Giada De Laurentiis' Homemade SpaghettiOs Recipe Is So Good Even Picky Eaters Will Love It
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If you grew up in the 90s or 00s, chances are there were more than a few ocacassions when lunch or dinner came from a box or a can. From macaroni and cheese to condensed chicken noodle soup, convenience food was always on the menu. But these days, though we still get cravings for those nostalgic foods, we’re often looking for ways to recreate the experience in a more nutritious and tastier way. Take SpaghettiOs. Sure, as a kid we loved the stuff, even eating it cold out of the can. But Giada De Laurentiis, who had never even tasted SpaghettiOs, instinctively knew that she could do better. She recently had her first taste straight from the can, then shared her own take on making this childhood pasta favorite from scratch.
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So, what did De Laurentiis think about her first taste of SpaghettiOs? “Pasta…sauce…I don’t taste any cheese at all,” she said, after taking a bite of it cold from the can. “It needs salt, it needs seasoning, it could be so much better!” Once tasted, De Laurentiis set off to make her own version, and it’s tasty enough that both the kids and the adults in the family are bound to like it.
SpaghettiOs Canned Pasta with Meatballs
$11.44
To make the sauce, De Laurentiis combines carrots, which add a naturally sweet flavor to the sauce, with quartered red onions. The red onions add their flavor to the sauce as it simmers, but then they get pulled out at the end so the texture is still silky-smooth and kid-friendly. The carrots are left in big chunks, and then get pureed into the sauce when tender.
To start cooking, De Laurentiis sautées garlic in olive oil, then adds her favorite Corbari baby pomodoro tomatoes (you could also just use whole canned tomatoes or tomato passata). Then, she nestles the red onion and the chopped carrots into the pan, adds a handful of fresh basil, and tosses in a flavor-packed Parmesan rind to the sauce. The pot gets covered and everything simmers together until the carrots are tender and the flavors have melded.
De Laurentiis adds salt at the end, after the sauce has simmered for about 30 minutes. Then, she pulls out the red onion chunks and the Parmesan rind. The sauce gets blended up until smooth. She adds the sauce back to the pot, then tosses in her mom’s secret ingredient: two tablespoons of butter.
As for the pasta, De Laurentiis uses gnochetti, but you could use any small pasta that kids will like, from mini shells to ditalini. When it’s cooked to the preferred doneness, De Laurentiis adds the pasta right to the sauce with a little pasta water, then grates in some Parmigiano Reggiano and mixes everything together.
Setaro Gnocchetti Napoletani Pasta
$17.50
To serve, she tops her bowl with some shredded white cheddar cheese. “Blending the Italian tradition with the American tradition,” she explains.
So, how does De Laurentiis feel about her SpaghettiOs remake? “This is spectacular.” That’s a far cry from her review of the bite she took from the can. Try it for yourself!
Before you go, check out our gallery:
Watch: How to Make Giada De Laurentiis’ Stuffed Lasagna Rolls
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