Our spaghetti and meatball recipe is so easy to make and tastes oh so delicious... all the family will want some, especially the kids! It is super easy to make, uses minimal ingredients and makes a great family dinner.
Our spaghetti and meatball recipe uses minimal ingredients including ingredients you can often find in the reduced to clear section in the supermarkets, making this recipe even more low cost and budget friendly. Feel free to stick to this simple recipe or add some extra veg to bulk out your meal.
Here is our low cost easy to make meatball spaghetti recipe using shop bought meatballs found in the reduced section of the supermarket. Meatballs can often be found in reduced to clear, we often pick up a pack or two when we spot them and freeze them until needed. Waitrose meatballs are often reduced and they're delicious too!
Meatballs can also be found in the frozen section of supermarkets. Frozen meat products are often priced lower than fresh products as they have a longer expiry date and are less likely to expire than products on the supermarket shelf.
You can also of course, make your own meatballs! You can use various meat products to make meatballs such as minced beef, minced chicken, sausages, etc. Here is a guide to making meatballs on the BBC Good Food website - How to Make Meatballs.
We used leftover tomato sauce from enchiladas we made earlier in the week. It's a really easy sauce to make and you can make in a large batch and freeze in smaller portions for when you need. You can read our homemade tomato sauce recipe here - Homemade Tomato Sauce. But you can just add a jar or carton of pre-made sauce or passata if you prefer.
Easy Spaghetti with Meatballs
Makes: 4 servings
Cost to make: Approx. £4.40
Cost per serving: Approx. £1.10
Ingredients
Approx. 350g dried Spaghetti (approx. 50p)
Pack of 24 Meatballs (we used Waitrose reduced) (£2.39)
Homemade tomato sauce (approx. 50p)
1 x small onion, chopped (approx. 30p)
1 x pepper, chopped (we used leftovers from the fridge) (approx. 65p)
sunflower or vegetable oil for cooking
Method
Cook off the meatballs. We used an air fryer for approx. 8 minutes or put a little oil in a frying pan and brown off the meatballs on the hob for approx. 8 minutes.
Cook off the spaghetti according to the pack instructions then drain. Rinse the spaghetti under a cold tap to prevent the pasta sticking together.
Heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan or wok. Add the chopped onion and peppers and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes until well softened, stirring regularly.
Add the spaghetti and tomato sauce and stir well, then add the meatballs. Cook for approx. 3 minutes until heated through.
Serve with a little grated cheese sprinkled on top or sliced garlic bread (optional).
Substitutions
Peppers – This is a great recipe for using up what you already have. If you don't have any peppers, try broccoli or green beans instead or simply leave out the peppers altogether.
Homemade Tomato Sauce - no time to make your own sauce? Just use a shop bought jar instead. They are regularly on offer at the supermarkets so perhaps keep a couple in your store cupboard for when you need a quick and easy meal. Or a shop bought carton or jar of passatta works just as well 👍
Variations
Garlic – we love garlic and often add a sprinkle of frozen chopped garlic whilst cooking off the onions. You can use whatever garlic you have, fresh, frozen or garlic paste.
Vegetarian – Simply leave out the meatballs! Just add whatever vegetables you have left over in the fridge. Carrots, cauliflower, broccoli and green beans all work particularly well.
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