Healthy Spaghetti Recipe

healthy spaghetti served in a bowl with fresh basil on top.

Healthy Spaghetti Recipe

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: healthy spaghetti

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 20

Servings:

Calories: 527kcal

Author: Megan Gilmore

Make your next spaghetti night healthier with these easy tweaks! Your family won't even notice they're getting extra fiber in each bite, plus you'll save money at the same time.

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Ingredients

1 pound lean ground beef
fine sea salt , to taste
8 ounces spaghetti noodles
12 ounces shredded cabbage (optional)
1 (15 ounce) can lentils , drained and rinsed
1 (24 oz.) jar marinara sauce

Instructions

To cook the pasta, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. While you wait for that to come to a boil, start heating a separate pan on another burner over medium-high heat. Once that pan is hot, add the ground beef and season with a ½ teaspoon of salt. Use a spatula to break up the meat, stirring often until it's no longer pink.
As soon as the water starts boiling in the large pot, season it with two teaspoons of salt and add the spaghetti noodles. Use a fork to stir the noodles right away to help separate them as they cook. (This will prevent clumps later.) If you want to cook cabbage at the same time, add the shredded cabbage to the pot and let it soften as the noodles boil. (See notes for an alternative method.) Once the pasta is tender, drain it along with the cabbage into a colander and set aside briefly.
In the skillet with the cooked meat, add the drained lentils and marinara sauce. Stir until the sauce is heated through. The longer you let this simmer, the more the lentils and meat will absorb the flavor, but it can be ready to serve as soon as it's hot.
To serve, add the noodles and cabbage to serving bowls and top with the meat sauce. Add any garnishes you like, such as Parmesan cheese or fresh basil, and serve right away. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. (We like to store noodles and sauce separately.)

Notes

Nutrition information is for 1 of 6 servings. (The sauce could serve up to 8 people, but this is the amount I make for my family of 4, and we usually have two leftover servings for lunch.) This information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, so it's just an estimate and not a guarantee. I'm unsure what type of marinara sauce was used for the calculation, so it could have 100 calories per half cup (like Rao's) or only 55 calories per half cup (like Trader Joe's).

Gluten-Free Note: Use gluten-free spaghetti noodles to keep this recipe gluten-free. I like brown rice or legume-based pasta.

Cabbage Note: I do not recommend boiling cabbage with the noodles if you've never served your family cabbage with spaghetti before. A good way to introduce this is to sauté the shredded cabbage in a separate pan while the noodles and meat sauce cook. Add a drizzle of olive oil to the pan over medium-high heat, then add the cabbage and a 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt. Stir well until the cabbage starts to wilt. Then add a splash of water, lower the heat to medium, and cover with a lid. The cabbage should be tender in 5 to 8 minutes. Remove the lid and stir away any water until it fully evaporates. Serve the cabbage on the side of the spaghetti, or add it to your bowl as a way to bulk up each serving.

Serving Size Note: I recommend using 8 ounces of spaghetti noodles plus the 12 ounces of cabbage to make roughly six servings, but you can cook more pasta if your family wants more. These suggestions are just a starting point. The sauce could serve up to 8 people if you want to stretch this even further.

Nutrition