15 Super Simple Spaghetti and Pasta Dishes For A Quick Cheap Meal
Ah, spaghetti, how my family loves thee! And when it comes to cheap dinner ideas, nothing is more frugal than cooking with pasta – you can feed a BIG family with a humble box of spaghetti noodles!
After trying a bunch of different spaghetti recipes and using my picky eater family as my “guinea pigs”, these recipes below are the 15 I will continue to make and take to someone on our church meal train list.
Welcome to Life Hacks for Moms - we hope you enjoy all our tips and tricks for busy moms! Please note that we use affiliate links and ads to generate income at no cost to you.Thanks for visiting - and please feel free to share!
If you’ve seen all my Frugal Family Dinner recipes here, you know I am a BIG fan of keeping costs down at the grocery store as much as possible. I don’t know HOW or WHEN everything got so darn expensive, but I’m really tired of it (and so is my bank account haha!)
In an effort to make that grocery dollar stretch a little bit further, I’ve been trying to cook with less expensive ingredients.
I’ve got a ton of Pasta Dinner Recipes here that are also REALLY good.
And, I’ve got a handful of easy casseroles to make with canned chicken here (they are so good and so SIMPLE to throw together for dinner!)
But now it’s time for me to go back to my cheap dinner roots and get back to planning THIS week’s spaghetti night recipe!
While spaghetti IS a serious comfort food, I wanted some DIFFERENT and unique spaghetti recipes to try.
Below are my favorite AND my family’s favorites from all the various recipes I put in front of them at the table.
TikTok Viral Spaghetti
I’m not one to try all the “viral” TikTok recipes, but this Meaty Cheesy Spaghetti recipe going viral on TikTok is a definite MUST MAKE – the kids loved it!
10-Minute Garlic Olive Oil Spaghetti
This was spaghetti was super yummy! Very quick, easy and CHEAP, which I love after a LONG day of work! This will be in our regular dinner rotation from here on out!
Garlic Olive Oil Spaghetti Recipe
Slow Cooker Spaghetti Meat Sauce
My kids LOVE spaghetti sauce with LOTS of meat (I can’t sneak vegetables into anything haha!)
Since we all know how MUCH I love my crockpot dump meals, naturally I had to try a crockpot sauce recipe!
This slow cooker spaghetti meat sauce is so easy to dump in my crockpot – it freezes great too!!
Totally recommended!
Slow Cooker Spaghetti Meat Sauce Recipe
Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs
I made this with leftover pasta noodles from dinner last night and it was SO good! Simple and unique twist or same ol’ spaghetti and meatballs that we all loved!
Note: no, you do NOT have to use a cast iron skillet – I just used a regular casserole dish.
Baked Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe
Chicken Scampi Spaghetti
I had some leftover chicken from another meal and decided to try this Chicken Scampi recipe using it – WOW – so good! My husband totally loved it and wants me to make it every week!
Chicken Scampi Spaghetti Recipe
10-Minute Cream Cheese Spaghetti
Finally – an easy dinner recipe with no need for fancy ingredients – I had everything needed for this Cream Cheese Spaghetti recipe. It was delicious and will certainly be making it again … and again.
10-Minute Cream Cheese Spaghetti Recipe
Mama’s Million Dollar Spaghetti
This Million Dollar Spaghetti Casserole is filling like lasagna but good ol’ comfort food like my mama used to make. Even my picky eaters LOVED it – and so did I!
Mama’s Million Dollar Spaghetti Recipe
Chicken Rotel Spaghetti
I’ve been trying recipes that use ingredients I already have and this Chicken Rotel Spaghetti recipe was a win! Cheap, easy big family Sunday dinner that everyone gobbled up!
Chicken Rotel Spaghetti Recipe
Southern Style Chicken Spaghetti
I made this for Chicken Spaghetti for supper tonight and it was delicious! Tastes just like the ones I had at church potlucks growing up… it reminded me of my childhood in the best way. Ultimate comfort food!
Southern Style Chicken Spaghetti Recipe
Cheesy Taco Spaghetti
When I made this Cheesy Taco Spaghetti for dinner my 4 picky eaters loved it. The 9-year-old ate 3 helpings! I now make two – one for dinner tonight and one casserole to freeze and reheat later.
Lemon Spaghetti
Whipped this Lemon Spaghetti recipe up for the family the other night – wasn’t expecting it to be so yummy and full of flavor! Kids devoured it which is a win plus it’s super easy to make too!!
4-Ingredient Garlic Butter Spaghetti
FAMILY FAVORITE!! This 4-ingredient Garlic Butter Spaghetti has become a weekly frugal meal for my family and I. So easy, so delicious and only using simple ingredients I already have!
Garlic Butter Spaghetti Recipe
Bacon Cheese Baked Spaghetti
Bacon, cheese, spaghetti all in one simple dump casserole dinner? Yes, Please!
This Bacon Cheese Baked Spaghetti casserole was a winner AND it’s a perfect freezer meal!
Bacon Cheese Baked Spaghetti Recipe
15-Minute Tomato Basil Spaghetti
I made this for dinner Monday night for just the two of us and OMG – so delicious! My husband loved it too, telling me that it is a definite make again recipe. Amazing flavor!
Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti
I didn’t think I could pull off this Creamy Mushroom Spaghetti with ALL my picky eaters, but they devoured it! No leftovers for my lunch so next time I’ll double the recipe!
