This Grinch Spaghetti turns ordinally pasta bright green and makes a kid-approved holiday dinner everyone will love.
This is your sign to make Grinch Spaghetti for Christmas dinner. Kids love it for being fun, festive and green, while parents appreciate that it tastes like classic spaghetti, comes together in 30 minutes and actually gets eaten.
This Grinch spaghetti recipe is perfect for enjoying while watching The Grinch movie as a family and goes good with my Grinch Cake Cookies or Grinch Puppy Chow for dessert.
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Ingredients
- Spaghetti: Any brand will work.
- Ground beef: I like to use 80/20 but learn or regular ground beef will work.
- Spaghetti sauce: Use your favorite jarred sauce or homemade sauce.
- Green food coloring: Gel food coloring gives the best shade of green.
- Red candy heart: I like to use these red heart candies but here are some other options.
- Optional: Parmesan cheese for topping, plus salt and pepper for seasoning the ground beef.
How to Make Grinch Spaghetti
Add water and a generous squeeze of green food coloring to a large pot. Bring to a boil, then cook the spaghetti according to package directions.
While pasta cooks, brown the ground beef in a separate pan, seasoning if needed and drain any excess grease. Stir in spaghetti sauce until heat through.
Drain the green spaghetti, then serve it on a plate and topped with meat sauce and finish with a tiny red candy heart.
Helpful Tips and Variations
- Use naturally green vegetable noodles to avoid food dye altogether.
- Swap traditional sauce for pesto for a green color and lighter option.
- Add additional green food coloring if needed to reach your desired shade.
- Substitute ground beef for ground turkey if preferred.
- Keep the spaghetti and sauce separate to maintain the bright green color.
- Try different pastas shapes like angel hair, fettuccine or a gluten free pasta.
Storing Leftovers
Allow to cool and place leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can skip the meat or use plant-based crumbles instead.
Yes, reheat the pasta and sauce separately for best color and texture.
Start with a generous amount and then add more drops if needed.
Recipe
Grinch Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 16 oz. Spaghetti
- 1 lb Ground beef
- 24 oz. Spaghetti sauce
- Green food coloring
- Red candy heart
- Optional: Parmesan cheese for topping
Instructions
- Add water and a generous squeeze of green food coloring to a large pot. Bring to a boil, then cook the spaghetti according to package directions.
- While pasta cooks, brown the ground beef in a separate pan, seasoning if needed and drain any excess grease. Stir in spaghetti sauce until heat through.
- Drain the green spaghetti, then serve it on a plate and topped with meat sauce and finish with a tiny red candy heart.
Nutrition Disclosure
Nutritional facts are estimates and are provided as a courtesy to the reader. Please utilize your own brand nutritional values to double check against our estimates. Nutritional values are calculated via a third party. Changing ingredients, amounts or cooking technique will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
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