These Homemade SpaghettiO’s are a winner with kids and adults alike. Tender juicy meatballs combined with that signature ring-shaped pasta make for a fun lunch or dinner everyone always enjoys!
Certain foods just take me back to my childhood. How bout you guys?
Anything you distinctly remember eating and enjoying as a kid? A main dish, a dessert, a special breakfast? Homemade or store-bought?
My mother made all kinds of delicious soups from scratch growing up. Chicken soup, split pea, navy bean with ham. I loved them all.
But on the days she wasn’t up to making something homemade or just too busy with us kids, she always had a can or two of SpaghettiO’s with Meatballs in the lazy Susan.
It’s funny too, because I never ever ate SpaghettiO’s during the summer. It was a fall and winter kinda comfort food.
Why You’ll Love this Recipe
It’s a nostalgic recipe that brings back all those special childhood memories!
Who doesn’t love a recipe that’s loaded with meatballs??
There’s nothing better than a piping hot bowl loaded with those yummy little meatballs when the temps start to dip and you need a stick to your bones kind of soup.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- unsalted butter
- garlic
- yellow onion
- tomato paste
- tomato purée
- granulated sugar
- kosher salt and pepper
- aneletti pasta
- Parmesan cheese
- ground beef
- Italian panko
- fresh parsley
- milk
- egg
- Italian seasoning
I saw this homemade version from Saveur Magazine, so you know I had to try it and share it with you guys.
We were not disappointed. I tweaked a few things to our liking and this is one recipe I’ll be making several times this comfort food season.
You’ll need to grab a package of aneletti pasta for the full effect (little rings just like the classic SpaghettiO’s), which I found at my local supermarket.
And instead of just using a combination of ground beef and salt for the meatballs, I decided to use the same recipe for mini meatballs from my Italian Wedding Soup, so as to give them more flavor. I also added a bit more water then Saveur recommended.
Step-By-Step Instructions
In a 4-quart sauce pan or Dutch oven you’ll melt two tablespoons butter and then add the garlic and onion and cook until soft and translucent
Next, you’ll add the tomato paste, the tomato puree, sugar, salt, pepper remaining six tablespoons butter and the water. Mix well and cook until thickened.
In a medium bowl, you’ll combine all the meatball ingredients and mix thoroughly and then roll the meat into 3/4-inch balls. You will add the meatballs to the sauce and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked though.
While the meatballs are cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to boil and add the pasta and cook until al dente.
Drain and then add the pasta to the sauce along with the parmesan cheese, adding more water to get to desired consistency.
This is a deliciously hearty soups that’s sure to please kids and adults alike.
Please let me know if you give the recipe a try. And if you have any questions about the recipe, just drop a comment below. Enjoy!
A Few Cook’s Notes for Homemade SpaghettiO’s
I used my meatball recipe from my Italian Wedding Soup, so they would have more flavor. Saveur’s recipe just called for 3/4 pound of ground beef and two teaspoons of salt.
I added the initial 1/4 cup of water when making the sauce, but once I added the pasta to the sauce with the meatballs, I added more water to get to the consistency I desired.
Homemade SpaghettiO's
Print Recipe Pin RecipeIngredients
- 8 Tbsp. unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 small (about one cup) onion, finely chopped
- 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
- 1 24-oz. can tomato puree
- 3 tsp. granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup water, or more if desired
- 3/4 lb. aneletti pasta
- 3/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Meatballs
- 1/2 lb. ground beef
- 1/4 cup Italian panko crumbs
- 2 Tbsp. freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbsp. fresh parsley, finely chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 2 Tbsp. milk
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 tsp. kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
Instructions
- In a 4-quart sauce pan, melt two tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. And the garlic and onion and cook until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the tomato paste and continue to cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato puree, sugar, salt, pepper remaining six tablespoons butter and the water. Mix well and cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, combine all meatball ingredients and mix thoroughly. Roll meat into 3/4-inch balls. Add the meatballs to the sauce and reduce the heat to medium and cook for 6-8 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked though.
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the pasta and cook until al dente, according to package directions. Drain and then add the pasta to the sauce along with the parmesan cheese, adding more water to get to desired consistency. Serve with additional parmesan.
Notes
Adapted from Saveur Magazine
This is just the best idea ever! Spaghettios take me back to my childhood too! I need to look for those pasta shapes. They’re just the cutest, and I know this recipe would be a hit for dinner in our house!
I didn’t eat them often as a kid, but when I did, it was a treat Leanne! This homemade version by Saveur is delish!
I LOVE this idea! I actually never had spaghetti o’s until I was in college because my mom refused to buy them for us, so I sort of feeling like I’m making up for lost time any time I open a can. But I’d much rather make them from scratch!
Hope you give the recipe a try Kelsie! You won’t be disappointed.
