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Homemade Spaghetti Sauce, made with ground beef, tomatoes, garlic, and herbs, has a deep rich flavor that tastes like it’s been simmered for hours. This is not your average “easy recipe” for spaghetti sauce! It’s thick, meaty, made in about an hour, and is terrific served with pasta and warm bread for a meal that will soon become a staple for your family.
Have you ever made a recipe that’s so near and dear to your heart that it was hard to share? That’s a bit of what’s happened with my Homemade Spaghetti Sauce. It’s so beloved, everyone in my family calls it by its own name… Mama Sauce.
This recipe started out as something my Mom made and over the years, I’ve put my own special twist on it. It’s still just as easy as when she taught me how to make it, but now, it has a few tweaks to give it an extra boost of flavor.
Over the past 2 years, my boys have moved out and are cooking for themselves. The first thing they wanted to learn to make was Mama Sauce. So, now after teaching them, it was high time I shared this recipe with you.
I hope you’ll feel the same way my sons feel when they make this homemade sauce. They tell me it feels like home. For me, that statement is everything and proves this is a recipe worth sharing.
In This Post You’ll Find:
Ingredients Needed For Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
- Ground Beef – use whatever fat to meat ratio you like. I tend to use a 90/10 blend so that I don’t have to drain off a lot of the fat.
- Yellow Onion
- Garlic
- Tomato Paste – for the best flavor, use concentrated tomato paste in a tube, which can be found in the canned tomato section in the grocery store.
- Crushed San Marzano Tomatoes
- Tomato Sauce
- Dried Italian Seasoning
- Sugar
- Kosher Salt
- Fresh Cracked Pepper
- Water
What’s The Best Type Of Tomatoes To Use In This Recipe?
San Marzano tomatoes are the absolute best-canned tomato to use for this recipe. They are a variety of plum tomatoes that are sweet with less acidity. Most grocery stores carry canned crushed San Marzano tomatoes, which will be clearly labeled.
What Is The Difference Between Marinara And Spaghetti Sauce?
Spaghetti sauce is traditionally richer, thicker, and made with a few more ingredients than Marinara sauce. Probably the biggest difference is that spaghetti sauce contains meat. Marinara does not and tends to be used as a dipping sauce.
Ways To Serve Spaghetti Sauce
This sauce is so good served over hot pasta. I normally serve it with spaghetti, but it’s also great with penne, rigatoni, and pappardelle.
Home spaghetti sauce is also wonderful to use in lasagna or any baked pasta dish.
How To Freeze Spaghetti Sauce
It’s easy to freeze homemade sauce so that you’ll always have it on hand. Place the cooled sauce in a freezer-safe container or ziplock bag. Place in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat, thaw the sauce in the refrigerator overnight, then heat on the stovetop before serving with freshly cooked pasta.
What To Serve With Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
When I make a batch of this sauce, I stay true to the classics. I serve it with a big green salad with my favorite homemade dressing along with some warm crusty bread. But, if I’m serving this for Sunday supper or when folks are coming over, I add in a few extra dishes.
- Buttery Garlic Knots
- Super Simple Caprese Salad
- Roasted Broccoli
- Green Bean Salad
- Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Dip with fresh fruit
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Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste concentrate
- 2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
- 1 28 ounce can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1-½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
Instructions
- To a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, set to medium-high heat, and add ground beef. Cook for 5 minutes. Drain off any excess fat. Add chopped onions and cook until translucent.
- Add tomato paste and garlic, cooking for 1 minute. Add in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper. Stir.
- Using the empty can of the 15-ounce tomato sauce, fill it with water. Pour into the sauce and stir. Turn heat to low, and place the lid on the pot at a half-angle. Simmer the spaghetti sauce for 45-50 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sauce is thick.
- To serve, cook spaghetti or your favorite pasta, top with sauce, Parmesan cheese, and parsley. Enjoy!
Notes
- This sauce is even better if simmered for 2 hours. It’s worth the wait if you have time. Add a ½ cup water and continue to cook for flavors to develop.
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It was delicious and I definitely going to make it again. I subbed ground turkey instead of beef
Hey there Joe!
I am absolutely thrilled to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, it’s a family favorite in my house as well! Using turkey instead of beef is a great idea, I’ve never tried that before but I’ll have to give it a try. Thank you so much for your kind words and your terrific rating, I really appreciate your support!
~Donya
Made this for my picky family and it was a hit! Love the flavor and it was easy to make. Definitely adding to my dinner rotation.
Hey there Susan!
Wow! I am thrilled to hear that everyone enjoyed this recipe, it’s a family favorite in my house so I’m very glad that it was a hit on your dinner table as well! Thank you so much for your kind words of support and your fantastic rating, if you ever have any questions about a recipe, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
~Donya
Question: Is there a way to save the remainder tomato paste for another time? I’d hate to discard the unused paste.
Hey there Beverly!
That is a terrific question, I’m all about saving food and leftovers as much as I can. Since tomato paste usually comes in cans, it is hard to save. What I used to do is transfer it to an air tight container or even a Ziploc bag and it will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days. Most grocery stores now adays also sell tubes of tomato paste, they kind of look like toothpaste containers with a cap, and those are easiest for storing in the fridge. I hope this helps and I hope you enjoy the recipe!
~Donya
Very similar to my Mama’s sauce. She called it Irish-American sauce! She didn’t add tomatoes or Italian Seasoning and never sugar! I now add crushed or diced tomatoes and I also add some red wine and crushed basil I cheat and use jarred minced garlic. This sauce and meatloaf were the first things I learned to cook in Mama’s kitchen.
Hey there Margaret!
This really warmed my heart to read, it sounds like you and your mother are both quite the cooks, that sauce sounds delicious! I think a homemade tomato sauce is just something unique and special to every family. It’s funny that you referred to it as “Mama’s Sauce” because that’s actually what my sons always call this recipe, posting it has been a long time coming! Thank you so much for sharing, I hope you’ll give this recipe a try and let me know what you think!
~Donya