# One-Pot Spaghetti Bolognese

Ground beef, diced vegetables and broken spaghetti cooked together in a tomato sauce in one pan. The pasta finishes in the sauce and thickens it.

 

 

 ![One-Pot Spaghetti Bolognese](https://irenpins.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/ire-237-one-pot-spaghetti-bolognese-c236a6a0.webp)  

 [Print](#wpzoom-recipe-card-one-pot-spaghetti-bolognese) 

  

 

 

 

## One-Pot Spaghetti Bolognese

Recipe by Iren Pavlenko

 

- 
- 
- 
- 
- 

0.0 from 0 votes ** 

Course: Main CourseDifficulty: Easy

Servings

6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

35

minutes

Ground beef, diced vegetables and broken spaghetti cooked together in a tomato sauce in one pan. The pasta finishes in the sauce and thickens it.

### Ingredients

- 1 1/2 lb 80/20 ground beef
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced
- 2 carrots, finely diced
- 2 celery stalks, finely diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 12 oz spaghetti, broken in half
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
- Fresh basil, torn

### Directions

- Brown the beef in a large pot over medium-high heat for 7 minutes, breaking it up. Spoon off the extra grease.
- Add the onion, carrot and celery and cook 5 minutes, until softened. The small dice helps them disappear into the sauce.
- Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook 1 minute, until the paste turns brick red.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, broth, water, Italian seasoning, sugar, salt and pepper. Scrape the bottom of the pot.
- Bring to a boil, then lay the broken spaghetti across the top and push it under the liquid.
- Reduce to a lively simmer, cover and cook 8 minutes. Stir every 2 minutes so the strands do not stick.
- Uncover and cook 4 to 6 minutes more, until the spaghetti is tender and the sauce is thick.
- Slide a probe into the beef in the middle of the pot. It should read at least 160°F.
- Stir in half the Parmesan and let the pot rest for 3 minutes so the sauce settles.
- Serve with the remaining Parmesan and torn basil.

 

### Notes

 

Break the spaghetti so it fits under the liquid; whole strands stay hard on top. If the sauce gets too thick, stir in 1/4 cup hot water. Add a splash of red wine in place of some of the water if you like. Leftovers keep 3 days, and the sauce freezes well without the pasta for up to 3 months.

 

  

## Why one pan is enough

 

The spaghetti cooks right in the sauce, so the starch it releases thickens the tomatoes and clings to the beef. Finely diced onion, carrot and celery melt into the sauce and give it the slow-simmered taste of a classic bolognese in half an hour.

 

Breaking the noodles is not laziness, it keeps them under the liquid.

 

## Swaps and one to skip

 

Ground turkey or Italian sausage is fine in place of the beef. Penne or rotini can replace spaghetti, though the liquid may need a little longer to absorb. Do not use fresh pasta, which turns to paste in this much heat.

 

## What to serve

 

Garlic bread and a bitter green salad are the easy match. A shaving of extra cheese at the table does the rest.

 

## Make ahead and freeze

 

Freeze the sauce without the pasta, because noodles go soft after thawing. Cook fresh pasta in a separate pot when you reheat it. Cooked pasta leftovers keep well in the fridge for the stated 3 days.

 

Stir often, especially in the first few minutes of the pasta cooking, or the strands stick to the bottom of the pan. Taste for salt at the end, since the broth varies.