Today, I am sharing with you this one pot spaghetti with doctored jar spaghetti sauce. This spaghetti recipe has become my family’s go-to spaghetti over the last seven or eight years. With this recipe for delicious one pot spaghetti with a doctored jar spaghetti sauce, you will learn how to make jarred spaghetti sauce better!
That is what you are thinking, right? Well, it is not necessarily the jar of spaghetti sauce that makes this spaghetti oh-so-good. It is the combination of the specific jar of sauce with another special ingredient I am about to introduce you to below. That is where the “doctored jar spaghetti sauce” comes into play.
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I used to turn my nose up at spaghetti recipes which combined the noodles and the sauce, always preferring to cook each part separately and top my noodles with an ungodly amount of sauce. However, the lazy person in me gets the beauty of a one pot cleanup concept! Now, I don’t even consider any recipe that doesn’t let me make spaghetti in one pot!
How to Make One Pot Spaghetti Using Jar Spaghetti Sauce
The hugest fan of homemade spaghetti sauce, I used to make it all the time. You know, back before life got so busy with caring for two human lives while I step over them to make dinner.
This one pot spaghetti recipe is a one pot wonder of easy deliciousness perfect for the middle of a busy work week. What teachers, mamas, or humans in general, don’t need an easy weeknight dinner?
There is nothing wrong with using jarred spaghetti sauce! Don’t let the people of the internet or your great Aunt Helen tell you any differently! You can make a delicious meat sauce with jarred sauce. Jarred spaghetti sauces are fast, easily found at stores, and make your evenings much easier! That last part is the most important of them all.
How to Make Jarred Spaghetti Sauce Better
Add Italian Seasoning or Oregano to Make Jarred Spaghetti Sauce Better
Just a touch of extra seasoning will help bring the jar of sauce to life. I like to use Italian seasoning. However a bit of oregano and garlic work just as well. At a Taste of Home cooking show I attended years ago, we were taught to season the meat rather than the liquid-y elements of a dish so the seasonings don’t swim around and dilute. Therefore, I add these seasonings to the meat itself.
Add Spicy Tomato Broth to Improve Jar Spaghetti Sauce
The trick to how to make jarred spaghetti sauce better is to make a spicy broth. I’m not just talking beef broth or chicken broth. I’m talking spicy tomato broth.
Add Caldo de Tomate. (And what is Caldo de Tomate?)
Caldo de Tomate is awesome! It is tomato bouillon that you add to boiling water. I use it in all kinds of dishes, in place of chicken broth. It brings a spiced tomato flavor to the other ingredients. We buy our Caldo de Tomate at Walmart in the Hispanic food aisle. You will see in my photo below that we have a giant bottle of it. That is because I use it in so many dishes. In fact, I’ve often thought Knorr should go ahead and put me on an influencer payroll since I promote so many Knorr Caldo de Tomate recipes here on the blog!
Caldo de Tomate Substitute Options for One Pot Spaghetti
I truly, truly feel the Caldo de Tomate is key to the spicy and flavorful outcome of this one pot spaghetti. However, if you cannot find Caldo de Tomate or you just prefer to use something else, you can always use chicken broth or beef broth as a Caldo de Tomate substitute. But you will miss that spicy flare.
How to Add Caldo de Tomate Bouillon to One Pot Spaghetti
When I make this one pot spaghetti, I brown and drain the ground beef first. Then, I combine the jar of spaghetti sauce, water, diced tomatoes, and the tomato broth. (Quantities are listed in the recipe card below.)
As per instructions from Knorr, you are supposed to add the bouillon powder to some boiling water separately in a small pan. But to keep my recipe a true one pot spaghetti meal, I usually just forgo the second pan. I pour 1 3/4 cup water into my pot with the ground beef. Next, I sprinkle in the Caldo de Tomate bouillon directly on top of the water. I just stir it in a bit, and it is fine! The water is about to be set to boil so the granules will dissolve just fine into broth. Call this the lazy girl’s guide to bouillon!
Next, I bring the sauce to a boil before adding the noodles and proceeding with the rest of the steps.
What is the Best Jar Spaghetti Sauce to Use in One Pot Spaghetti?
Personally, I cannot give you an answer on this though The Strategist has thoughts on the best jar spaghetti sauce! I will say the favorite spaghetti sauce in my family is Bertolli Olive Oil and Garlic pasta sauce. It is flavorful and pairs well with my other ingredients.
For this recipe, the two biggest players for doctored spaghetti jar sauce are the Caldo de Tomate and the Bertolli Olive Oil and Garlic Sauce.
Occasionally, we have used the Bertolli Tomato and Basil which is good too. But I would still say the Olive Oil and Garlic is the best jarred pasta sauce to make spaghetti in one pot.
Don’t you want to pin this easy one-pot spaghetti with doctored jar spaghetti sauce for later?
Easy One Pot Spaghetti with Jarred Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 1.25 lb Ground Beef
- ¾ cup Onions chopped
- ¾ cup Bell peppers chopped
- 1 tsp Oregano Or Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp Garlic
- 10 oz Diced Tomatoes undrained
- 24 oz Bertolli Olive Oil and Garlic Spaghetti Sauce *Tomato and Basil is another great flavor
- 1 1/2 cups Tomato broth **see note for quick method for broth
- 16 oz Thin spaghetti
- 1/3 cup Water or more as needed to prevent sticking
Instructions
- In a large pot, brown the ground beef with about one cup of bell peppers and one cup of onions. Drain and return to pot.
- Add garlic and oregano (or Italian seasoning instead).
- Pour in the diced tomatoes, jar of spaghetti sauce, and the tomato broth.
- Bring the sauce to a boil (uncovered).
- Add in the spaghetti (broken in half) and reduce the heat to a medium simmer.
- Cook uncovered for about 20 minutes and add a little water a few times if it seems like some of the spaghetti is sticking to the bottom of the pan. The noodles should be cooked and the sauce should be thickened with no liquid consistency.
Notes
Nutrition
For a quick one-pot pasta without a true homemade sauce on a work night, this spaghetti is the best I’ve had. This one pot spaghetti with a doctored jar of spaghetti sauce is our go-to quick spaghetti recipe. The spaghetti meat sauce is just too good!
More Pasta Recipes
Southwest Pasta with Black Beans and Ground Beef
Chicken Soup with Amish Noodles
Black Eye Pea Soup with Tortellini and Sausage
Sausage and Squash Skillet with Orzo
Tallerine (Beef Noodle Casserole)
Sausage Tortellini Soup with Spinach
Salsa Verde Macaroni Beef Skillet
Well, hopefully you enjoy this one pot spaghetti recipe and also learned how to make jarred spaghetti sauce better!
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