Cheesy One Pot Spaghetti is my go-to when life gets hectic and I need something comforting, delicious, and ridiculously easy on the table FAST. This recipe combines tender spaghetti, rich tomato sauce, aromatic garlic, and melty mozzarella cheese—all cooked together in ONE POT.
Love More Spaghetti Recipes? Try My One Pot Spaghetti with Meat Sauce or this Spicy Southern Chicken Spaghetti Casserole next.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Creamy, rich, and full of cheesy goodness, this Cheesy One Pot Spaghetti is a comforting twist on a classic favorite. Everything cooks together in one pot—pasta, sauce, and cheese—for a quick, easy meal with minimal cleanup. Perfectly saucy and satisfying, it’s a family-friendly dinner that’s ready in no time.
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Cheesy One Pot Spaghetti
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 3–4 servings
Description
Easy Cheesy One Pot Spaghetti is a quick 20-minute dinner made with garlic, tomatoes, and melted mozzarella cheese. Everything cooks in one skillet for minimal cleanup and maximum flavor. Perfect for busy weeknights!
Ingredients
For the Pasta:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes (1 large can, with juices—don’t drain!)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 10 ounces spaghetti noodles, broken in half
- 3/4 cup water
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or sliced fresh mozzarella if you’re feeling fancy)
Optional Add-Ins (Make It Your Own!):
- Protein: Rotisserie chicken, ground beef, Italian sausage, or shrimp
- Vegetables: Bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, or fresh spinach
Friendly Notes:
- Can’t find fresh garlic? Jarred minced garlic works in a pinch (use the same amount).
- Regular table salt? Use a bit less since it’s saltier than kosher.
- No red pepper flakes? Skip it for a milder version, or add more if you love heat!
Instructions
Get your skillet hot with the olive oil over medium heat. Toss in the garlic and stir it around for about a minute. It should smell amazing and turn slightly golden—if it’s browning fast, your heat’s too high. Burnt garlic tastes bitter, so keep stirring.
Dump in the tomatoes with all their juice, then add your salt, pepper, garlic salt, basil, and red pepper flakes. Stir everything together. This takes maybe thirty seconds. You’re not trying to cook it down—just get it mixed.
Break your spaghetti in half and add it to the pan with the water. Stir once to get the noodles under the liquid, then slap a lid on it. Turn the heat up to medium-high and let it boil. Set a timer for seven minutes but check at that point—some stoves take longer. When the noodles are tender and most of the liquid’s absorbed, you’re done. Take the lid off and stir everything together.
Turn off the heat. Sprinkle your mozzarella over the whole thing, put the lid back on, and walk away for two minutes. When you come back, you’ve got melted cheese covering everything. If you’re impatient like me, you can skip the cheese step and just serve it—it’s still delicious.
Scoop it into bowls while it’s hot. I usually grab some garlic bread and call it dinner.
Notes
- Brown your protein first: If you’re adding ground beef or sausage, cook it in the skillet BEFORE you add the garlic, then remove it temporarily. Add it back in with the tomatoes. This builds so much more flavor!
- Layer in fresh herbs: Dried basil is great, but if you have fresh basil on hand, tear up a handful and stir it in right before serving. It adds such a bright, fresh pop of flavor.
- Use quality canned tomatoes: Since the tomatoes are a main ingredient, splurge a little on a good brand. San Marzano tomatoes are my favorite—they’re sweeter and less acidic.
- Don’t skip the lid: Keeping the skillet covered traps steam, which is what actually cooks the pasta. Without it, you’ll just evaporate all your liquid.
- Stir gently: Once you add the pasta, resist the urge to keep stirring. Let it do its thing covered. Too much stirring can break the noodles and make them gummy.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: One Pot
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Ingredient List
For the Pasta:
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh minced garlic
- 28 ounces diced tomatoes (1 large can, with juices—don’t drain!)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 10 ounces spaghetti noodles, broken in half
- 3/4 cup water
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (or sliced fresh mozzarella if you’re feeling fancy)
Optional Add-Ins (Make It Your Own!):
- Protein: Rotisserie chicken, ground beef, Italian sausage, or shrimp
- Vegetables: Bell peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, or fresh spinach
Friendly Notes:
- No fresh garlic? The jarred stuff works fine.
- Regular salt instead of kosher? Use less—it’s saltier.
- Hate spice? Skip the red pepper flakes completely.
Why These Ingredients Work
The olive oil and garlic create this base that smells so good you’ll want to bottle it as perfume. Those canned tomatoes with their juice? That’s your sauce AND your cooking liquid—two jobs, one ingredient. The spices build flavor fast without any of that “simmer for three hours” nonsense. Breaking the spaghetti in half isn’t just practical—it fits in the pan better and every piece gets coated in sauce. And that mozzarella melting on top? That’s what turns regular pasta into something your family will actually get excited about eating.
Essential Tools and Equipment
You need a large skillet or Dutch oven with a lid. That’s basically it. A wooden spoon, measuring cups, and maybe a knife if you’re mincing fresh garlic. I told you this was low-maintenance.
How To Make Cheesy One Pot Spaghetti
Step 1: Sauté the Garlic
Get your skillet hot with the olive oil over medium heat. Toss in the garlic and stir it around for about a minute. It should smell amazing and turn slightly golden—if it’s browning fast, your heat’s too high. Burnt garlic tastes bitter, so keep stirring.
Step 2: Build the Sauce
Dump in the tomatoes with all their juice, then add your salt, pepper, garlic salt, basil, and red pepper flakes. Stir everything together. This takes maybe thirty seconds. You’re not trying to cook it down—just get it mixed.
