One-Pot Pasta with Meat Sauce: Comfort Food Made Easy

If you’re looking for a delicious and hearty pasta meal look no further than this amazing one-pot pasta with meat sauce. No worries about filling up the kitchen with lots of bowls and dishes, everything will be made all in one pot! This meal is perfect for busy weeknights or anytime you want a fuss-free, easy-to-make dinner for the whole family.

This recipe features rigatoni and ground beef, seasoned to perfection and all cooked in one pot. No draining, no straining, just delicious pasta cooked to perfection with a rich and creamy meat sauce you will absolutely love.

Why I Love this Recipe

I really enjoy a good pasta dinner. Our recipe for Best Damn American Goulash is one we enjoy in heavy rotation in our house. And this recipe for one-pot pasta is another one we love!

The ingredients blend perfectly and taste even better than if you cooked everything separately. As the pasta cooks, it absorbs all these great flavors, and the liquid turns into a tasty sauce. Then, we add some cream at the end to make it even richer. I think this recipe is fantastic, and I bet you’ll think so too!

Ingredients and Equipment Needed

We said it was one-pot and we mean it! You’ll need a big pot. Lol. A Dutch oven is perfect for a recipe like this. I have a standard 6-quart Dutch oven which is ideal. But any large pot that’s generally 5-7 quarts in size should work.

Other than a good, sharp knife to dice the onion and mince the garlic, that’s all the equipment you’ll need.

For our ingredients, we’re gonna make a lot go a long way in terms of flavor and by using very pantry-friendly ingredients.

For the pasta, I like to use a round pasta such as rigatoni. You can also use penne, ziti, mostacolli or any other round tubular pasta of your liking.

The meat sauce will consist of ground beef, generally an 80/20 mix, but feel free to use leaner if you prefer. You can also use ground turkey. The meat will be seasoned with Italian seasoning blend, diced onion, garlic, salt and pepper. Our liquid will be a combination of beef broth and water. At the end, we’ll add some heavy cream.

We’ll also need just a bit of olive oil to sauté the onion, then some fresh Parmesan cheese and parsley at the end (optional) for topping.

Preparation

We start by adding the oil to the pot and setting the heat to medium. When hot, add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes or until it starts to become translucent. Now, we add the tomato paste, Italian seasoning and garlic and sauté for another 1 minute. You might get some of the tomato paste sticking to the bottom of the pot, that’s ok.

The ground beef then goes in and gets browned while it mixes with the other ingredients. Add the salt and pepper to the meat while it browns. The moisture and fat content from the ground beef will help to release any stuck-on bits from the tomato paste on the bottom of the pot. Use a wooden to help scrape it up. This is called deglazing and is a big part of the flavor profile. There are lots of great flavors in those stuck-on bits!

When the beef is browned, add the water, broth, crushed tomatoes, stir and bring to a boil. Stir in the pasta. It will be just peaking over the liquid line, which is fine. Now reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for about 12-17 minutes or until pasta is cooked al dente (see pasta package for recommended cooking time) and the sauce has thickened. If the noodles still need some cooking and the sauce has thickened, go ahead and add some additional broth or water, about ½ cup at a time. The noodles will absorb the liquid, leaving us with a delicious sauce and perfectly cooked noodles!

The last step can be optional but I’ve included it anyways. At the very end, stir in the heavy cream. Adding heavy cream to pasta sauce gives it a creamy consistency and rich flavor. It counteracts the sauce’s acidic bite, resulting in a well-balanced taste. The cream also changes the sauce’s bright red appearance to a more subtle rose shade, enhancing its visual appeal.

Serving

The pasta dish is now ready to serve right away. I like to add some fresh chopped Italian parsley and fresh grated parmesan cheese for additional flavor.

Goes well with…

I like a green vegetable as a side dish with my past,a and two of my favorites are both easy air fryer recipes: Air Fryer Roasted Zucchini and Air Fryer Roasted Asparagus. The vibrant, fresh green flavors perfectly complement the rich pasta experience.

Storage and Reheating

Pasta makes great leftovers the next day or after. Simply let your pasta cool down before storing it in air-tight containers in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can also freeze for up to 4 months.

Reheating the pasta with meat sauce in the microwave is my preferred method. I like to add just a little water – a couple of tablespoons and reheat for 2 minutes, stir, then in 1-minute increments until heated through.

You can also reheat it on the stovetop by placing it in a medium pot or saucepan, adding two tablespoons of water, and heating over medium-low heat, stirring often, until heated through. Usually about 5-7 minutes.

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