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