Confession: I love spaghetti o’s.
The kinda cheese-y but definitely tomato-y sauce with all the fun little noodle o’s that would nestle into each other…
I used to pick out all the tiny o’s and eat those first.
Unless there were meatballs. Meatballs trumped all the noodles.
I was young and naive in those spaghetti o days, just a kid oblivious to nutrition labels and artificial ingredients. It’s amazing though how strong that pull is though to favorite childhood foods.
I mean, I’ve read the list of ingredients, picked up my mouth after seeing both high fructose corn syrup and hydrogenated oils (the only two completely banned ingredients from our kitchen) and yet I’m STILL tempted to buy a can because I vividly remember how much I loved them as a kid. I can’t even walk down that aisle without thinking about those meatballs.
Yikes. Processed food has some pretty amazing powers!
Fortunately, my homemade spaghettio’s are pretty amazing in their own right.
Just like the original, they’re kinda cheese-y and definitely tomato-y. The pasta is still small so I can play around to see how many noodles I can fit on my spoon.
It’s my favorite bowl of childhood goodness, all re-made and grown up into something my body can recognize and digest. It’s a 100% real food comfort food I’m okay with feeding to my own kids so that one day they too can look back and fondly remember spaghetti o’s.
With meatballs for my son, without for my daughter, extra sauce for both.
One super-cool aspect of this recipe that I don’t want to let slip by is that like homemade lunchables and homemade hot pockets, this recipe is SUPER versatile.
The main ingredient is tomato sauce, but you can definitely substitute leftover tomato basil soup or easy homemade pizza sauce instead. You can puree tomatoes fresh from the garden (like I did), use a can of diced tomatoes or even your own favorite homemade marinara.
In fact, I encourage you to be purposeful in the kitchen and scrounge up one of those options before adding tomato sauce to your shopping list.
Better still, be pro-active (and win awesome parent hugs) by planning to make homemade spaghetti o’s for lunch on the weeks you have any of these recipes on your meal plan!
- 16 oz tomato sauce*
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp paprika
- ¼ tsp onion powder
- ⅛ tsp dried thyme (optional)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp honey (optional)
- 6 Tbsp milk
- 2 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup packed cheddar cheese, shredded (about 5 oz)
- 2 cups small pasta, about 8 oz (ditalini if you're shopping in store, or anelletti for the traditional O-shaped noodles)*
- additional salt, to taste
- Cook pasta noodles al dente according to the directions on the package.
- Meanwhile, combine tomato sauce, tomato paste, spices, milk and butter in a saucepan and bring to a simmer. The honey is optional, but adds the signature "sweet" taste that you're used to in spaghetti o's. If you add it, add it with the milk and butter.
- Add cheese and stir until melted. Turn heat to low until pasta is done.
- Strain pasta when done and portion into serving bowls.
- Ladle finished sauce over pasta, adding more sauce for those who like it saucy!
* If you use another pasta that is slightly larger, like small shells or macaroni, you might need to increase the quantity.
Additional Recipe Ideas
I try to buy sharp cheddar whenever possible, since it takes less to acheive the same cheese-y flavor as medium cheddar. I used medium cheddar in the recipe above because it’s what I had, but if you use sharp cheddar, reduce to 1/2 cup and taste, then possibly adding another 1/4 cup. You likely won’t need a full cup of cheese.
As I mentioned earlier, the tomato sauce can be substituted with tomato basil soup, easy homemade pizza sauce or homemade marinara. You can make your own tomato sauce by pureeing any canned or fresh tomato. If you go this route, measure the finished puree, not the whole tomatoes.
Cost Breakdown
- tomato sauce: free from the garden (or $1 if you have to buy it)
- all spices: $0.15
- butter: $0.18
- honey: $.11
- milk: $0.09
- cheese: $1.09
- tomato paste: $0.22
- pasta: $0.50
Total cost for Homemade Spaghetti O’s is $3.34.
You’ll get about 4 servings from this recipe, making it cheaper (and WAY healthier) than store bought spaghetti o’s. Plus you can make it even cheaper by using tomatoes from the garden, or sauce leftover from other meals!
Get more frugal, affordable and awesome back to school ideas or check out “The Healthy Lunchbox” – it’s one of the best eBooks I’ve read on healthy lunches, including back to school!
Homemade Spaghetti-o’s are featured in this FREE Two Week School Lunch Menu!
Get two weeks of healthy meals to send with your kids to school or use it for your homeschool lunch menu!
Hi Tiffany. Love that Dutch oven in the photos. Which brand/make is it? Thanks.
Thanks for the recipe!! We have started testing recipes for back to school, and my nine year old liked these even better than the canned version (and that is a HUGE compliment from her). I froze the individual servings so we can pull them the night before, heat them up, and they can go right in her thermos.
Do you have a recipe for the little meatballs? Thanks 🙂
Ooh, I wish! I don’t at the moment, but it’s on my list!
They are made with ground beef and ground pork mix, just add a little fennel and Italian seasoning with bread crumbs and an egg. Roll then into small meatballs and brown in a cast iron skillet.
I suggest adding fennel and Italian seasoning then cooking one small meatball and taste till you figure out the way you like them best. If they need more fennel or Italian seasoning add more then test again.
I fondly remember tuna-noodle casserole made with cream of mushroom soup. Or lots of things made with cream of mushroom soup. Since I often do not have it in my pantry, for a casserole base I have substituted simple white sauce, perhaps with a bit more flour than the recipe requires to make it thicker, and sometimes add fresh or canned mushrooms.
My favorite tuna noodle casserole is pretty simple: drained tuna, cooked egg noodles, frozen peas, cream of mushroom soup, a little milk to thin the soup. Fairly non-processed if you don’t count the soup!
I’ve enjoyed your website and recipes.
Thank you! Tuna casserole was one of my favorites too. Haven’t had it in years, but can still remember the taste!!
I’ve added mushrooms and even olives to my Tuna Noodle Casserole always made with Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup. As a topping, I layer grated mozzarella cheese mixed with crushed plain potato chips. Yum!!
I’ve grown up in Australia and have never tried spaghetti-o’s but I’ll give this recipe a try!
In your recipe you say 16 oz are you referring to fl oz or oz/lb as in like on he scales.
Hi Kim! For liquids, it’s in ounces.
How did their food stay warm? And was this a gluten free pasta you used?
I’ve trained my kids to enjoy room temperature food. BEST MOVE EVER, LOL. It’s really made our lives easier! This recipe works with both regular and GF pasta.