One-Pot Cheesy Spaghetti + Meatballs

Meatballs and sauce are like Sundays in Massachusetts for me. If I’m at my parents’ house, my stepdad PJ makes a big pot of the world’s best sauce, his famous meatballs, chicken cutlets, sometimes eggplant parm, and my whole family eats this massive feast wherein my mother decides it’s absolutely imperative that she butters each and every family member’s bread. It’s this painfully slow process, and there’s nothing particularly artful about it since the butter is either fully melted or fully frozen, but she’s really dedicated and she’s so loving about it…also I’ve yelled too many times already…so we just let her.

So many Sundays now, I’ll get a text from PJ with a picture of meatballs, or a pile of chicken cutlets, and I’ll miss home. I’ll miss it especially when I look in my fridge and realize it’s bare but for an obscene collection of condiments. When I need to remind myself of my family’s favorite meal to eat together, I make meatballs and sauce…only I have zero patience and zero dishwasher…so I make it my way: all in one-pot. 

Now, when I first started making this meal, it wasn’t a stretch for me to make sauce and meatballs in one pot; I’ve always cooked meatballs directly in my sauce to keep them tender and also help lend flavor to the sauce, but I hadn’t done that without boiling pasta in a separate pot on the side. The easy solution I found was using House Foods Shirataki noodles because they require no cooking whatsoever. 

The whole meal comes together in just 40 minutes–and 30ish of those will fill your home with the best smell imaginable. Don’t let the short cook-time make you question the full-flavor effect; it’s all there. The sauce is fragrant with loads of garlic, the savory familiarity of oregano, and bright spots of fresh basil. Making smaller meatballs — about an inch in diameter — helps ensure they’ll cook fast. 
The highlight of this dish, though, might be the ricotta. But cheese is always the star isn’t it? Cheese is to a dish what Meryl Streep is to a movie. A few spoonfuls of ricotta dolloped on top before serving add this overall richness — creating the same creamy pockets as baked ziti. It’s the straight line from here to comfort. 

The Shirataki spaghetti noodles make the meal as easy to come together as it is to clean up. All the noodles need is to be rinsed and dried well. To dry them, use a bunch of paper towels and give them a good squeeze or two to press out as much moisture as you can. If they’re too wet, they’ll water down the sauce and the sauce will slip right off of them. 
I’ve made this in a dutch oven, a cast iron skillet with deep sides, and even a shallow pot–so use whatever you have.
Make it and enjoy, friends!

Print

One Pan Spaghetti + Meatballs

Yield: 4 Servings

Calories per serving: 418

Fat per serving: 18g

Ingredients

• Turkey Meatballs
• 1 pound lean ground turkey breast
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• ¼ cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 large egg
• Sauce
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 packages House Foods Tofu Shirataki Spaghetti Noodles
• 1 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
• ¾ cup part-skim ricotta cheese

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the turkey breast, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, bread crumbs, Parmesan, and egg. Use your hands to mix. Form the mixture into roughly 1-inch balls (about 30 in total).
2. In a dutch oven or a high-sided saucepan with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and stir constantly to combine with the onion and garlic, about 1 minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano, sugar, and salt, and bring to a simmer. Add the meatballs, taking care to spread them out as evenly as you can, return the pan to a simmer, cover, and let cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the meatballs from burning on the bottom.
3. While the meatballs are cooking, rinse and drain the Shirataki noodles. Use paper towels to squeeze as much moisture from them as you can and dry them well. When the meatballs are done simmering, add the noodles to the pan and use tongs to toss with the sauce. Let cook for 5 minutes to heat through. Stir in the basil. Dollop the top of the pan with spoonfuls of the ricotta cheese. Divide the spaghetti and meatballs among 4 bowls and serve.

Notes

Calories 418, Fat 18g, Carb 30g, Fiber 8g, Sugars 10g, Protein 33g

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