Tasty Italian Spaghetti Sauce

This hearty homemade pasta sauce blends basic pantry staples into a bold, mouthwatering topping that'll remind you of something your Italian nonna would make. By mixing two types of meat, you'll get a deep, rich base that cooks down with fragrant herbs and juicy tomatoes until everything comes together perfectly.

We eat this sauce in our house about twice monthly, and I'm always happy to cook it because it's so rewarding. As it bubbles away, amazing smells fill up the kitchen that take me straight back to those big family meals at my grandma's place, where sauce would simmer all day on her stove.

Ingredients

• Italian sausage: Gives amazing taste and comes in spicy, medium, or sweet options based on what you like. Try getting it from nearby butchers for top quality.
• Lean ground beef: Creates hearty texture without too much fat. Go for 90/10 to get the right balance.
• Sweet onion: Makes a smooth base flavor. Vidalias work wonders in this dish.
• Fresh garlic: Adds must-have smell and taste. Skip the jar stuff and crush your own for way better flavor.
• Sugar: Cuts through tomato sharpness. I sometimes use less if my tomatoes are naturally sweet.
• Italian seasoning: Gives you all the right herbs in one go. You can mix your own with basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme if you want.
• Kosher salt: Brings out all other tastes. Its bigger grains help you control how much you add.
• Black pepper: Adds subtle warmth. Grinding it fresh really makes a difference.
• Fresh parsley: Adds freshness to the rich mix. Always go for flat-leaf instead of curly for better taste.
• Tomato paste: Makes tomato flavor stronger. Tubes beat cans if you don't need much.
• Fire roasted diced tomatoes: Add light smokiness and chunky bits. Their charred edges make everything taste fancier.
• Crushed tomatoes: Form the main sauce body. San Marzano ones taste amazing if you can find them.
• Broth: Gives more flavor and helps fix thickness. Homemade tastes best but good store brands work fine too.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Brown the Meats:

Toss your Italian sausage and ground beef into a big pot over medium-high heat. Break everything into tiny bits about pea-sized with your wooden spoon. This makes sure it browns evenly and feels better in your mouth later. Keep stirring until you don't see any pink left, usually about 5-7 minutes.

Add Aromatics:

Throw in your chopped onion and minced garlic with the cooked meat. Keep stirring for 3-4 more minutes until onions turn see-through and garlic smells good but isn't brown. This builds your flavor foundation. If garlic starts browning, turn down the heat right away so it won't taste bitter.

Drain Excess Fat:

Carefully tip your meat mix into a strainer over a bowl or scoop out extra fat with a spoon. Keeping some fat is good for flavor, but too much makes your sauce greasy. Put the drained meat back in the pot.

Add Seasonings and Tomato Paste:

Turn heat to medium and mix in sugar, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper, and fresh parsley. Stir so all meat gets coated with spices. Add tomato paste and mix well for about a minute to slightly cook it, which makes tomato flavor deeper.

Incorporate Tomatoes and Broth:

Pour in your fire-roasted diced tomatoes with all their juice, crushed tomatoes, and broth. Mix everything really well, making sure to scrape up any stuck bits from the bottom, which pack tons of flavor.

Simmer Slowly:

Let the sauce start bubbling gently, then turn heat to low. Leave it uncovered for at least an hour, though 3 hours makes it taste so much better. Stir now and then so nothing sticks. The sauce should thicken up a bit during cooking. If it gets too thick, just splash in some more broth.

Pin it

Those fire-roasted tomatoes are honestly my magic trick in this sauce. I found them by mistake when I grabbed the wrong can at the store years back, and now I wouldn't dream of making sauce any other way. That slight smoky touch turns this from just a good sauce into something amazing that always has people begging for my cooking secrets.

Storage Strategies

Good storage keeps your sauce ready for quick meals anytime. For the fridge, let the sauce cool completely before putting it in sealed containers. It'll stay delicious for up to 5 days. Give it a good stir when warming it up since some separation will happen. For freezing, put cooled sauce in freezer containers or thick freezer bags, leaving about an inch empty for expansion. Mark the date and try to use within 3 months for best taste. Thaw in the fridge overnight, then warm up on the stove over medium-low heat, stirring now and then.

Make It Your Own

This flexible sauce can be changed in many ways to fit your taste or diet needs. For a lighter version, swap beef for ground turkey and use turkey Italian sausage instead. To make it vegetarian, skip the meat and cook 2 cups of chopped mushrooms and 1 diced bell pepper until golden brown. Want more veggies? Grate 1 carrot and 1 zucchini into the sauce during the final 30 minutes of cooking. Love wine? Add 1/2 cup red wine after cooking the meat and let it cook down before adding tomatoes. Need some heat? Toss in 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes with your other seasonings.

Serving Suggestions

While this sauce tastes great with regular spaghetti, trying other ways to serve it can give you many different meals. Mix it with rigatoni or penne pasta whose shapes and grooves catch all the chunky bits perfectly. Use it between layers of lasagna with ricotta and mozzarella for a filling casserole. Stuff it into bell peppers with some cooked rice and top with cheese. Make quick mini pizzas by spreading it on sliced baguette with cheese on top. Watching carbs? Pour it over roasted spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles instead. Always finish any pasta dish with some freshly grated Parmesan and extra chopped parsley.

Pin it

This sauce makes any dinner totally unforgettable. Give it a try and your kitchen will smell just like an authentic Italian restaurant.

Frequently Asked Questions

→ Why does this spaghetti sauce recipe include sugar?

We add sugar to tone down the tomatoes' sharpness. It helps smooth out all the flavors and makes everything taste better together without any harsh tangy bits. Feel free to add more or less depending on how sweet your tomatoes are and what you like best.

→ Can I substitute the meats in this sauce?

You bet! While mixing Italian sausage and ground beef gives amazing flavor, you can totally go with just beef, just sausage, ground turkey, or even meat alternatives. Each choice will give you a slightly different taste but will still turn out super yummy.

→ How long does this sauce keep in the refrigerator?

When you store it in a good container with a tight lid, this sauce stays fresh in the fridge for 3-4 days. If you want to keep it longer, try freezing batches in freezer containers where it'll stay good for up to 3 months.

→ What's the difference between simmering for one hour versus three hours?

The extra cooking time lets all the flavors really come together and creates a richer, more intense sauce. One hour makes a tasty sauce, but three hours lets the tomatoes break down more, the spices fully soak in, and everything gets thicker and more developed in flavor.

→ Can I make this sauce in a slow cooker?

For sure! After you brown the meat, onions, and garlic in a pan, just dump everything into your slow cooker with all the other stuff. Set it on low for 6-8 hours or high for 3-4 hours and you'll get that same slow-cooked goodness without having to watch it.

→ What pasta shapes work best with this sauce?

This chunky meat sauce goes great with bigger pasta shapes that can stand up to it. Try classics like spaghetti, fettuccine, pappardelle, or rigatoni. The grooves and twists in these pastas really grab onto the meaty bits in every bite.