35 Utterly Satisfying Spaghetti Recipes

Updated January 06, 2020
Hector Sanchez; Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham

Spaghetti: It’s the noodle that’s always there for you. Even on the most hectic weekdays, there’s almost always a box of dried spaghetti noodles just waiting at home in the pantry, ready to be combined with whatever else you have on hand for a comforting, well-rounded meal. Whether you’re craving a cozy classic like spaghetti and meatballs, or you want something a little lighter and brighter, such as spaghetti with clams, we’ve got you covered with our collection of favorite spaghetti recipes. 

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Spaghetti Carbonara

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Food Styling: Margaret Dickey; Prop Styling: Kay Clarke

Spaghetti Carbonara Recipe

Our best spaghetti carbona recipe is silky with egg and melted cheese, freshened with parsley, and spiked with black pepper. We also love this dish for its short cooking time. The ingredients are things we tend to have always on hand, making it the ultimate weeknight-dinner solution. Just add a green salad or seasonal vegetable and the meal is complete. Also, we left out the cream that's often used in spaghetti carbonara in the United States, so it's both lighter and truer to the Italian original. And we've included some variations to keep the recipe interesting in case you find yourself making it over and over again.

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One-Pot Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes

Credit: Jennifer Causey

One-Pot Pasta with Spinach and Tomatoes Recipe

This pasta dinner is a game changer: You use just enough liquid to cook the pasta--no colander needed. Recipe adapted from our sister publication Southern Living. Cost for 4: $8.43

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Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Credit: Hector Sanchez Styling: Heather Chadduck Hillegas

Spaghetti Aglio e Olio Recipe

"When I cook at home, I use fish sauce in a lot of Italian food," Quealy Watson says. "I took Latin for four years and read most of Apicius [a collection of ancient Roman recipes]. After seeing the prevalence of garum, a fermented fish sauce, in ancient Roman cooking, using fish sauce in Italian food just made sense. It's essentially anchovy juice." Look for crispy fried garlic at your local Asian market.

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Easy Chicken Spaghetti

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Lydia Pursell; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer

Easy Chicken Spaghetti Recipe

Give your traditional chicken casserole a break and serve this bright and lively chicken spaghetti. You only need a Dutch oven and a 9-x-13 baking dish to create this delicious meal, meaning there is less clean-up afterwards. Cook and shred your chicken in advance to save time.

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Spaghetti and Easy Meatballs

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Anna Theoktisto

Spaghetti and Easy Meatballs Recipe

Serve a classic Italian-inspired dish for dinner. The easy meatball method will make you skip buying store-bought meatballs for good. Whether you're serving adults or a family-friendly crew, this dish is a pitch-perfect crowd pleaser.

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Spaghetti Pudding

Credit: Kelsey Hansen; Prop Styling: Sarah Elizabeth Cleveland; Food Styling: Liz Mervosh

Spaghetti Pudding Recipe

Spaghetti pudding may sound strange, but that sure didn’t keep us from going back for seconds (or thirds). Similar to bread pudding or rice pudding, this playful sweet twist on baked spaghetti is enriched with a vanilla custard and delivers all the comfort food vibes one could ever crave. Finished with a vibrant strawberry “red sauce” and chocolate truffle “meatballs,” this decadent dessert is as fun to serve as it is delicious to eat. 

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Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese

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Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe

This hearty, veggie-forward take on classic pasta Bolognese is a dish that everyone at the table will enjoy, regardless of their relationship status with meat. 

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Shrimp and Leek Spaghetti

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Shrimp and Leek Spaghetti Recipe

Light and lemony, this pasta provides nearly a third of your daily fiber goal. Thanks to prepeeled shrimp and frozen peas, it’s the epitome of weeknight-fast. Dress it up with a glass of crisp white wine.

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Spaghetti with Clams, Bonito Butter, and Herbs

Credit: Caitlin Bensel

Spaghetti with Clams, Bonito Butter, and Herbs Recipe

Consider butter sauce yawn-inducing? Not when it's infused with bonito flakes, the delicate shavings of sashimi quality tuna that’s been steamed, air-dried, and aged. Punch up the oceanic flavor with a smattering of briny littleneck clams for an anything-but-boring bite.

