Spaghetti has to be one of those KEY staple dinners that most everyone will throw in their weekly dinner menu. It is cheap, easy, and delicious. Since I started my Keto journey 3 years ago, I have tried so many different recipes to make the usual high carb dinners into low carb and where the husband and kids would still enjoy as if it was the REAL deal. This recipe uses hearts of palm noodles, and if cooked just right, the texture is pretty close to a spaghetti noodle. I have a link at the bottom of the hearts of palm noodles that I prefer.
Hearts of Palm Noodles
The tip on the Hearts of Palm noodles is to RINSE and then BOIL for 10-15 minutes. This method has been my favorite and really softens the noodles. Thankfully, the hearts of palm noodles take on the flavor of the sauce/seasoning that is used. I am personally not a fan of them by themselves.
As you can see, I added my Garlic Cheese Biscuits for the side. Another favorite of the whole family.
It is always a rewarding and self back-patting success in my house when the girls enjoy and actually EAT their dinners. Especially since toddlers like something for a few days and then all of a sudden. NOPE. they won’t eat it again. This meal is one that everyone always seems to enjoy.
What to do with leftovers?
I am not sure about other husbands, but mine is a hit or miss if he goes back for seconds. That means the next day dinner may be leftovers or it may be something else that I may have had planned for a day in that week. In this case, the leftovers wouldn’t have been enough to feed all of us again. So, I have 3 options.
- See if husband would take any for lunch at work the next day (this is usually an 80% “no” and 20% “yes”)
- Put it in fridge and maybe- just maybe- it will get eaten (rarely does this option happen)
- Put it in fridge, and within the next day or 2, add some fluff/filler in it so that it will be enough for a dinner the next night.
What is Fluff? Well, it is the word I use when I need to increase volume of my leftovers. this works REALLY well for soups and all-in-one pan dishes. What do I use? Most always veggies. Sometimes it is pasta or rice.
Click here to see the post on what I did with the leftovers – FLUFF’d dinners are great! 🙂
Low Carb / Keto Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil or Avocado Oil
- 1 Medium Yellow Onion diced
- 1 package hearts of palm noodles 9-14 oz – Depending on brand and size
- 1 medium zucchini or yellow squash diced
- 1 lb ground beef
- 24 oz low carb pasta sauce
- 1 tsp italian seasoning
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes optional
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- parmesean cheese optional
Instructions
- Start with getting 3 quarts of water in a large pot and put on stove to boil (for hearts of palm noodles).
- While waiting for boiling water, in a large skillet heat your olive oil or avocado oil, saute onion and zucchini or squash until onions are translucent and zucchini is soft.
- Add in ground beef and salt and pepper for seasoning.
- If using beef with higher fat, once beef is all browned, strain out the fat and put beef and onion mix back in skillet.
- Add spaghetti sauce to skillet with garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes (if using) stir and put on low heat, add lid.
- Toss rinsed palmini noodles into boiling water. Let boil for 10-15 minutes
- I usually pull one out at the 10 minute mark and use my fingernails to see if I can easily break it, when I can, that is when I know they are good. Once noodles are tender toss in the meat sauce and cook on low for 10-15 minutes.
- once plated, add some parmesean cheese and serve. YUM!
Notes
I have tried a couple different hearts of Palm noodles, and Natural Heaven brand has been my favorite so far. Below is what I order.
