Homemade SpaghettiOs Recipe

A white bowl filled with pasta in tomato sauce, garnished with grated cheese and chopped herbs, with a spoon inside. A yellow flower and floral cloth are in the background.

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This from-scratch SpaghettiOs recipe comes together in 20 minutes with a simple tomato-butter sauce, anelletti pasta, and parmesan. Real ingredients, no shortcuts, and exactly what you're craving.

Prep Time5

Cook Time20

Total Time25

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Italian

Keyword: anelletti pasta recipe, homemade Spaghettio recipe, homemade SpaghettiOs, scratch SpaghettiOs, SpaghettiOs from scratch

Servings: servings

Calories: 687kcal

Author: Chef Jenn

Ingredients

8 tablespoons unsalted butter divided
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 small yellow onion finely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
24 ounce can tomato purée or 1 (24-ounce) can tomato purée
3 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt plus more to taste
freshly ground black pepper
¾ pound anelletti pasta
¾ cup finely grated parmesan plus more for serving

Instructions

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
Melt 4 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until soft and translucent.
Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
Add the tomato paste. Stir into the butter and onion and cook 1 to 2 minutes until the paste darkens to a deep brick color.
Add the tomato purée, sugar, salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook 8 to 10 minutes until slightly thickened. Taste and adjust salt.
Cook the anelletti in the boiling salted water to al dente per package directions, about 8 to 9 minutes. Reserve ½ cup of pasta water before draining.
Add the drained pasta to the sauce with the remaining 4 tablespoons of butter. Stir over low heat until the butter melts and coats every ring. Add reserved pasta water a splash at a time if the sauce looks tight.
Off the heat, stir in the parmesan until melted and smooth. Taste, adjust seasoning, and serve immediately with extra parmesan.

Video

Notes

Recipe Card Tips

The tomato paste step is where most people go wrong. If it's still bright red when you add the purée, you haven't cooked it long enough. Wait for brick-red.
Pull ½ cup of pasta water before you drain, even if you don't think you'll need it. Once the pasta is in the sauce, the water tightens fast, and having it ready matters.
Add the parmesan off the heat, not while the pan is still hot. High heat makes Parmesan clump instead of melt into the sauce.

Nutrition