brandy's budget spaghetti

3 Pinches 1 Photo
Darrington, WA
Updated on Sep 17, 2025

Spaghetti is already considered a budget type of meal, but nowadays, ground beef is just so expensive. So, I came up with this recipe with items I already had on hand. My husband loves spaghetti; it's his favorite meal, and now this recipe is his absolute favorite. No more store-bought sauce allowed in our house, lol.

prep time
cook time 1 Hr
method Stove Top
yield serving(s)

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds ground meat (your choice)
  • 2 beef bouillion cubes or powder if you are not using ground beef
  • 3 cans tomato sauce (15 oz each)
  • 1 package spaghetti sauce mix
  • 1 package sloppy joe mix
  • 1 package Italian dressing mix
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1 tablespoon onion powder
  • 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
  • salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 pounds spaghetti noodles

How To Make brandy's budget spaghetti

  • Step 1
    Cook ground meat in a skillet seasoned with a bit of salt and pepper, and drain the grease. If not using ground beef, add beef bouillon.
  • Step 2
    Add spaghetti, sloppy Joe, and Italian dressing packages, garlic, onion, salt, and pepper to the meat.
  • Step 3
    Add tomato sauce and let simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.
  • Step 4
    While the meat sauce is simmering, boil up spaghetti noodles and serve. My family loves to pair my grandmother's cheese bread with this spaghetti. You can find the recipe for it in my posted recipes on justapinch.com

Discover More

Category: Pasta
Ingredient: Pasta
Culture: American
Method: Stove Top

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