# Instant spaghetti? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 28, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717 "2014-08-28T02:55:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mdcastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/958977/32.png) [@Mdcastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mdcastle)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/1 "2014-08-28T02:55:50Z")
Now that there’s Mac and Cheese that you can just pop in the microwave in the included cup and add sauce when you don’t want to make a big production of cooking, was wondering if spaghetti or other pasta could be the same way, with noodles in a cup and sauce in a foil packet? ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/2 "2014-08-28T03:07:24Z")
You mean like this [Marie Callender’s Frozen Spaghetti and Meatballs](http://www.mariecallendersmeals.com/dinners/spaghetti-meatballs-with-whole-grain-pasta-2113150612)? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/3 "2014-08-28T03:12:03Z")
Get it by the [containerful!](http://www.21food.com/products/instant-spaghetti---paper-cup-157475.html) Then there’s [the classic](http://www.amazon.com/Kraft-Spaghetti-Classics-Italian-Parmesan/dp/B000E1HVR0) we all had growing up. Just add tomato paste. I suddenly want some. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/4 "2014-08-28T03:22:09Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > …Then there’s [the classic](http://www.amazon.com/Kraft-Spaghetti-Classics-Italian-Parmesan/dp/B000E1HVR0) we all had growing up. Just add tomato paste. I suddenly want some. Interesting. I’ve never seen this stuff in Canada. Then again, our Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is called Kraft Dinner. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/5 "2014-08-28T03:34:07Z")
I didn’t include your kind under “we all” because, y’know, Canada. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/6 "2014-08-28T03:43:39Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > I didn’t include your kind under “we all” because, y’know, Canada. 😃 I can take the hint… We welcome your Burger King overlords too. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/7 "2014-08-28T03:44:51Z")
Frozen is, I suppose, one form of “instant,” but for me, the word connotes a dry, room temperature stuff that you can keep in bins or boxes, to which you add water and then boil. Minute Rice is instant rice. A frozen rice dinner…well, it isn’t the same. Is there a “Minute Spaghetti” comparable to Minute Rice? Is there a spaghetti equivalent of 3-minute soup cups? There oughta be! ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/8 "2014-08-28T03:47:24Z")
There’s [this](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_7?url=search-alias%3Dgrocery&field-keywords=chef%20boyardee&sprefix=chef+bo%2Cgrocery%2C145)unnervingly food-like staple. ---
**Author:** ![jayarrell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@jayarrell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayarrell)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/9 "2014-08-28T04:02:08Z")
Some backpackers like to use [freeze dried spaghetti](http://www.mountainhouse.com/M/product/53108.html). It’s stored dry at room temperature and you add hot water to rehydrate. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/10 "2014-08-28T04:12:30Z")
I’m pretty sure they’re shelved right next to the Spaghetti-O’s, microwave pasta lunch thingies that aren’t refrigerated. They’re kinda boat shaped with pasta on one side and sauce on the other. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/11 "2014-08-28T04:22:18Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > I’m pretty sure they’re shelved right next to the Spaghetti-O’s, microwave pasta lunch thingies that aren’t refrigerated. They’re kinda boat shaped with pasta on one side and sauce on the other. [This?](http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hormel-Spaghetti-W-Meat-Sauce-Compleats-Microwave-Bowls-10-oz/10290993) I tried it for the hell of it once. A very small step up from spaghetti-o’s ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/12 "2014-08-28T05:34:24Z")
> [@zoid](#): > > [This?](http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hormel-Spaghetti-W-Meat-Sauce-Compleats-Microwave-Bowls-10-oz/10290993) > > I tried it for the hell of it once. A very small step up from spaghetti-o’s I’ve never tried any or really saw them beyond glancing, but I think to. Barilla and possibly Healthy Choice make them, too. Unless they weren’t successful and aren’t on the shelves any more. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/13 "2014-08-28T05:45:20Z")
I’m betting the Barilla is way better than the one I tried 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Saturn\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dc4da7/32.png) [@Saturn\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saturn_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/14 "2014-08-28T05:59:30Z")
In Japan, the land of cup ramen, we have [Spa-O](http://gigazine.net/news/20110823_spa_o_al_dente/). (Japanese site but with “mouth-watering” pics.) It looks like it comes in both boiling water and microwaveable type. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/15 "2014-08-28T06:48:00Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Frozen is, I suppose, one form of “instant,” but for me, the word connotes a dry, room temperature stuff that you can keep in bins or boxes, to which you add water and then boil. Like spaghetti? This is a weird thread. To me, pasta is by its very nature “instant” food. Boil water, dump it in, wait a few minutes and you’re done. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/16 "2014-08-28T14:07:51Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Frozen is, I suppose, one form of “instant,” but for me, the word connotes a dry, room temperature stuff that you can keep in bins or boxes, to which you add water and then boil. > > Minute Rice is instant rice. A frozen rice dinner…well, it isn’t the same. > > Is there a “Minute Spaghetti” comparable to Minute Rice? Is there a spaghetti equivalent of 3-minute soup cups? > > There oughta be! There’s [this stuff](http://www.walmart.com/ip/Hormel-Spaghetti-W-Meat-Sauce-Compleats-Microwave-Bowls-10-oz/10290993), which is not as horrible as it looks. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/17 "2014-08-28T14:30:39Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Like spaghetti? > > This is a weird thread. To me, pasta is by its very nature “instant” food. Boil water, dump it in, wait a few minutes and you’re done. Yeah, I’m not sure why there’s a supposed sweet spot of instant pasta between making real pasta (~10 minutes) and microwaving canned pasta (~2 minutes). I’d opt for the real thing, but if I was just itching to have pasta in the fastest way possible, I’d think the [canned stuff](http://www.amazon.com/Chef-Boyardee-Spaghetti-Balls-14-75/dp/B003M5YBHS/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1409236205&sr=8-6&keywords=chef+boyardee+spaghetti) would be the fastest way to go and probably no more nasty than instant pasta. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/18 "2014-08-28T14:52:57Z")
You don’t get much more instant than the canned stuff. Those truly in a hurry need not even bother with heating it. Open and enjoy. One of the choices in a case of the old US Army c-rations was canned spaghetti. It was more like a Franco-American product than Chef Boyardee, but I don’t think it was actually made by either company. My comrades and I frequently ate it cold and straight out of the can. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2014, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/19 "2014-08-28T16:28:04Z")
Yeah, Trinnopus. It’s really weird finding out that so many people don’t know what “Instant” means in this context. A canned or frozen item is not “instant.” ---
**Author:** ![turner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/22d042/32.png) [@turner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turner)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717/20 "2014-08-29T02:07:31Z")
There used to be a product a while back–like 35 years ago that was like instant dinners called mug’o lunch. You poured a pouch into a coffee cup, added hot water about 2/3 of the way up the cup, let it steep for a while, then eat. They had mac and cheese and chicken and noodles, but the spaghetti was pretty good. That was a quick dinner when I had about 15 minutes between coming home from school and going to work. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/instant-spaghetti/696717.md?page=2)