How to Cook Spaghetti

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Spaghetti pasta is a budget-friendly and quick dish. While the noodles are boiling, you will have time to prepare a variety of sauces. If you’re in a hurry, you can quickly stir-fry your optional ground meat and cook it with a jar of your favorite pasta sauce. If you don’t want a red sauce, mix the noodles with a garlic butter sauce and Parmesan cheese. If you have time to make your own red sauce, saute the red onion with tomatoes, garlic, and thyme.

Table of Contents

Ingredient

Spaghetti ^{[1] X Research Source}

450-900g dry spaghetti
Water
1-2 tablespoons (20-35g) kosher salt

Finished product: 4-8 servings

Super Fast Meat Sauce ^{[2] X Research Source}

670g boiled and drained spaghetti
2 tablespoons (30ml) canola or vegetable oil
1 onion chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 jar or can (680g) red pasta sauce
500g ground meat, such as beef, turkey, pork or chicken
Salt and pepper to taste
Shredded Parmesan cheese, optional

Finished product: 4-6 servings

Parmesan and Garlic Cheese Sauce ^{[3] X Research Source}

450g boiled and drained spaghetti
10 tablespoons (140g) unsalted butter
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground dried chili, optional
½ cup (50g) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper powder, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Finished product: 2-3 servings

Homemade Red Sauce ^{[4] X Research Source}

670g boiled and drained spaghetti
1 can (about 800g) peeled whole tomatoes
2 tablespoons (30ml) extra virgin olive oil
⅓ red onion diced
3 cloves of minced garlic
1-2 handfuls of chopped fresh thyme leaves
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 pinch ground dried chili, optional

Finished product: 4-6 servings

Boiled spaghetti

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Calculate the amount of noodles to boil. Determine how many people you will be preparing meals for and how many servings of spaghetti each person will need. Most boxes of spaghetti indicate the amount of dry noodles needed to get a certain number of servings. For example, if you are preparing spaghetti for 3 people, use half a box of noodles. To accurately measure the amount of spaghetti, you can use kitchen tools or items available at home.

In order for the noodle pot not to be too full, you should not boil more than 900g of noodles at a time.

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Pour water into a large pot. If you want to boil 670-900g of spaghetti, you will need a pot with a capacity of 5-6 liters. With less noodles, you can use a 3-4 liter pot. Regardless of the type of pot you use, you must fill the pot ¾ full with water.

If you use a pot that is too small, the noodles will stick together while boiling.

Cook meat sauce super fast

Saute the onion and garlic over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. Pour 2 tablespoons (30ml) of canola or vegetable oil into a large saucepan and turn the heat to medium-high. When the oil is simmering, add 1 chopped onion and 2 tablespoons minced garlic.

Sauté the onion with the garlic until the onion becomes transparent and the garlic is fragrant.

Add 500g ground meat and sauté for about 7-8 minutes. Use a spatula to shred the meat and stir until the meat is no longer pink. You can use beef, turkey, pork or chicken.

You can combine meats if you like.

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Skim off the oil if there is a lot of oil in the pan. Most ground meat creates a lot of oil in the pan. If there is more than a tablespoon of oil in the bottom of the pan, you will need to drain the oil. Place the metal can or jar in the sink and cover the pan. Carefully tilt the pan so that the oil runs down one side of the pan while the lid keeps the meat from spilling. Slowly pour the oil into the can.

Wait for the oil to cool before pouring it out.
Avoid pouring hot oil directly into the sink as the oil will clog the drain hose.

Pour the pasta sauce into the pan and simmer for about 10 minutes. Open the jar of red pasta sauce and pour it into the pan. Stir until the sauce is incorporated into the meat and onions. Turn the stove to medium-low heat to bring the sauce to a gentle boil and cover the pan.

Stir the sauce once or twice so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

Drizzle meat sauce over boiled spaghetti. Divide 670g of boiled spaghetti into serving plates. Drizzle some meat sauce over the noodles. Sprinkle some grated Parmesan cheese over the noodles if you like.

Or, you can mix the noodles into the sauce, then scoop the noodles with the sauce onto the plates.
Place leftover spaghetti and meat sauce in a sealed container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 or 4 days. Note, the noodles will become soft the longer the storage time.

Make Parmesan and Garlic Cheese Sauce

Melt butter, garlic, and minced dried chili over medium heat. Place 10 tablespoons (140g) of unsalted butter in a medium saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Add 3 cloves of minced garlic.

If you like spicy noodles, add 1 teaspoon of ground dried chili.

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Heat and stir the butter over medium heat for about 4-5 minutes. Melt the butter mixture over medium heat and stir well. Continue to heat the mixture until the butter turns a deep golden color.

