The Best Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
This is The Best Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe! This tomato meat sauce can be ready and on your table in about 1 1/2 hours! Delicious served over fresh cooked pasta.
If you’re looking for a classic meat sauce for spaghetti, this is it! This recipe makes a hearty tomato and meat sauce that is delicious served over fresh cooked pasta. So much flavour in this rich spaghetti sauce!
Homemade is worth it!
You just can’t go wrong with homemade spaghetti sauce! This tried-and-true recipe is a favourite in our home. It’s rich, flavourful and so delicious. This homemade sauce is also one of my favourites because this recipe makes a big batch that’s enough for two meals (love that!). Use half for spaghetti night, use the other half to make something else (like a lasagna) or save half to freeze for later for busy weeknights!
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe Tips:
- GROUND BEEF: I use ground beef for this spaghetti sauce. But any ground meat works well in this recipe especially ground chicken or ground turkey. You can also use a beef and Italian sausage combination (1/2 beef and 1/2 Italian sausage). Another nice combination is a beef/pork mix.
- TOMATOES: This recipe calls for canned diced tomatoes, but you can also use canned crushed tomatoes or whole canned tomatoes instead (for whole tomatoes you will have to crush them down). And if you have San Marzano tomatoes, these are the best!
- RED WINE SUBSTITUTE: Feel free to use beef broth instead of red wine.
- HERBS: You can use fresh herbs or dried herbs. 1 tsp dried = 1 tbsp fresh Or, if you prefer to use Italian seasoning, you can use about 2 tsp instead.
- OPTIONAL ADD-INS: For extra nutrition you can add any chopped up vegetable to the sauce that you like: bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, carrots. Just fry them up first in a frying pan until they’re cooked yet still crisp. Then add them to the sauce and cook as directed. You can add also add pureed yam or pumpkin.
- LEFTOVERS: Store any leftover spaghetti sauce in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- FREEZING: This recipe freezes well. Let the sauce cool, then store it in an airtight container (or in freezer bags) in the freezer for up to 6 months.
- SLOW COOKER OPTION: After you’ve browned the beef with the onions and garlic, then drained the excess grease, instead of adding it to a stock pot, put everything (the browned beef and all the remaining ingredients) into a slow cooker and cook it on LOW for 4 hours.
Our Favorite
Ways to use spaghetti sauce:
What to serve with Spaghetti:
You can have a homemade spaghetti dinner on your table in just over an hour with this easy recipe! This spaghetti meat sauce is so much better than a grocery store jar.
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 to 2 lbs lean ground beef
- 1 large yellow onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 14 ounce can tomato sauce (plain, no spices)
- 1 19 ounce can diced tomatoes (plain, no spices)
- 1 5.5 ounce can tomato paste
- 1/2 cup dry red wine or beef broth if you don’t want to use wine
- 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp basil or 1 tbsp fresh basil
- 1/4 tsp salt
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a large frying pan, brown the beef with the onions and garlic. When the beef is cooked through, drain the excess grease.
- Add the cooked beef to a large pot.
- Now add the tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, wine, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, oregano, basil and salt and pepper. Stir and bring to a light simmer.
- Simmer over low-medium heat for about 1 hour, covered.
- Serve over fresh pasta and with grated parmesan cheese.
More Favourite
pasta recipes to try!
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I hope you enjoy this easy homemade spaghetti sauce! Have a delicious day!
Note: This recipe was originally published in 2013. I have since updated this post with new images and more useful recipe tips!
HAPPY HAPPY New Years Jo-Anna to YOU & Yours ! Your Spaghetti Sauce Recipe sounds a bit different then mine, so I will “do” yours some day, even though I have been making “do” with mine for years.. New Years for new changes, right?
“Just Me” xx
That looks like my mom’s sauce! Deeelicious!!
Oh we love spaghetti and this sauce looks fantastic and really easy. Thanks for sharing.
This was great! I used ground turkey, added bell peppers and spinach, a 1 tsp of garlic, and a little more brown sugar. This will be added to the rotation
This was delish! I left out the meat. Doubled up on everything else. After sauteeing onions and garlic I put everything in a crock pot and dropped my uncooked meatballs in gently and let it simmer on low all day! My kids raved it was the best meatballs and spaghetti they ever had!!!
Yay! I love to hear that! I think I’m going to try your veggie version – it sounds delish!
I am making this right now and made some adjustments. I added 4 bay leaves along with an extra tsp of the oregano and basil. also added a jar of store bought spaghetti sauce because it was looking a bit too thick to me. also added half of a yellow bell pepper and half a red bell pepper and then some garlic powder to go with the garlic clove and it smells amazing. I started it at 9 am an its been simmering for 4 hours so far. have enough for dinner tonight and enough to freeze for another time
Sounds delish! I love this recipe because it’s so versatile! Enjoy!
Just wondering how it freezes and can you can it?
Hi Ashley!
This sauce freezes beautifully! But I’m not sure about canning – I’ve never canned before! But I don’t see why not! Let me know if you do can it, and how it is!
Just wanted to let you know I found this on Pinterest a few weeks ago and I am about to make it for the THIRD time. It is by far the most delicious spaghetti sauce I have ever eaten. Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!
Hi Desiree!
I’m SO happy that you are loving this recipe!! Thank you so much for letting me know – you made my day!
Could you make this in crockpot?
Hi!
I’m not sure…I’ve never put ground beef into a crockpot before. But I think you could, if you cooked the ground beef first, then put it in the crockpot with the rest of the ingredients.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! My family loves it and my husband raves about how flavorful it is.
You are so welcome Lisa! I’m so happy you tried it AND loved it!!