’s got a nice big grip on the top.
Add the meatballs and serve.
Fold in the meatballs and stir gently until everything’s combined and heated through. Finish with extra Parmesan and chopped parsley if you’d like.
Pro Tip: Gently is the operative word. The meatballs are already cooked, so you’re just warming them, and aggressive stirring at this stage will break the O’s you worked to keep intact.
Two Ways to Make Rolling 100 Meatballs Way Less Tedious
Piping beats scooping. Spoon the meat mixture into a gallon-sized zip-top bag, snip off one bottom corner, and squeeze out little portions straight onto your sheet pan. You’re not going back to the bowl every single time, and the portions come out a lot more even than eyeballing them.
Then spritz your hands with a little oil before you start rolling. I use my oil spritz bottle for this and it does double duty, since the oil keeps the meat from sticking to your palms AND gives the meatballs a nice glisten coming out of the oven.
And if 100 is just more than you want to deal with, roll them bigger and add a few minutes to the bake time. They’ll still. be just as delicious!
FAQs
Uncooked. The dry pasta goes straight into the simmering sauce and cooks there, soaking up all that flavor as it goes.
You can leave out the half and half and the cheddar, though you’ll lose the creaminess and that canned-SpaghettiOs flavor. An unsweetened oat or cashew milk is the closest sub for the half and half.
Plain canned tomato sauce, not marinara or jarred pasta sauce. Those are already seasoned and will fight with the flavors you’re building.
Absolutely. Bake frozen mini meatballs according to the package instructions and stir them in at the very end, same as you would the homemade ones.
Usually the heat was too high, or it wasn’t stirred often enough. Anellini are delicate, so keep it at a gentle simmer and scrape the bottom of the pot every minute or two.
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Homemade SpaghettiOs and Meatballs Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
For the Meatballs
- 1 pound ground beef 85/15
- ½ cup panko breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup Parmesan cheese grated, plus more for serving
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons half and half
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For the SpaghettiOs and Sauce
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2½ tablespoons tomato paste
- 15 ounces tomato sauce 1 can
- 2½-3 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1½ teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 8 ounces anellini pasta
- ¼ cup half and half
- 1 cup cheddar cheese shredded
- fresh parsley finely chopped, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add all of the meatball ingredients to a large bowl and mix gently until just combined, being careful not to overwork the meat. Roll into ¾-inch meatballs and place on the prepared baking sheet.½ cup panko breadcrumbs, ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, 1 large egg, 2 tablespoons half and half, 2 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, ¾ teaspoon salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- Bake for 10 minutes, broiling for up to 1 minute at the end for browned tops.
- While the meatballs bake, melt the butter in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.2 tablespoons butter, 3 cloves garlic, 2½ tablespoons tomato paste
- Stir in the tomato sauce, 2½ cups of the broth, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, Italian seasoning, and salt, and bring to a boil.15 ounces tomato sauce, 2½-3 cups chicken broth, 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, 1½ teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ¾ teaspoon salt
- Add the pasta and return to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and keep a gentle simmer. Cook uncovered for 13-15 minutes, or until al dente. Stir every couple of minutes with a flat-ended silicone or wooden spatula along the bottom of the pot to make sure the pasta doesn’t stick. If the sauce gets too thick before the pasta is done, stir in the remaining ½ cup of broth.8 ounces anellini pasta
- Reduce the heat to low and stir in the half and half, then add the cheddar and stir until melted and smooth.¼ cup half and half, 1 cup cheddar cheese
- Add the meatballs and stir gently until combined and heated through. Serve with additional Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley, if desired.fresh parsley
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Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
What to Serve with Homemade SpaghettiOs
This one is already a full meal in a bowl, so anything you add is really just for something green on the plate. My Air Fryer Broccoli is the one I make most often with it. It’s crispy, it’s done in about 10 minutes, and it cooks while the pasta simmers so nothing has to wait.
If you want something cold and crunchy against all that warm, creamy sauce, my Green Bean Salad does the job and can be made ahead.
And if this scratched the nostalgic-comfort-food itch, you’ll probably like my One-Pot Lazy Lasagna and my Chicken Parmesan Meatball Soup too. Both are the same kind of cozy, and both use that same trick of letting everything cook together in one pot.
More Cozy Pasta Dinners
Pasta is so comforting, and thankfully a super easy dinner to whip up!
