The Pioneer Woman's One-pot Homemade SpaghettiOs Are Delicious Enough for Adults To Love, Too

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There are some dishes from our childhood that we find ourselves craving out of nowhere. Hot Pockets. Pop Tarts. And our canned Italian favorites, like Chef Boyardee and, of course, SpaghettiOs. But we don’t usually keep cans of SpaghettiOs on hand these days, and even if we did, it seems like more of a lunch or snack food than a full family dinner. So when we saw that Ree Drummond, also known as The Pioneer Woman, had put her own spin on SpaghettiOs, with a homemade circular pasta in tomato sauce recipe that’s just as craveable as the original, we knew we’d have to try it.

A post shared by Ree Drummond – Pioneer Woman (@thepioneerwoman)

Drummond’s one-pot “homemade O’s” pasta is a super-easy, 30-minute meal. You can keep it plain and simple, or add in your own favorite additions, be it homemade mini-meatballs, sauteed coins of sausage, or some bright steamed green veggies like broccoli or peas.

To make this dish the most like the original, you’ll need ring-shaped pasta, called Anellini. If you can’t find that shape, ditalini or another small pasta shape can be substituted.

Courtesy of La Molisana.

But what really separates this pasta dish from your average spaghetti and marinara is the sauce. It captures that sweet, tangy, creamy flavor that made pasta O’s from a can so irresistible when we were kids. The sauce is a blend of tomato paste, chicken or veg stock, and half and half. It’s creamy and vibrant, with a totally nostalgic flavor that you can feel good about.

Courtesy of SpaghettiOs.

Unlike the original pasta O’s we grew up with, this pasta is topped with parmesan cheese and fresh chopped parsley. Serve it with garlic bread and a salad, and you’ve got a meal that’s simple and fun enough for kids to love, with a deep flavor and homemade wow factor that will make it a hit with the grownups, too.

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