4 Fabulous Recipes to Celebrate National Spaghetti Day

Today just happens to be National Spaghetti Day and we are going to do our level best to make you hungry!

Now, if you have teenagers like we do, then you know that spaghetti (or pasta in general) is probably one of the few foods that will keep them full for more than a few minutes before they start raiding the fridge again! It also happens to be a quick, go-to meal for busy parents everywhere who come home from work after a long day, only to realize that they forgot to take dinner out of the freezer before rushing off that morning. A delicious spaghetti meal can go from cupboard to table in usually less than 30 minutes. We thought we would share a bit of spaghetti history with you today and a few of our favorite recipes!

The History of Spaghetti

When you think of spaghetti, you probably think that it was invented in Italy, like most people. Popular history says; however, that it was actually invented in China and was brought to Venice by Marco Polo. The spaghetti from the far east was most likely made from either rice flour or hard wheat flour. As far as this momma is concerned, I’m just happy that someone, somewhere invented this delicious dish! If you want to read the rest of the story though, just click here!

Some of Our Favorite Recipes (and those we want to try too!)

One of the reason busy moms love spaghetti is because you can literally have dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes from start to finish in most cases. After you’ve been working a full-time job all day or been running the kids around and doing errands, the last thing that you want to do is spend hours over the stove preparing a meal for your family. Here are a few favorites that we love and hope you will too!

Explore Cuisine Simple Chickpea Spaghetti

Now I will be the first to admit, I am not a huge fan of chickpeas. Putting that out there. However, I am always experimenting with different flavored pasta, and I would definitely give these a try. Not only is it an organic, gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian-friendly pasta, it’s made with real organic pea protein. Keeping teenagers full and satisfied requires lots of protein! Not to mention it’s loaded with fiber and low in fat!

Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 box Explore Cuisine Chickpea Spaghetti
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional)
• 1 cup organic pasta sauce

1. Cook the spaghetti until soft according to the packet directions.
2. Drain the water from the pasta, and stir in the pasta sauce. Add more if you like more sauce.
3. Serve in bowls and then sprinkle the nutritional yeast on each one.
4. Season with salt and extra nutritional yeast if desired.

Pssst … if you don’t know what Nutritional yeast is (I didn’t) it is an alternative to cheese! It tastes like cheese, yet is not dairy! Nutritional yeast is deactivated yeast, grown on molasses (a by-product of the refining of sugarcane, grapes or beets) and then harvested, washed and dried with heat. It is a member of the fungi family like mushroom and is high in protein and B Vitamins.  

Baked Million Dollar Spaghetti

This is what’s on the menu for dinner tonight. Many thanks to Sabrina at Dinner, Then Dessert for this absolutely yummy looking Baked Million Dollar Spaghetti dish that I can’t wait to sink my teeth into!

Explore Cuisine Easy Black Bean Spaghetti

When you think ‘black bean’ I bet you think all sorts of Mexican and/or Cuban dishes, right? Well, I did – so imagine my surprise when I realized that you can get this funky looking but delicious tasting Black Bean Spaghetti from Explore Cuisine too! Add in some authentic Heirloom tomatoes from Virginia (yes, I think they’re the best – I’m biased!) and this dish just begs to be gobbled up in no time!

Serves 4 people; Prep Time 5 minutes; Cook Time 8 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 package Explore Cuisine Black Bean Spaghetti – cooked, drained
• 2 large heirloom tomatoes– seeded, chopped
• 2 ½ T. olive oil, divided
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 5 basil leaves, cut into ribbons
• salt and red pepper flakes to taste

Directions:

1. Boil 8 cups of water, pour in organic black bean spaghetti, cook for 8 minutes. Drain.
2. Toss your seeded and diced Heirloom tomatoes with 1/2 teaspoon olive oil, ribbons of fresh basil, minced garlic, salt and red pepper flakes to your taste.
3. Toss spaghetti with 2 T. olive oil.
4. Top with heirloom tomato mixture.

Parmesan Garlic Spaghetti

This absolutely decadent looking spaghetti comes from Damn Delicious. 5 ingredients. 20 minutes. With melted butter, garlic and freshly grated Parmesan. A winning combination for the ENTIRE family!

So those are a few of our favorite spaghetti dishes to help you celebrate National Spaghetti Day today. Tell us if you have a favorite family spaghetti recipe in the comments below. Happy noshing on the spaghetti readers!