It is better not to leave the stove while the butter is heating because butter is very easy to burn.

Turn off the heat, then add the boiled noodles and cheese to the pot. You will need to add 450g of boiled and drained spaghetti to the sauce pot. Sprinkle ½ cup (50g) of freshly grated Parmesan cheese over the noodles. Next, use tongs to mix the noodles with cheese and garlic butter sauce.

If you don’t have tongs, you’ll use a large spoon and fork to mix the noodles with the cheese and butter.

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Enjoy spaghetti with Parmesan cheese and garlic. Taste the noodles and add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley leaves over the noodles and enjoy immediately.

Place leftover noodles in a sealed container and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 or 4 days.
The butter and cheese will separate from the noodles if you store them for a long time.

Make your own red sauce at home

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Canned tomato puree. Open a can (800g) of peeled whole tomatoes and shovel the tomatoes into a blender or food processor. Cover the blender and grind the tomatoes until you have the smoothness you want.

If you like a sauce with a mushy texture, skip this step and just mash the tomatoes with the back of a spoon when the sauce is simmering.
For an extremely smooth sauce, you will grind the tomatoes until there are no shreds left.

Sauté the onions for about 5-6 minutes. Heat 2 tablespoons (30ml) of extra virgin olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is simmering, add ⅓ of the diced onion.

Stir well so that the onion doesn’t stick to the pan.
The onion is now softer and translucent.

Add garlic and ground dried chili if you like. Peel and cut 3 garlic cloves into 1-cm pieces. Add garlic and onion to the pan. Add a pinch of ground dried chili if you want the sauce to be spicy. Saute the ingredients for about 30 seconds.

Garlic is now starting to smell. Avoid sautéing garlic for longer than a minute because garlic is very flammable.

Add tomatoes and salt and pepper to taste. Pour the tomato puree from the blender into the pan. Stir the tomatoes into the onion and garlic. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper to taste.

For a delicious sauce, you should taste the sauce often while it is cooking. Continue to adjust the amount of seasoning to have the right sauce.

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Simmer the red sauce over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes. Turn the stove to medium heat until the sauce starts to boil, then turn the stove to low heat to bring the sauce to a gentle boil. Do not cover the pot and simmer the sauce until thickened.

Stir well so that the sauce doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan.

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Tear fresh thyme leaves and add to the sauce. Take 1-2 handfuls of fresh thyme leaves and tear each leaf into 2-3 small pieces. Stir the shredded thyme into the sauce and turn off the heat.

The thyme leaves will wilt when added to the hot red sauce.
Remember to taste the sauce and add salt or pepper if needed.

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Drizzle red sauce over boiled spaghetti and enjoy immediately. Place the drained spaghetti on a plate and drizzle the homemade red sauce over the noodles. Or, you’ll mix the noodles with the sauce in the pan before serving.

You can add shredded cheese, fresh thyme, or drizzle extra virgin olive oil over the noodles.
Place leftover sauce in a sealed container and store in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days.

Advice

If you’re using spaghetti right after it’s finished boiling, don’t add oil to the broth. The oil will prevent the sauce from sticking to the noodles.
Fresh spaghetti has a shorter cooking time than dry pasta. You only need to boil fresh noodles for about 2-5 minutes.
To break dry noodles in half, you should use a twisting motion instead of bending the noodles.

Things you need

Boiled spaghetti

Large pot with lid
Sieve or basket
Measuring spoon
Timing clock
Spaghetti tongs or spoons

Super fast meat sauce

Measuring cup and spoon
Knife and cutting board
Large pan with lid
Spoon
Cans and jars

Parmesan Cheese Sauce and Garlic

Measuring cup and spoon
Medium pot
Knife and cutting board
Tongs

Homemade red sauce

Measuring cup and spoon
Blender or all-in-one blender
Knife and cutting board
Large pan
Spoon

Ingredient

Spaghetti [1] X Research Source

Super Fast Meat Sauce [2] X Research Source

Parmesan and Garlic Cheese Sauce [3] X Research Source

Homemade Red Sauce [4] X Research Source

Steps

Boiled spaghetti

Cook meat sauce super fast

Make Parmesan and Garlic Cheese Sauce

Make your own red sauce at home

Advice

Things you need

Boiled spaghetti

Super fast meat sauce

Parmesan Cheese Sauce and Garlic

Homemade red sauce

Related Posts

Spaghetti ^{[1] X Research Source}

Super Fast Meat Sauce ^{[2] X Research Source}

Parmesan and Garlic Cheese Sauce ^{[3] X Research Source}

Homemade Red Sauce ^{[4] X Research Source}