School Cafeteria Spaghetti

School cafeteria spaghetti brings back memories of waiting for the lunch lady to serve you warm rich spaghetti with lots of ground beef and cheese.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Keyword spaghetti recipes

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 30

Total Time 45

Servings servings

Calories 476kcal

Author Kathleen

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown and crumble ground beef (1 pound) with minced onions (1/4 cup) until there is no longer any pink in the beef. Drain excess fat.
While meat is cooking, prepare tomatoes by dicing them. (*You can substitute crushed tomatoes, but I prefer the texture of the whole tomatoes diced instead.)
Add diced tomatoes with their juice (2 cans), tomato paste (2 cans), sugar (1 tablespoon), Worcestershire sauce (1 teaspoon), Italian seasoning (1 teaspoon), basil (1 teaspoon), garlic powder (1 teaspoon), salt (1 teaspoon), and pepper (1/2 teaspoon) to a large bowl. Stir well.
Add tomato mixture and dry spaghetti sauce mix (1 package) to cooked meat.
Bring to a slow boil. Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes or until sauce thickens.
Meanwhile, prepare spaghetti (16 ounces) according to package directions and drain.
When sauce is thickened, stir cooked pasta in.
Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top. Serve and enjoy.

As explained, Marzano tomatoes are the gold standard. Try to find authentic Marzano tomatoes from Italy in a can. You can purchase whole, diced, or crushed tomatoes. The recipe calls for whole, but you are welcome to save some time and use diced or crushed.