Greek Spaghetti & Meat Sauce: Macaronia me Kima

A Greek comfort food classic in just 30 minutes!

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Perfect for a busy weeknight, this Greek Spaghetti and meat sauce is known as macaroni me kima. It’s similar to Italian bolognese and is the quickest way to fresh-made comfort food. I made it early on in my YouTube Channel, and I’ve tweaked it a bit. This sauce tastes even better, so I had to share this updated version. It’s rich, delicious, and easy to make. You’ll want to make a double batch for leftovers!

Why you’ll always want seconds

Buttery herb noodles

Aromatic beefy tomato sauce

Fresh, creamy cheese

A Greek comfort food classic that’s delicious, easy to make, and ready in 30 minutes!

Everything you need

For the Meat Sauce:

• Red onion, finely chopped or yellow onion if that’s what you have
• Olive oil -try the one in our shop!
• Salt
• Garlic cloves -grated or minced
• Ground beef -substitute ground turkey if you prefer
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• Sweet paprika
• Crushed red pepper flakes -optional for a bit of heat
• Ground cinnamon -the secret ingredient that takes it to the next level!
• Canned diced -or crushed tomatoes
• Water
• Dried crushed oregano
• Fresh chopped parsley

The Spaghetti:

• Spaghetti -linguini or your favorite pasta
• Salt
• Enough water to boil
• Olive oil -or butter
• Dried oregano -optional
• Grated kefalotiri, graviera, or Parmesan cheese

How to make Greek Spaghetti and Meat Sauce known as Macaronia me Kima

Make the Meat Sauce:

1. Add the onion, oil, and a pinch of salt to a pot. 
2. Cook over medium heat until soft and golden -about 7-8 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and warm through until fragrant.
4. Then, add ground beef, salt, and black pepper.
5. Cook until no longer pink, breaking up the ground beef while cooking.
6. Add the tomatoes, crushed red pepper flakes, cinnamon, paprika, and a little water, and cook on medium-high heat until the sauce thickens -about 20 minutes.
7. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. 
8. Add the oregano and enough water to get the sauce to the desired consistency and cook for a few more minutes. 
9. Stir in the parsley and set aside.

Cook the Spaghetti: 

10. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. 
11. Add the salt and the pasta. 
12. Cook according to package instructions until al dente. 
13. Drain the pasta water out of the pot, reserving about a cup of the pasta water in the pot with the pasta. 
14. Drizzle with olive oil and add some dried oregano and toss together.

Make-ahead Freezer Instructions

The meat sauce freezes well. So, make a double or triple batch of it and allow it to cool to room temperature. Transfer to freezer-safe bags or containers and store in the freezer for up to 3 months. Transfer it to the refrigerator the night before to thaw. Then, all you’ll need to do is heat the sauce and cook the noodles for dinner. So easy!

Serving

I have a particular way that I like to serve Greek spaghetti. I put some pasta in a bowl and top it with grated cheese. Use your favorite cheese or what you have in the fridge. I prefer to use parmesan, kefalotiri, graviera, or gruyere.Then, I top the pasta with the meat sauce and more grated cheese. You can’t have enough melty cheese, so you could put a bowl of it on the table for anyone that would like more cheesiness. You may want to immediately go in for seconds, but you could serve this with a side salad and save seconds for tomorrow. Either way, I know you won’t be disappointed! Ha! Kali Orexi!

Other ways to use this meat sauce

• BASIC MEAT SAUCE; KEEMAS SALTSA
• Pastitsio: Greek Lasagna Tray Bake
• Greek Classic Moussaka
• Roasted Peppers & Zucchini Stuffed with Pastitsio

Continue to Content

Greek Spaghetti & Meat Sauce: Macaronia me Kima

Yield: serves 6

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Ingredients

For the Meat Sauce:

• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Salt, to taste
• 4-5 garlic cloves, grated
• 2 pounds ground beef
• freshly cracked black pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• Crushed red pepper flakes, optional
• 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 15 ounces canned diced or crushed tomatoes
• 1 cup water
• 1 teaspoon dried crushed oregano
• 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

The Spaghetti:

• 1 pound spaghetti
• 2 teaspoons salt
• enough water to boil
• olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano, optional
• grated kefalotiri, graviera, or Parmesan cheese

Instructions

Make the Meat Sauce:

In a pot, add the onion, oil, and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium heat until soft and golden. About 7-8 minutes.

Add the garlic and warm through until fragrant.

Add the ground beef, salt, and black pepper and cook until no longer pink. Break up the ground beef while cooking.

Add the tomatoes, crushed red pepper flakes, cinnamon, paprika, and a little water and cook on medium-high heat until the sauce thickens. About 20 minutes.

Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed. Add the oregano, enough water to get the sauce to the desired consistency and cook a few more minutes. Add the parsley and mix together. Set aside.

Make the Spaghetti: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the salt and the pasta. Cook according to package instructions, until al dente. Drain the pasta but reserve about a cup of the pasta water. leave some of the pasta water in the pot with the pasta. Drizzle with olive oil and add some dried oregano and toss together.

Serve the pasta topped with the meat sauce and lots of grated cheese. Kali Orexi!

Notes

Freezer Intructions: The meat sauce freezes well. Make a double or triple batch of it and allow it to cool to room temperature. Transfer to freezer-safe bags or containers and store in the freezer up to 3 months.

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