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Spaghetti with Meat Sauce

Ground beef simmered with crushed tomatoes, onion, and garlic over spaghetti — no heat, no frills.

Total Cost $11.28
Per Serving $2.82
Prep 10 min
Cook 30 min
Servings 4
  • beef
  • pasta
  • kid-friendly
  • comfort-food
  • meal-prep

Ingredients

  • 350 g medium ground beef $6.65
  • 350 g dry spaghetti $0.77
  • 1 can (796 mL) crushed tomatoes $2.00
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced $1.23
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced $0.32
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil $0.06
  • 1 tsp dried oregano $0.05
  • 1 tsp dried basil $0.05
  • 0.5 tsp salt $0.02
  • 0.5 tsp black pepper $0.02
  • 1 tsp sugar $0.01
  • 1 tbsp tomato paste $0.10
  • Recipe total$11.28

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
  2. Heat oil in a wide skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it apart, until browned — about 8 minutes. Drain excess fat.
  3. Add the onion. Cook 4 minutes until softened.
  4. Add garlic, oregano, and basil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
  5. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute.
  6. Add the crushed tomatoes. Season with sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
  7. Reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  8. Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Reserve 125 mL pasta water before draining.
  9. If sauce is too thick, stir in a splash of pasta water. Serve sauce over drained spaghetti.

Nutrition per Serving

Estimated values per serving.

560 Calories
28g Protein
70g Carbs
16g Fat
5g Fiber
520mg Sodium
~20% DV Iron~6% DV Calcium~15% DV Vitamin C

Gluten-Free

This recipe can be made gluten-free with substitutions.

  • Replace spaghetti with gluten-free pasta (same weight) (GF pasta costs roughly $3–4 more; pushes recipe near budget limit)

The meat sauce itself is naturally gluten-free. Serve over rice instead of pasta to keep costs down.

Budget Notes

  • Medium ground beef at $19/kg is used here. Lean ground beef adds about $0.35 to the total — not worth it for a tomato sauce.
  • 350 g of beef feeds four because the sauce volume stretches with the tomatoes. Do not reduce the tomato amount.
  • This sauce freezes well. Double the sauce batch while the pasta pot is going and freeze half.