This school cafeteria spaghetti recipe is loaded with all the flavor we remember about one of everyone’s favorite school lunches. Ground beef, homemade spaghetti sauce, and noodles. What could be better?
I know most people cringe when they think of cafeteria food, but I always loved pizza, hamburgers, and spaghetti. I decided I could make my own version, and it came out great.
Cafeteria Spaghetti Recipe
This was inspired by my other spaghetti recipe on this site, and pairs well with this amazing garlic bread recipe.
Ingredients
It only takes a few minutes to make this delicious spaghetti recipe. You’ll find everything at your local grocery store.
- Ground beef
- Minced yellow onions
- Dry spaghetti sauce mix
- Undrained canned whole tomatoes
- Tomato paste
- Sugar
- Worcestershire sauce
- Italian seasoning
- Basil
- Garlic powder
- Salt
- Pepper
- Spaghetti
- Shredded parmesan cheese
See the recipe card at the end of the post for quantities.
Instructions
This is a very easy recipe, taking only a few simple steps to make.
Step 1: Cook the Beef
Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet over medium heat, breaking up the beef as you cook it. Then, drain.
Step 2: Dice the Tomatoes
Diced the canned whole tomatoes.
Step 3: Combine All Sauce Ingredients Except Spaghetti Mix
Add the diced tomatoes and their juice, tomato paste, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper in a large bowl and stir well.
Step 4: Combine the Sauce
In the same skillet, add the dry spaghetti sauce mix to the ground beef and mix. Then, add the tomato mixture and stir well.
Step 5: Cook the Sauce
Bring the sauce to a slow boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until the sauce thickens.
Step 6: Make the Spaghetti
While the sauce is cooking, prepare the spaghetti according to the package directions.
Step 7: Combine and Enjoy
Stir the cooked spaghetti into the sauce. Serve with parmesan cheese sprinkled on top.
Hint: Be sure you cook the noodles to al dente so they don’t get too soft when added to the hot spaghetti sauce.
Substitutions
Don’t have the correct ingredients on hand or want to change something up? Here are some helpful tips for you to change this school cafeteria spaghetti recipe.
- Any Noodles – If you don’t have spaghetti noodles, any noodle will work.
- Crushed Tomatoes – If you don’t want to dice the whole tomatoes, use crushed tomatoes.
- Ground Turkey – For a lighter dish, used ground turkey.
Variations
Want to personalize this school cafeteria spaghetti recipe? Here are some of my tried and true tips for changing up this recipe.
- Spicy – Add red pepper flakes for a kick of heat.
- Veggie Lovers – Add diced bell peppers and canned mushrooms.
If you love recipes like this, you may also enjoy (link similar recipe here)
Equipment
You only need a few pieces of basic kitchen equipment to make this recipe.
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Skillet
- Pot
- Spoon
- Bowl
- Knife
- Cutting board
Storage
Store leftovers in an air-tight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
Tips
I have a few tips here that will help you make this recipe the best that it can possibly be. They’re all easy, so give them a read before diving in.
- Only cook your noodles to al dente so they don’t get too soft when you add them to the spaghetti sauce.
- Be sure to break your meat up well as you brown it so it’s evenly distributed through the sauce.
- Always add the spaghetti sauce dry mix to the beef first so you don’t get clumps.
More Spaghetti Recipes
Do you like spaghetti? Here are some recipes you may also like to try.
FAQ
Do you have questions about school cafeteria spaghetti? Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about this school cafeteria spaghetti recipe.
The spaghetti we remember was a mass-produced product consisting of a simple meat sauce and noodles.
It will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
You can bake it in a foil-covered baking dish for 20 minutes at 350 degrees, warm it in a saucepan over medium-low heat, or microwave it.
School Cafeteria Spaghetti
Ready to get cooking? Remember that you can print this recipe if you would like.
School Cafeteria Spaghetti
Ingredients
- Ingredients:
- ● 1 lb ground beef
- ● ¼ cup minced yellow onions
- ● 1 pkg dry spaghetti sauce mix
- ● 2 – 28 oz cans whole tomatoes undrained
- ● 6 oz can tomato paste
- ● 1 tablespoon sugar
- ● 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
- ● 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ● 1 teaspoon basil
- ● 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ● 1 teaspoon salt
- ● ½ teaspoon pepper
- ● 1 lb spaghetti
- ● ½ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- Directions:
Instructions
- Get out and measure your ingredients.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, brown ground beef with minced onions. Be sure to crumble the ground beef into small pieces as you cook it with wooden spoon.
- While meat is cooking, prepare tomatoes by dicing them. (You can substitute crushed tor diced tomatoes but I prefer the texture of the whole tomatoes diced instead.)
- Add diced tomatoes and juice from tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, worcestershire sauce, oregano, basil, garlic powder, salt, and pepper to a large bowl.
- Stir well.
- When meat is done, drain any fat, if desired.
- Stir in dry spaghetti sauce mix.
- Make sue mix is incorporated.
- Add tomato mixture to meat.
- Bring to a slow boil.
- Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes or until sauce thickens.
- While meat/tomato mixture is simmering, prepare spaghetti noodles according to package directions and drain.
- When sauce is thickened, stir cooked pasta in.
- Until blended.
- Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top.
- Serve
- With extra parmesan/
- Enjoy!
- Every bite!
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