What!!!! This is such a cool idea! Plus it is much healthier than the canned stuff. This is going on my must try list!
Definitely healthier than canned Matt! Bet you guys would love them!
I just looked at the nutritional info side by side for canned Spaghettios and this recipe. Though this recipe looks (and I bet tastes) delicious, the calories, fats and sodium per serving indicate that the canned version are actually healthier. The vitamin level in this recipe is higher but the other deficits reduce how healthy this is. Maybe using a lean ground chicken and egg whites in the meatballs and switching the butter to 1/2 as much olive oil would make this much healthier.
Hi Dane. Feel free to make using the ingredients you mentioned. I don’t treat myself to homemade spaghettio’s too often, so I go all in, but that’s just me. Let me know how your recipe works out!
If this isn’t fun, I don’t know what is! Love this throwback, Mary Ann! I remember having spaghettios as a kid and loved melted cheddar cheese on there. Talk about a treat! Bet this homemade version is a million times better :) Pinned!
Oooh, melted cheddar? Great idea Dawn! Thanks for pinning!
Love this homemade, grown-up version of the childhood favourite! Looks like perfect January comfort food to me :)
Perfect January/winter food Jennifer!
So good to be back to your place Mary Ann to get another great inspiration. Thank you and Happy New Year !
Thanks so much Davorka! Happy New Year to you too! Lots of delicious recipes ahead here at the BHK!
Oh my gosh, this is TOTALLY bringing me back to my youth! I absolutely LOVED spaghettiOs!!! I can only imagine how delicious this homemade version is! My mouth is seriously watering over here! This is the PERFECT cozy, comforting dish, Mare! I can’t wait to make this! I have a feeling Jeremy is going to go crazy over this too! Pinned!!
Tom loved them Chey! I always have a can or two in the pantry, but now I’ll be making them homemade. Thanks so much for pinning!
Too too fun! I can’t even remember the last time I tried Spaghetti-O’s…. My Italian mama wouldn’t have them in the house, so I’m sure it was at a friend’s house that I first had them…. But these – my mama would approve of!! Yummy!
Thanks so much Annie! Hope you give this homemade version a try!
Such a nostalgic and fun idea – SO sweet :) And delicious :)
Yes! These really bring back memories Alex. I didn’t eat them often, but when I did they were a treat. This homemade version is fantastic.
I love everything about this post, Mary Ann! Even the detail of the cans being in the lazy susan is pure nostalgia for me. Like Annie, my hippy mom would not buy such delicacies (that I dearly wanted at the time!), but she would be all over this homemade version. And you introduced me to a new pasta shape too: aneletti! How fun is that!?
When I saw the bag of aneltti at the market I HAD to make this recipe! It was too fun not to!
Mary Ann!! I can’t wait to try this with my kiddos. I’ve never actually given them the canned spaghettios, but this homemade version is to die for. The noodles are so cute! Putting this on my menu for next week!
I bet they’ll really enjoy them Katherine! Perfect for adults and the kiddos!
I loved SpaghettiO’s!!
Definitely trying this. Childhood favorite?
My dad was a factory worker and was laid off a lot.
My mom would take Campbell’s bean and bacon soup and a 10 cent can of buttermilk biscuits and Heat the soup with a bit more water than called fo, bring it to a low boil and pinch off small bits of the biscuits into the soup, cover and simmer until the biscuit dumplings were done. I adored it!😊
Awwww! That sounds delicious Deborah. Thanks so much for sharing. Growing up my Gram lived with us and she came from a family of 13. Some nights when she would cook dinner for us when my parents weren’t home, I’d say, Gram what’s for dinner and she’d say fried minced ham and onions which was a fancier name for fried baloney. I can’t tell you how to this day, it’s still one of my favorites. That and Spam. She’d make us mustard glazed Spam and all my friends would laugh when I’d tell them how much I loved it. Don’t know if it was just the Spam or that Gram, who I adored, made it. Thanks so much for following along here at the BHK!
Oh I’m so excited to give this one a try Mary Ann! What a fun recipe 🤗
You’d love this recipe Amy!
Oh what a fun dish! This will be loved by kids young and old and talk about a walk down memory road! Those little noodles are oh so cute!
Isn’t it so fun Kathy?! These bring back memories!
Oh my gosh what a fun recipe Mare! I’d never heard of or seen aneletti pasta before. I’ll be on the lookout now! This recipe totally made my tastebuds tingle. In our house, spaghettios were such a treat – we rarely had them! This looks fabulous!
Hope you give the recipe a try Traci. You won’t be disappointed!
I love this idea it is so smart! These homemade spaghetti o’s look amazing! I can’t wait to try that style of pasta too!
I hope you give it a try Kelley. Bet you’d enjoy it!