Spaghetti Meat Sauce
Posted Aug 16, 2024, Updated Oct 12, 2024
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This spaghetti meat sauce recipe is easy to make in under 30 minutes with simple ingredients. Served over your favorite pasta, it’s a delicious, hearty weeknight meal the whole family enjoys.
We make this spaghetti meat sauce at least once a week. It’s one of our family’s favorite meals (served with roasted broccoli or roasted green beans), and it’s easy to make in half an hour.
In this recipe, ground beef, onion and garlic are cooked, then combined with crushed tomatoes, herbs and spices for a delicious meal everyone loves.
Meat Sauce Ingredients & Substitutions
- Ground Beef. I suggest an 85% or 93% lean ground beef for the best results. If using ground turkey or chicken you will need to add 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil for it to cook nicely. Or, for a meatless sauce, try this homemade marinara sauce.
- Onion. I suggest a sweet white or yellow onion for the best results.
- Minced garlic. Use freshly minced or jarred.
- Crushed tomatoes. Diced tomatoes or tomato sauce are both good substitutes, but crushed tomatoes are the best!
- Fresh Basil. I don’t suggest making substitutes.
- Dried Oregano. you can substitute 1 teaspoon dried oregano with 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano.
- Sugar. honey is a good substitute for sugar. This just helps cut the acidity of the marinara sauce, it does not make the sauce sweet.
How to Make Meat Sauce for Spaghetti
Let’s walk through this meat sauce recipe step-by-step. Don’t forget to watch the video!
Begin by cooking the ground beef, onion and garlic in a 5-quart saucepan until beef is no longer pink. Break up the meat into small pieces as it cooks.
Once the meat is no longer pink, add the crushed tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and sugar and stir to combine.
Then, bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve
Serve on top of your favorite pasta, tortellini, etc. Here are some suggestions:
- Make homemade whole wheat pasta or homemade gnocchi and serve it on top.
- Serve it over pasta with a side of roasted vegetables, brussels sprouts, etc.
- Or, serve your pasta with a delicious salad like this burrata salad or panzanella salad.
- Bruschetta is a delicious appetizer for pasta!
Store
Store leftover meat sauce in a glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Freeze
Freeze leftover spaghetti meat sauce in a glass jar (make sure to leave some room at the top because the sauce expands in the freezer), for up to 6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight or at room temperature, reheat on the stovetop.
Meat Sauce Recipe FAQS
Marinara is a meatless sauce that’s similar to meat sauce but does not contain ground beef.
Meat sauce is a quick recipe, usually made with meat, onions, garlic and tomatoes. Bolognese is a type of Ragù, which mean it’s cooked low and slow for many hours. Bolognese usually contains ground beef, pancetta (an Italian bacon), onions, carrots, celery, tomatoes, wine and dairy (milk or cream).
Yes, you can easily double or triple the recipe to serve a crowd.
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Meat Sauce for Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 small onion diced (1 cup onion)
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes peeled
- 2 Tablespoos fresh basil chopped
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar or honey
Instructions
- Add ground beef, onion and garlic to a 5-quart saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat until beef is no longer pink, breaking it up as you stir occasionally.
- Add tomatoes, basil, oregano, salt, pepper and sugar and stir to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve on top of your favorite pasta, tortellini, etc.
Video
Notes
- Ground Beef. I suggest an 85% or 93% lean ground beef for the best results. If using ground turkey or chicken you will need to add 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil for it to cook nicely. Or, for a meatless sauce, try this homemade marinara sauce.
- Onion. I suggest a sweet white or yellow onion for the best results.
- Minced garlic. Use freshly minced or jarred.
- Crushed tomatoes. Diced tomatoes or tomato sauce are both good substitutes, but crushed tomatoes are the best!
- Fresh Basil. I don’t suggest making substitutes.
- Dried Oregano. you can substitute 1 teaspoon dried oregano with 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano.
- Sugar. honey is a good substitute for sugar. This just helps cut the acidity of the marinara sauce, it does not make the sauce sweet.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
