Spaghetti bolognese

Name: Spaghetti bolognese
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 4 cups spaghetti, cooked (496 g); 340 g ground beef, 85% lean, browned and drained, weighed cooked; 2 tsp olive oil (9 g); 1 medium onion, finely chopped (110 g); 1 medium carrot, finely chopped (61 g); 2 cloves garlic, chopped (6 g); 1 can (14.5 oz) canned tomatoes, with their juice (411 g); 4 tbsp parmesan, grated (20 g); ½ cup (120 ml) water; 1 tsp dried oregano or basil; Salt and pepper

A meat sauce of browned beef, onion, carrot, and tomatoes over spaghetti, finished with parmesan.

491calories

34 gprotein

47 gcarbs

18 gfat

Per serving, 1 of 4. Calories and macros from USDA values for the amounts below.

In these collections: Dinner under 500 calories

Photo of a similar dish: Ketut Subiyanto on Pexels.

Ingredients

Spaghetti, cooked4 cups · 496 g784 cal
Ground beef, 85% lean, browned and drained, weighed cooked340 g870 cal
Olive oil2 tsp · 9 g80 cal
Onion, finely chopped1 medium · 110 g44 cal
Carrot, finely chopped1 medium · 61 g25 cal
Garlic, chopped2 cloves · 6 g9 cal
Canned tomatoes, with their juice1 can (14.5 oz) · 411 g66 cal
Parmesan, grated4 tbsp · 20 g84 cal
Whole recipe, 4 servings1,962 cal

To taste, not counted: ½ cup (120 ml) water; 1 tsp dried oregano or basil; salt and pepper. They add a few calories at most.

Method

Brown the beef in a large pan over medium-high heat, breaking it up, for 8 to 10 minutes, until cooked through (71 °C / 160 °F). Drain it in a sieve and weigh it: this recipe counts 340 g of browned beef, from about 1 lb (450 g) raw.
Warm the oil in the pan and cook the onion and carrot over medium heat for 8 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and oregano and stir for 30 seconds.
Return the beef, add the tomatoes and water, and simmer gently for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, cook about 8 oz (225 g) of dry spaghetti in salted water until al dente and drain it. This recipe counts 4 cups (496 g) of cooked spaghetti, loosely packed.
Divide the spaghetti between four plates, spoon the sauce over it, and sprinkle each plate with a tablespoon of parmesan.

How the calories add up

The spaghetti and beef are 1,654 of the 1,962 calories. Each cup of cooked spaghetti (124 g) has 196 calories, so less pasta and more sauce makes a lighter plate.
The pasta is weighed cooked. Salting the cooking water doesn’t change the calories.
Each tablespoon of grated parmesan adds 21 calories. Each plate has about 34 g of protein.

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Recipe by the Calorify team. Nutrition is calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) values for the amounts listed, then rounded. It is an estimate, not a lab analysis, and your ingredients and portions may differ. Times are approximate. General information, not individualized nutrition advice. Read our editorial approach.