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Meatloaf Spaghetti

Credit: Gina DeSimone; Prop Styling: Kashara Johnson; Food Styling: Ivy Odom

Meatloaf Spaghetti Recipe

This hearty, family-friendly recipe marries two comfort food classics—meatloaf and spaghetti—for one epic rib-sticker of a dinner. The tangy-sweet, boldly beefy sauce delivers both surprising depth of flavor and a delicious sense of familiarity… consider it a bolognese inspired by the classic flavors of meatloaf. And because no meatloaf is complete without breadcrumbs, we finish this fun play on pasta night off with buttery toasted panko (the perfect final touch of crunch!). While we love how this dish can be thrown together on a moment’s notice with a package of ground beef and pantry staples, we highly recommend prepping the sauce a day ahead if possible, because it’s definitely one of those that tastes even better the next day. If you do make your sauce ahead, when you’re ready to serve, simply heat it on the stove with 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water or chicken stock to help loosen it up. 

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Pressure Cooker Chicken Spaghetti

Credit: Kelsey Hansen; Prop Styling: Audrey Davis; Food Styling: Emily Nabors Hall

Pressure Cooker Chicken Spaghetti Recipe

This comforting and delicious Chicken Spaghetti is satisfying meal the entire family can get behind, and can be made with just a quick (and inexpensive) stop by the grocery store on your way home. Thanks to the pressure cooker, this recipe yields the flavor of a rich, long-simmered sauce in only 25 minutes. While browning the chicken and onions does help build flavor, it's OK to skip this step. Just add about 5 minutes to your cook time and discard the skin before adding your chicken to the pressure cooker. This dish is also easily adapted for your Instant Pot, click HERE for detailed instructions. 

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Spaghetti and Meatballs with Red Wine

Spaghetti and Meatballs with Red Wine Recipe

No more waiting hours for homemade meatballs! Have this quick and easy meal on the table for dinner, even on a busy weeknight, in about 30 minutes. 

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Crab, Fennel, and Basil Spaghetti

Credit: Photography: Caitlin Bensel; Food Styling: Anna Hampton; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine

Crab, Fennel, and Basil Spaghetti Recipe

Because this pasta toss is light and delicately flavored, it's perfect for warmer weather. Feel free to "back pocket" your way around this dish, subbing shrimp or a flaky white fish for the crab and playing with other herbs like tarragon, chives, and chervil.

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Pretty "Parslied" Spaghetti

Pretty "Parslied" Spaghetti Recipe

Leftover flat-leaf parsley is likely lurking in your crisper. This unassuming herb has a bright, grassy personality that, combined with cheese, garlic, and good olive oil, makes this dish sing. Try embellishing with lemon zest, toasted nuts, sun-dried tomatoes in oil, or even sardines.

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Spaghetti and Clams with Extras

Credit: Jennifer Causey

Spaghetti and Clams with Extras Recipe

Amp up the typical spaghetti and clams with vibrant summery additions of fresh tomatoes and corn. This fresh and bright spaghetti recipe is a patio-perfect meal. 

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Quick and Easy Spaghetti Bolognese

Credit: Greg Dupree; Prop Styling: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Styling: Torie Cox

Quick and Easy Spaghetti Bolognese Recipe

While we love the images of a cook standing over the stove for hours, stirring the family’s secret recipe for Bolognese until it is just right, we have simplified the technique so you can create a tasty meal in under 30 minutes. Create a satisfying meat sauce by cooking Italian sausage, peppers, sweet onions and garlic, then add a quality jarred pasta sauce, such as Barilla or Classico. 

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Korean Spaghetti and Meatballs

Korean Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe

Korean kimchi invigorates a standby weeknight dinner. Bring the pasta water to a boil while you make the meatballs.

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Sausage and Spinach Spaghetti Pie

Credit: Jennifer Causey

Sausage and Spinach Spaghetti Pie Recipe

This budget-friendly dish (costing under $10) allows you to stretch a small amount of meat over several servings.

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Slow-Cooker Four-Cheese Spaghetti with Italian Sausage

Credit: Victor Protasio; Styling: Lindsey Lower

Slow-Cooker Four-Cheese Spaghetti with Italian Sausage Recipe

Switch up your go-to slow-cooker meals and go for a cheesy pasta dish that's loaded with hearty sausage. It's a great option for the entire family, and you can take the leftovers for lunch the next day.

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Spaghetti with Shrimp and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Credit: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller

Spaghetti with Shrimp and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes Recipe

You can make this without the shrimp. Sauté garlic in the skillet as directed, and add the pasta water and parsley, omitting shrimp. If you omit the shrimp, also toss in 1/2 cup grated Parmesan or pecorino cheese. Roasting cherry tomatoes intensifies their flavor without a lot of fuss to make this spaghetti easy and full of flavor. 

