Uh oh, spaghettios. This healthy homemade spaghettios recipe tastes even better than the real thing!
The original SpaghettiOs
More than 150 million cans of Campbell’s SpaghettiOs are sold each year, many of which are consumed by children.
There’s just something about those cute little os in the cheesy tomato sauce that’s impossible to resist.
SpaghettiOs were a common sight in my own elementary school lunchbox, much to the bemusement of my traditional Italian grandmother.
I remember her once picking up a can, reading the label, and saying to me, “This is NOT food.”
When Campbell’s introduced the idea of canned spaghetti back in 1965, I think she may have cried.
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Above, watch the homemade spaghettio recipe video
Easy homemade spaghettios recipe
With kids still in school for a few more weeks, it seemed like a good time to try and create a homemade spaghettios recipe.
But this one has no high fructose corn syrup or ingredients you can’t pronounce.
Healthy spaghettios! And yes, they fit perfectly into a lunchbox thermos.
Pack them up alongside a few healthy Banana Oatmeal Cookies, Black Bean Brownies, or these Healthy Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Healthy spaghettios ingredients
I used anellini pasta for a traditional Spaghetti Os shape, but you can easily substitute whatever small pasta shape you have on hand.
The spaghetti Os can be dairy free, egg free, soy free, vegan, low fat, low calorie, and added sugar free. For gluten free homemade Spaghettios, just use a gluten free pasta.
They even make gluten free quinoa anellini if you want a true SpaghettiOs shape but wish to keep it gluten free.
Nutritional yeast is a completely natural, and very healthy, product that can be found at Whole Foods, on Amazon, or in the natural food section of many regular grocery stores. It is high in protein and boasts an impressive list of vitamins.
Don’t get it confused with brewers yeast or the yeast you’d use for bread. Here, nutritional yeast is used as a vegan alternative to Parmesan cheese. It gives the homemade spaghettios a deliciously cheesy flavor.
For vegan spaghettios, use dairy free butter and plant based milk. I have not tried the recipe with oil instead of butter. We did try a fat free version and were not fans. So we do not recommend omitting it.
These homemade Spaghettios are Italian-grandma approved!
How to make homemade spaghettios
Combine the onion powder, paprika, sweetener, nutritional yeast or Parmesan, salt, milk of choice, no salt added tomato sauce, and butter in a small saucepan.
Bring the pasta sauce to a boil. Then lower the heat and cook on low, stirring occasionally, until hot.
While the red sauce is cooking, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil.
Once the water starts to boil, throw in the pasta and cook according to package directions or until desired pasta texture is reached. (I like al dente pasta.)
Drain, then pat dry with a towel. Pour the pasta into the sauce, and stir to coat the spaghettios. Serve hot.
Leftover spaghettios can be stored in an airtight covered container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
Reheat leftovers on the stove top or in the microwave, adding a little milk of choice as needed to get the sauce creamy again.
Although you technically can freeze pasta, it will change the texture of both the noodles and the sauce. So I do not recommend freezing leftover pasta in general.
Using a food scale
If you wish to use gram measurements instead of the cups and tablespoons listed further below, here are the amounts to use in grams:
130 grams of pasta, 425 grams of tomato sauce, 12 grams of Parmesan cheese or nutritional yeast, 30 grams of milk (plant based milks work too), 10 grams butter spread, and 12 grams of sweetener.
Also remember to add in the onion powder, salt, and paprika.
Homemade Spaghettios
Ingredients
- 15 oz no-salt-added tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp milk of choice
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp paprika
- 3/4 tsp to 1 tsp salt, as desired
- 1 tbsp butter (vegan brands work too)
- 1/4 cup nutritional yeast or Parmesan
- 1-2 tbsp any sweetener of choice
- 1 cup uncooked tiny pasta of choice (If using a larger pasta, such as elbows, increase to 2 cups)
Instructions
- Homemade SpaghettiOs Recipe: In a small saucepan, stir together all ingredients except the pasta. Bring to a boil, then lower and cook on low until the butter spread melts completely. Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Once boiling, throw in the pasta and cook until desired texture is reached. Drain, then pat dry with a towel. Pour the pasta into the sauce, and stir to combine. Serve. Before reheating any leftovers, stir and add a little milk of choice as needed.View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
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I had filed this recipe away a long time ago thinking I needed to try it although I was hesitant because my mother had given my kids regular spaghettios and they refused to eat them. Today since my little ones have been under the weather I thought I’d give this recipe a try to get some extra B vitamins into them by feeding them some nutritional yeast. The spaghettios were wonderful! My four year old ate two bowls and declared, “These are NOT for grown-ups!” (This mama ate some anyway
Nutritional yeast same thing as brewers yeast,you can buy it at supplement store like gnc,&vitamin Shoppe,
Thanks so much for this recipe! I love SpaghettiOs so much and would even eat them straight from the can as a college student in the dorms! As a mom, I want my kids to enjoy all the wonderful processed foods I did as a kid (growing up in the 70s & 80s), but without all the extras that make them so processed and preserved. This recipe has pleased my finicky 4 year old son, as well as my 11 year old daughter who has much more exotic tastes. She even said she likes these more than the cans, which we don’t buy very often anyway. I am printing this and putting it with our most used recipes! Thanks again!!!
Does anyone know a way I can substitute the butter-type spread? I have to eat a low-fat diet for health reasons and the only substitute I can think of is coconut oil, which I cannot have either! I know that something is necessary to thicken the sauce and make it more creamy. I want to make this dish to share with my little sister, and I am desperate.
So i know that you can substitute butter and oil with applesauce in baked goods. Im not sure if it would work here but i think it would be worth a try. Im guessing you cant do i cant believe its not butter?
Quick question. I looked on amazon for the nutritional yeast and found nutritional yeast flakes and nutritional yeast seasoning. Since I’ve never used this before i want to be sure to get the right stuff. Please help me!!
Flakes 🙂
You are so awesome!!! Thank you. My kids love spaghettios and im totally excited about trying this healthier version for school lunches!!!
Just curious why the salt-free tomato sauce? You add no additional salt and while I love nutritional yeast, it just isn’t a salty flavor.
Also – for vegetarians, could you use Parmesan instead of or with the nutritional yeast?
My family LOVES this recipe!! Anyone know of a reason why this couldn’t be pressure canned? We make it so often it would be nice to have a stash of the sauce on hand at all times!
You mentioned cheesy taste…..but there is no cheese?
I am going to look for the pasta noodles and the Yeast. I’m trying to up my protein and you said this is a good choice. Tried to fix my rating, but it won’t let me. I love this pasta idea and my kids are grown!
Sooooooo yummy! Thanks for the recipe!
This was pretty good! I didn’t quite think the seasonings were spot on for being Spaghettio Os, but it was close enough AND super easy. I mean, really — throw it all in a pot and heat/mix while boiling a bit of pasta? That’s my kind of week night meal! It also seems to keep quite well when stored. I think I may just want to play around with the seasonings to my personal taste, but this is just about perfect!