Homemade Spaghettios with Franks

Homemade Spaghettios are quick to whip up on a weeknight, and so much better than real Spaghettios. If you grew up eating these, this dish is sure to hit like nostalgic comfort food with a twist! Smoked cocktail sausages are pan fried ’til crispy, then a flavorful tomato sauce comes together quickly using canned soup as the base. This dish is sure to please kids, and kids-at-heart.

Key Tips – Homemade Spaghettios with Franks

Pick up some anelletti, aka. “O” shaped pasta!

• You typically can’t find this pasta shape at the grocery store, but you can find it online! If you’re dedicated to making this recipe as “authentic” as possible, you can find the pasta here!

If you can’t find anelletti, pick up some ditalini instead, or use any short pasta.

• Ditalini pasta is short cylindrical pasta that you can find on the shelf at most grocery stores. It’s the next best thing to use for this recipe.
• Any short pasta will work well for this dish, so you can also consider options like orzo, small shells, orecchiette, or macaroni.

Use turkey sausages for a lighter dish.

• Lit’l Smokies (the Hillshire Farm brand) come in a number of varieties, but the turkey option has about half the calories and fat as the other options and still taste great! You can use any variety for this recipe, but the turkey ones are my go-to.

Skip the red pepper flakes if serving to kids.

• The red pepper flakes in this recipe will make the final dish a little spicy, so skip them if you’re serving this to anyone sensitive to spice.

Dietary Restrictions – Homemade Spaghettios with Franks

Make it Vegan:

• Omit the Little Smokies, or sub vegan hot dogs.
• Sub veggie stock or water for the chicken stock.

Make it Gluten-Free:

• Use gluten-free pasta. Chickpea pasta is my favorite GF variety!
• Make sure to double-check that your sausages are GF.
• Make sure to double-check that your tomato soup is GF! Campbell’s contains wheat flour.

Make it Dairy-Free:

• Substitute non-dairy milk (or non-dairy half-and-half) for the half-and-half.
• Skip the parmesan, but add a little extra salt to the sauce to taste.

A Note On Serving Sizes

Serving sizes are a very personal thing, making it very difficult for me to select a serving size that suits everyone. While this is listed as 4 servings, some people would prefer to have more than one serving. I typically serve this dish as 2 large dinner portions, plated in the pictures is two servings per bowl.

Homemade Spaghettios with Franks

A childhood classic, reimagined to appeal to adults as well as kids! These homemade Spaghettios with franks are a nostalgia-filled bowl of comfort.

5 from 8 votes

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ~10 oz turkey Lit’l Smokies cocktail franks ~⅔ of package, can sub other varieties
• 8 oz short pasta such as anelletti or ditalini
• 1 10.8 oz can condensed tomato soup I use Campbell’s
• ⅓ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese plus more for topping
• ¼ cup half-and-half
• ½ tbsp freshly minced garlic
• ¼ cup fresh basil leaves julienned (optional, for topping)
• 2 tbsp butter
• ¾ cup chicken stock or sub water
• ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes optional
• 1 tsp white sugar optional
• 1 tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• ¼ tsp fresh cracked black pepper
• salt to taste
• olive oil

Instructions

 

• Begin bringing a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta. Around step 3 add the pasta to the water and cook per package instructions for al dente (usually around 15 min for anelletti). Drain and set aside until needed.
• Pat the little smokies dry with paper towels and cut them into thirds (I do an angled cut).
• Warm a drizzle of olive oil (about 2 tsp) over medium heat in a large skillet. Once warm, add the sliced sausages and cook, stirring occasionally, until they’re crispy, about 3-5 minutes. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm, do not wipe the skillet clean.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and add the butter to the pan. Once melted, add the garlic and red pepper flakes. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 1 minute (should be fragrant), then add the condensed soup (do NOT add the water as directed on the can). Mix to incorporate.
• To the soup add the half-and-half, chicken stock, white sugar, onion powder, thyme, oregano, and black pepper. Raise the heat to medium to bring the mixture to a gentle boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
• Add the parmesan and mix until fully melted and incorporated. Taste the sauce and add salt to taste if desired.
• Remove the skillet from heat. Add in the cooked pasta and sausages, mix together. Serve immediately, topped with more parmesan and fresh basil.

Video

Notes

Turkey Lit’l Smokies have about half the calories and fat of the other varieties, which is why I typically use them, but you can use any variety. You can also substitute full size hot dogs if desired.

Keyword Franks, Little Smokies, Pasta, Spaghettios, Spaghettios with Franks

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