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Spaghetti with Spinach-Avocado Sauce

Credit: Jennifer Causey Styling: Lindsey Lower

Spaghetti with Spinach-Avocado Sauce Recipe

Move over, pesto: You're not the only sauce worth going green for. Pureed avocado makes this dish positively irresistible. Garnish with extra basil leaves, if desired.

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Chicken-Spaghetti Casserole

Credit: Hector Sanchez; Styling: Karin Olsen

Chicken-Spaghetti Casserole Recipe

Casseroles are where you can see Southern ingenuity at its best, and the eighties had no shortage of inventive ideas. This particular Southern standard gave us all the warm and fuzzy memories we were craving.

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Spaghetti with Pistachio-Mint Pesto and Spinach

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Lindsey Lower

Spaghetti with Pistachio-Mint Pesto and Spinach Recipe

This meatless meal definitely doesn't skimp on flavor. With a bright and fresh spring pesto and lots of healthy spinach, getting your greens has never been so easy. 

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Spaghetti with Chorizo and Toasted Paprika Bread Crumbs

Credit: Annabelle Breakey

Spaghetti with Chorizo and Toasted Paprika Bread Crumbs Recipe

This Spanish-inspired dish gets big flavor from just a handful of ingredients. If you can't find Spanish chorizo, use smoked pork sausage and an additional 1 tbsp. smoked paprika during the browning step.

Wine Pairing: Earthy, spicy DaVinci 2012 Chianti Riserva (Chianti DOCG; $23).

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Family-Style Chicken Spaghetti

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Claire Spollen

Family-Style Chicken Spaghetti Recipe

A family favorite swaps jarred sauce for fresh--which requires just a few ingredients and less than 10 minutes.

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Spaghetti with Marinated Tomatoes and Mozzarella

Credit: Alison Miksch

Spaghetti with Marinated Tomatoes and Mozzarella Recipe

Spoon in make-ahead Mouthwatering Marinated Tomatoes for a quick and easy summer pasta dinner.

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Shrimp and Pine Nut Spaghetti

Shrimp and Pine Nut Spaghetti Recipe

Homemade cream sauce is a delicious and easy topper to this pasta toss. Not a shrimp fan? It's also good with rotisserie chicken.

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Spaghetti Carbonara with Leeks and Pancetta

Credit: Becky Luigart-Stayner; Jan Gautro

Spaghetti Carbonara with Leeks and Pancetta Recipe

A small amount of the pasta's cooking liquid is whisked into the egg mixture to prevent the eggs from overcooking when added to the hot pasta. This procedure, called tempering, results in a rich, creamy sauce that easily coats the noodles.

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Spaghetti and Meatballs in Tomato-Basil Sauce

Credit: Jennifer Causey; Styling: Claire Spollen

Spaghetti and Meatballs in Tomato-Basil Sauce Recipe

Feed a crowd of 8 tonight, or cook 6 ounces pasta to serve 4 and freeze half the meatball mixture for later. Spoon into whole-wheat hoagie rolls instead of over pasta.

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Spaghetti with Squash, Walnuts and Parmesan

Credit: Antonis Achilleos; Styling: Gerri Williams for James Reps

Spaghetti with Squash, Walnuts and Parmesan Recipe

Try this fall-flavored spin on spaghetti made with butternut squash, walnuts, bread crumbs, and Parmesan. 

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Spaghetti with Wilted Tomatoes and Burrata

Credit: Jen Causey; Styling: Rachael Burrow

Spaghetti with Wilted Tomatoes and Burrata Recipe

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Spaghetti with Anchovies, Garlic, and Red Pepper with Lemon-Caper Broccoli

Credit: Jason Varney; Styling: Lindsey Lower

Spaghetti with Anchovies, Garlic, and Red Pepper with Lemon-Caper Broccoli Recipe

Anchovies break down, or "melt," into the warm olive oil, adding savory depth to this simple pasta toss. For a vegetarian dish, substitute 3 tablespoons chopped kalamata olives for the anchovies. If you boil too much pasta tonight, set some aside before tossing with the olive oil mixture. Reheat on another night by dunking the cold noodles in boiling water for 30 seconds before tossing with your sauce.

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Spaghetti with Brussels Sprouts

Credit: Annabelle Breakey

Spaghetti with Brussels Sprouts Recipe

Brussels sprouts are the new kale! Here they're quickly browned and still slightly crunchy. To save time, slice them with a mandoline or a food processor fitted with the slicing blade attachment.

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