This Homemade Spaghetti Sauce is full of robust flavors, plenty of garlic, and loads of fresh tomato flavor. So easy – just toss your ingredients in a pot to simmer for a couple of hours and you’ll have the most flavorful spaghetti meat sauce ever!
My mama used to tease me for making my life more difficult than it needs to be.
I once had our family coming over and was in a major time crunch. And, yet, I still made homemade ricotta cheese to add to the baked ziti I was serving. Ridiculous? Probably. Worth it? 100%.
I love making quick dinner rolls or biscuits from scratch.
And you’ll often find me making this homemade meat sauce. That’s not to say I never grab a jar of sauce, because hey – I’m a busy mom too. But oh man, this homemade spaghetti sauce is just the best and it’s really not a lot of work – it just need some time to simmer on the stove.
Ingredient Notes:
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Ground Meat – I’m using a combination of ground beef and Italian sausage in my homemade spaghetti meat sauce! Both will add flavor but you can change it up and use all beef or all sausage if you prefer!
Garlic & Onion – Pretty much necessary ingredients for any good spaghetti sauce as far as I am concerned. Especially all that garlic! With six cloves of garlic in this sauce you’ll definitely be getting plenty of flavor – but feel free to add as much as your heart desires.
Tomato – You’ll need canned crushed tomatoes as well as tomato paste.
Italian Seasoning – A simple blend of basil, oregano, thyme, and other savory herbs and spices.
Sugar – Sugar might seem like an odd addition, but it’s just a bit and it helps to balance out the acid in the tomatoes.
Red Pepper Flakes – These are optional if you really don’t want any spice, but I think it adds great flavor!
What Readers are Saying!
“This recipe is the best I have tasted. The ingredients needed were in my cabinet & fast and easy to make. Good bye sauce in a jar!” – Susan D.
How to Make Homemade Spaghetti Sauce:
Brown: We’re making spaghetti meat sauce because I think the meat adds so much rich flavor to the sauce. Even when I make meat sauce, we still sometimes add my turkey meatballs. So good!
To start, you’ll brown some ground beef and ground Italian sausage in a large dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot.
Mix: Once the meat is browned, add in your diced onion and minced garlic. <— Don’t skimp on the garlic!
Stir in some crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, sugar, and salt.
Simmer: Now comes the hardest part of all – waiting!
This needs to simmer for at least 2 hours, but preferably closer to 4 hours. The longer it simmers, the more flavorful the sauce gets. The more tender the meat gets. The more amazing your world will be. 😉
Be sure to sneak little spoonfuls of this spaghetti sauce every time you walk through the kitchen. It’s delicious.
Use this spaghetti meat sauce to make my ravioli lasagna too!
Recipes To Use Our Spaghetti Sauce With:
We love making pasta and other Italian favorites! They always go over well with my kids and are usually our go-to for dinner parties!
Try this spaghetti sauce recipe with our Million Dollar Ravioli Casserole or our favorite Baked Spaghetti with Cream Cheese!
This would also be tasty in our Crockpot Lasagna! Just be sure to add an extra cup of water to the sauce before layering the lasagna, so there is plenty of liquid for the noodles to soak up.
What gives spaghetti sauce flavor?
Loads of garlic, plenty of Italian seasonings like basil, oregano, and rosemary, and a mixture of beef and pork.
I use a jar of Italian Seasoning – it’s just a blend of herbs. You can put in a mix of your favorite Italian herbs instead if you like.
The beef and pork in this spaghetti sauce recipe add a delicious richness to the sauce and they get so tender as they simmer away for hours with the sauce.
I don’t drain the fat from the meat after cooking as that helps add flavor to the sauce as well.
Feel free to also stir in some red pepper flakes or a splash of red wine to add even more flavor.
FAQs:
It sounds strange to add sweetness to a savory recipe, but just like you’d never bake cookies without balancing the sweetness with a pinch of salt, you often want to balance the acidity of tomatoes with a pinch or two of sugar.
Feel free to adjust the sugar to suit your needs, but I recommend adding at least a pinch to really balance the flavors and bring it all together.
This spaghetti sauce thickens as it cooks. Just keep simmering and the liquid in the tomatoes will evaporate a bit. The sauce turns out perfect for tossing your pasta.
This recipe makes enough to generously coat two pounds of pasta. If you won’t be using that much sauce at one time, store leftovers tightly covered in the refrigerator for 3-4 days or freeze for up to 4 months.
MORE HOMEMADE ITALIAN RECIPES!
- Baked Manicotti
- Chicken Caprese
- Italian Pasta Salad
- Sausage Tortellini Soup
- Baked Chicken Parmesan
- Homemade Italian Dressing
If you love this recipe, be sure to try my Alfredo sauce too!
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1/2 pound pork sausage
- 1 medium onion finely diced
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 56 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon sugar or to taste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a large pot over medium heat, cook the ground beef and pork until no longer pink. Do not drain.
- Add the onion and garlic to the pot with the meat and cook over low heat until the onions are soft and the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the pot and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 2-4 hours.
- Taste and add additional sugar, salt, or red pepper as desired.
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This recipe was originally published in November of 2012. It’s been updated July of 2019. Original photo below.
Mike C. says
Try his is very close to mine. I brown meat, onion and garlic then remove. Add olive oil to pot and tomato paste with sugar and brown the paste then add 1/2 cup white wine. Add meat back in along with crushed tomatoes the 1/2 can water. Add 1 tablespoon good balsamic vinegar and simmer for as long as possible.
Karly says
Sounds delicious!
John J Craig says
I made this last night with ground round and added a little extra garlic, because I has 1.25 pounds of the ground round. Added a few extra red pepper flakes as well. It turned out really well after 4 hours of simmering. Thanks for the recipe! I am so happy my mother taught me how to cook. She said, son, if you don’t like what I put on the table, go out and buy yourself what you want and I will help you learn to cook it!
adams says
I love Spaghetti Sauce, it’s great to be able to do it yourself at home, thank you for your videos and tutorials, just follow it and everything is easy.
Ramirez@habitatrestaurant says
HOMEMADE SPAGHETTI SAUCE is great! The ingredients are simple and easy to process, the taste is great, I like it. Thanks for your sharing
M Lloyd Hudson says
Love reading your recipe tales! 😀
Love the recipes themselves as well! <3
Wish I cooked homemade more often than I do, your recipes are certainly great encouragement!
Thank you so much, Miss Karly!
Karly says
Thank you! <3
Richard H Reed says
If you don’t like adding sugar to sauce instead add a whole carrot .Remove and toss when ready to serve.
sheenam @ thetwincookingproject says
Love love love this recipe.
Carla and Robert says
I used to make my own sauce, years ago, prior to my husband and I now having diverticulosis. I know that I will receive replies saying, “Eat what you want and just increase fluid intake and roughage.” OK for some folks, but if the diverticulosis is severe, you will end up with pain and may need antibiotic treatment. If you watch what you eat you can avoid the pain and infection and the treatment needed. Sadly, we can no longer digest the seeds in the tomatoes, thus we use a bottled sauce, I use Prego, but choose your favorite seedless brand of bottled sauce and “doctor” that sauce with extra Italian seasoning, basil, garlic powder, or minced garlic, and finely chopped onions which I saute prior to browning the hamburger.
Luna Regina says
Classic and awesome sauce for weeknight parties. Thanks for recommending great Italian recipes to serve with this sauce, too. I love them, Karly!
Susan Dubose says
This recipe is the best I have tasted. The ingredients needed were in my cabinet & fast and easy to make.
Good bye sauce in a jar!
Karly says
So glad you tried it and loved it, Susan!!