Whether you are cooking a spaghetti dinner for a church function or inviting several people over for dinner, you need to make a lot of spaghetti and keep it warm until you are ready to serve it. Before you begin cooking you will need to have an estimate of the amount of people you wish to serve and know what time to have the spaghetti ready. Once you've prepared the spaghetti, don't attempt to keep it warm by setting the pot over a low heat burner or you risk burning the spaghetti.
Things You'll Need
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- Spaghetti sauce
- Large pots with lids
- Baking pan
- Aluminum foil
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1. Figure out how much pasta and ground beef you will need
Figure out how much pasta and ground beef you will need to feed the number of people you wish to serve. When cooked, one pound of dry spaghetti will feed four to five people. Match the pounds of ground beef you use, to the pounds of dry pasta you cook. For example, you will need five 1 lb. boxes of dry spaghetti and 5 lbs. ground beef to feed 25 people.
2. Season and brown the ground beef
Season and brown the ground beef. Diced onions will add flavor to the meat as it cooks. Drain the fat from the pan of ground beef. If you are making your tomato based spaghetti sauce from scratch you will need some of the ground beef fat.
3. Follow the directions to your spaghetti sauce recipe
Following the directions to your spaghetti sauce recipe, combine tomatoes, herbs and seasonings with oil drippings in a pot. Simmer the sauce at a low heat and stir in the cooked ground beef and onions.
4. Boil 5 qts. cold water for each pound of spaghetti noodles
Boil 5 qts. cold water for each pound of spaghetti noodles you plan to cook. When the water has reached a rapid boil, add a little bit of salt and the spaghetti noodles. Cook the pasta for 8 to 10 minutes. Taste a noodle for doneness; it should be chewy but not mushy or hard. Drain the cooked noodles.
5. Mix the cooked spaghetti noodles with the spaghetti sauce
Mix the cooked spaghetti noodles with the spaghetti sauce. Cover the pot of spaghetti with a lid and wrap it with a towel. The towel will help insulate the pot. Or spread the spaghetti in a large baking pan. Place the spaghetti filled pan in the oven and adjust the oven to "warm" until you are ready to serve the food.
Tips and Warnings
Separate the pasta sauce into two containers and add mushrooms to one of the sauces before tossing in the noodles.
Add a few drops of olive oil to the cooked and drained spaghetti noodles to prevent them from sticking; serve the noodles and top with the spaghetti sauce.
Save time by using pre-made spaghetti sauce. Use 1 to 1 1/2 jars spaghetti sauce per pound of spaghetti noodles.
Cooked spaghetti should be eaten immediately. The longer it sets, the mushier the noodles will get.