How can you have spaghetti and meatballs on Meatless Monday? Easy. Have meatless meatballs. I love spaghetti, and I usually make it with ground turkey. Today I craved spaghetti, but I wanted to stick with my Meatless Monday routine. This dish is perfect for a Meatless Monday. It’s delicious and healthy. The only thing missing is the meat.

**Meatless Monday is an international movement to get people to skip meat for one day a week to benefit their health. Learn more about Meatless Mondays here:Meatless Mondays.

I love a great marinara sauce for my spaghetti. Barilla has a fabulous tasting all natural marinara.  If you want to pack some extra vegetables in your meal, try Barilla’s veggie spaghetti. I promise you can’t taste the zucchini and spinach. The spaghetti has a rich flavor and it’s good for you. Even kids love it.

You can add whatever fresh veggies and herbs you like. I chose a red pepper, an onion, and  three garlic cloves.

For spices, I used oregano, red crushed pepper, ground black pepper, sea salt, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce. I add turmeric to nearly all of my meals for its health benefits.

Meatless Meatballs are the stars of this meal. The meatballs are made out of wheat protein. The look like ground beef or sausage, but have a softer texture. To be honest the meatballs taste like bread which works well with the tomato sauce and spaghetti. You can buy them at Whole Foods. Here’s a link with more details Meatless Meatballs.

Sautee the onion, garlic, and red pepper in olive oil. Season the mixture with salt, pepper, and oregano. Meanwhile, start boiling water for the noodles.

Next, add the frozen meatballs. There are about twenty-two in a bag.

Cook until the meatballs are brown.

 

Add the Barilla marinara sauce to the pan.

 

Here’s my secret trick. Pour about two to three tablespoons each of Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar; a pinch of red crushed pepper; and a dab of sugar into the empty marinara bottle.

Add some water and shake it all  up, mixing the leftover marinara with the other ingredients.

I poured this mixture into the pan of sauce and meatballs. Blend it all together and let the sauce simmer on low heat while the spaghetti cooks until al dente.

 **Just a tip, I always season my spaghetti after I drain it. I add butter, garlic salt, pepper, and parsley. This way my noodles are good with or without sauce.

Once I plate the spaghetti and sauce, I add fresh cilantro and cheddar and Monterey jack cheese on top. The sauce is a perfect blend of sweet and spicy due to the red pepper flakes and sugar. This dish is filling yet it doesn’t way you down.

Let me know if you try this recipe. Please also share your favorite Meatless Monday recipe.

Stay Blessed,

Barbie