Step 3: Cook the Pasta
Break your spaghetti in half and add it to the pan with the water. Stir once to get the noodles under the liquid, then slap a lid on it. Turn the heat up to medium-high and let it boil. Set a timer for seven minutes but check at that point—some stoves take longer. When the noodles are tender and most of the liquid’s absorbed, you’re done. Take the lid off and stir everything together.
Step 4: Melt the Cheese
Turn off the heat. Sprinkle your mozzarella over the whole thing, put the lid back on, and walk away for two minutes. When you come back, you’ve got melted cheese covering everything. If you’re impatient like me, you can skip the cheese step and just serve it—it’s still delicious.
Step 5: Serve and Enjoy
Scoop it into bowls while it’s hot. I usually grab some garlic bread and call it dinner.
You Must Know
Your pasta might take longer than seven minutes. I’m serious—I’ve made this on five different stoves and the time varies wildly. Check it at seven, but don’t freak out if it needs fifteen or even twenty. If the liquid evaporates before the pasta’s soft, add more water. It’s not rocket science.
Personal Secret: I always undercook my pasta by about a minute because I hate mushy noodles. It keeps cooking a little after you turn off the heat, and leftovers reheat way better when the pasta’s got some bite to it.
Pro Tips & Cooking Hacks
If you’re adding ground beef or sausage, brown it first in the skillet, take it out, then start with the garlic. Add the meat back when you add the tomatoes. Game changer for flavor.
Fresh basil at the end is chef’s kiss, but dried works perfectly fine. Don’t let anyone shame you for using what you’ve got.
Good canned tomatoes make a difference here since they’re basically half the recipe. I buy San Marzano when they’re on sale.
Keep that lid on while the pasta cooks. I know you want to peek, but every time you lift it, you’re letting out steam that’s cooking your noodles.
Don’t stir constantly once you’ve added the pasta—you’ll break the noodles and make everything gummy.
The biggest mistake? Adding cheese while the pan’s still on the burner. It gets rubbery and weird. Off the heat, lid on, patience rewarded with perfect melty cheese.
Flavor Variations / Suggestions
Brown a pound of ground beef or crumble up some Italian sausage before you start. Diced rotisserie chicken works too—just stir it in at the end. I’ve added cooked shrimp before and it was fantastic.
For veggies, I’ll throw in mushrooms, bell peppers, or zucchini with the garlic. Spinach goes in at the very end—it wilts in like thirty seconds.
Want it creamier? Stir in some ricotta or a splash of heavy cream before adding the cheese. Parmesan on top never hurts either.
If you like heat, double the red pepper flakes or use spicy sausage.
Make-Ahead Options
This is so fast I usually just make it when I want to eat it, but you can prep everything ahead—mince the garlic, break the pasta, measure the spices. Then it’s truly a dump-and-go situation.
Leftovers last three or four days in the fridge and honestly taste even better the next day. The flavors really settle in overnight.
You can freeze it for up to two months, but skip the cheese and add it fresh when you reheat. Frozen pasta with cheese gets weird and mushy.
Recipe Notes & Baker’s Tips
Every stove cooks differently. I cannot say this enough. My gas range? Eight minutes. My mom’s electric? Closer to fifteen. Trust what you see in the pan more than any timer.
That 3/4 cup of water plus the tomato juice is the perfect ratio. Don’t add extra water “just in case”—you’ll end up with soup.
Dried basil is totally fine, but if you’ve got fresh herbs, toss them in at the end. You need about three times as much fresh as dried.
Any long pasta works here—linguine, fettuccine, even angel hair (which cooks way faster, so check at five minutes).
Serving Suggestions
Garlic bread is pretty much mandatory at my house. Caesar salad on the side makes it feel like a real meal. Sometimes I’ll roast some broccoli or green beans if I’m feeling ambitious.
For garnish, I usually just tear up some fresh basil and sprinkle extra Parmesan. Red pepper flakes go on the table for anyone who wants more heat.
If you want to get fancy, start with a caprese salad. End with tiramisu. Pour some Chianti. Suddenly your Wednesday night dinner feels like date night.
I really hope this becomes one of those recipes you don’t even need to look at anymore because you’ve made it so many times. It’s saved me on more crazy weeknights than I can count, and I’m pretty sure it’ll do the same for you.
How to Store Your Cheesy One Pot Spaghetti
Put leftovers in a container with a lid and stick it in the fridge. It’ll last three or four days. The pasta soaks up sauce as it sits, so it might look drier the next day—totally normal.
To reheat, microwave it in a bowl with a loose cover for sixty to ninety seconds. Add a splash of water if it seems dry. Or heat it in a skillet with a little water—I think this way tastes better because the texture comes back.
For freezing, use containers or freezer bags and skip the cheese topping. Add fresh cheese when you reheat. Thaw it in the fridge overnight before heating it up. It’ll keep for two months.
Allergy Information
This has gluten from the pasta and dairy from the cheese.
For gluten-free, use GF spaghetti—it might take a bit longer to cook and need extra water. For dairy-free, skip the cheese or use a plant-based version. Nutritional yeast gives you cheesy flavor without dairy.
If you need low-sodium, get no-salt-added tomatoes and cut back on the salt. The garlic and spices still make it taste great.
Questions I Get Asked A Lot
My pasta isn’t cooking evenly—what’s wrong?
Make sure all the noodles are under the liquid when you start. Give them a stir after the first minute or two to separate any clumps. And check your heat—you want a steady simmer, not a crazy rolling boil that evaporates everything.
Why is my sauce too watery?
Let it simmer uncovered for a few more minutes after the pasta’s done. The liquid will cook off and the sauce will thicken. The pasta also releases starch while it cooks, which helps thicken things naturally.
💬 Tried this recipe? Leave a comment and rating below! Tell me how it turned out! Did you add anything extra? Did your family love it?
