This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is easy to make and perfect over almost any pasta.
Ground beef, Italian sausage, and seasonings are simmered in a zesty tomato sauce and served over pasta for a flavorful and satisfying meal.
I Love This Spaghetti Sauce Recipe Because…
- I use ground beef and Italian sausage for a hearty meaty spaghetti sauce (but you can use one or the other).
- You can stretch this sauce even further with extra veggies or canned tomatoes.
- Make a double or triple batch; this spaghetti sauce freezes well.
- Versatile! It can be enjoyed over spaghetti noodles, lasagna, or zucchini boats.
Ingredients for Spaghetti Sauce
Meat: I use both ground beef and Italian sausage for flavor, but you can use just one or the other if you’d like. The sausage adds extra flavor, so if you replace it, add extra Italian seasoning.
Veggies: Onion and fresh garlic add flavor, while shredded carrot adds just a bit of sweetness to balance the tang of the tomatoes. Carrot can be replaced with a pinch of sugar.
Tomatoes: This spaghetti sauce recipe uses canned crushed tomatoes for fresh flavor—you can replace it with marinara sauce. Tomato paste adds zest flavor, and diced tomatoes add texture. For a smoother sauce, replace the diced tomatoes with additional crushed tomatoes and simmer a bit longer.
Variations
- Replace the carrot with a small amount of sugar or a finely diced red bell pepper.
- Other great additions to a homemade spaghetti sauce include green bell pepper, mushrooms, or shredded zucchini.
- Add a parmesan cheese rind to the sauce while it’s simmering for some extra flavor!
- Fresh herbs add great flavor to this spaghetti sauce recipe. If using fresh basil or parsley, add it right before serving and reserve a little bit for garnish.
How to Make Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
This spaghetti meat sauce recipe is easy to make and most of the cooking time is spent simmering.
- Brown Italian sausage, beef, onion, & garlic in a skillet or Dutch oven.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients & simmer (recipe below).
- Season with salt and pepper and stir in fresh herbs if using.
Tips for Perfect Homemade Pasta Sauce
- For a thicker sauce, simmer uncovered a bit longer to allow the liquid to evaporate.
- Add dry seasonings or spices at the beginning of cooking and fresh herbs at the end of cooking.
- Don’t rinse the pasta. When the sauce is added to the noodles, some of the starch in the pasta will thicken the sauce slightly and help it to adhere to the noodles.
Storing Leftovers
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Freeze leftover spaghetti sauce in an airtight container or a freezer bag for up to 4 months.
Thaw in the refrigerator overnight and reheat on the stovetop or microwave.
More Favorite Pasta Sauce Recipes
Homemade Bolognese Sauce (Pappardelle)
Vodka Sauce
Did your family love this homemade Spaghetti Sauce? Leave a rating and a comment below.
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef 80/20
- ½ pound Italian sausage casings removed, or bulk sausage
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juices
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes or tomato sauce
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- ¼ cup carrot grated, or a pinch of sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons fresh chopped parsley optional
Instructions
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In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the beef, sausage, onion, and garlic over medium-high heat until no pink remains, about 5 to 6 minutes. Drain fat.
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Add diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, carrot, Italian seasoning, basil, salt, and pepper.
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Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until thickened.
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Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Stir in fresh parsley if using.
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Serve over spaghetti or cooked pasta.
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Main Course, Pasta, Sauce
Cuisine American, Italian
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I cannot tell you how often I come across a recipe that either states, “Add your favorite seasonings” or worse ” Salt and Pepper to your tastes”. To me, this a Hallmark moment of a scammer. You on the other hand spell it out and leave nothing to the imagination. I thank you for just that! Looking forward to making this recipe.
Def 5 STAR
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I’ve been using this recipe for years. Delicious. Some of the grandchildren don’t like vegetables so I put half a green pepper in sauce for flavor and remove just before serving. In past I’ve also pureed cooked carrots, celery and peppers and added to sauce. Green pepper much easier. Pasta supper tonight with family.
For us, this was too tomato forward and not savory enough. Also a bit sweet and added a splash of wine to neutralize it. Maybe that’s because it doesn’t cook long enough? Tomorrow I’ll add more Italian sausage , and maybe some mushrooms.
I think this is the best homemade spaghetti sauce I have every tried! The added carrots instead of sugar was a big plus! It’s an easy recipe as well!
We loved it! I added the shredded carrot and red pepper smaller chunks. This crew is picky, so when they wanted more, that was great! Will definitely add it to the meal rotation. Thanks for the recipe.
Was wondering if you can help me with something..
Hubby and I froze some Roma tomatoes and I figured it’s probably time to make sauce ..
I don’t do well thinking outside the box ..
What do I do to make sauce ?
We also don’t do well with onions , we can handle a little bit of garlic ..
thanks for your time ..
If you have a lot of fresh tomatoes (that have been thawed) this tomato sauce recipe although it does have a little bit of onion for flavor. You can also add cooked Italian sausage and other veggies to the recipe for extra flavor.
If you don’t have lots you can also just peel, seed, and dice the tomatoes and add them in place of the canned diced tomatoes.
Could I use mild Italian turkey sausage with the ground beef?
You definitely could. I think that would be delicious, Pat!
Hi Holly! All of your recipes with pasta sauce makes me drool ! To make this sauce in a crock pot…how long should it be? Thanks so much.
To prepare in a slow cooker, reduce the water to ½ cup. Brown the meat, onion, and garlic as directed and place it in a 6qt slow cooker along with the remaining ingredients. Cook on low for 7 to 9 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.
I’ve been making this sauce for a few years now. Husband loves it. Begs for it often. Also it freezes well. This is my forever go to recipe.
Absolutely need to add chopped green pepper and celery to this sauce. Other than that, it is as on the mark as a meat sauce for pasta could possibly be. One final hint, if you find the sauce to be on the acidic side when tasting, a pinch of baking soda in the sauce will solve that without the need of any added sugar.
Thank you for sharing your tips, Barcham!
Question – my family has big meat eaters. Would you suggest doubling the meat and keeping everything else the same if we want more meat, or should we double the whole recipe? Thank you!
This sauce is pretty meaty but you could certainly add a little bit more (up to 2 pounds total). If you’re doubling the meat, you’ll probably need to increase the sauce ingredients a little bit.
yummm
I have a question can I use ground beef and Italian sausage at the same time for this recipe
We do! We use 1 lb of ground beef cooked with ½ lb of Italian sausage.
made this and loved it , added green peppers, red peppers and mushrooms a, and some additional seasonings, mrs dash, oregono, and sea salt .
l loved this recipe. The spaghetti turned out delicious. I will definitely use this recipe again.
I made this in a crock pot……….cooking the meat, onion and garlic in a pan on the stove, before adding to the rest of the ingredients in the crock pot. I added mushrooms and served it over spaghetti noodles and it was wonderful !!!!
I plan to make this recipe for Sunday night dinner. I’m having 9 kids over for dinner. Can I puree the tomato sauce before adding the meatballs? I’m not sure kids will enjoy having whole tomatoes in the sauce.
That should be just fine Judith! If you try it I would love to hear how it turns out!
i am not a cook AT ALL. can i make the sauce without meat to freeze? i want to use fresh meat every time. or does it matter??
You can if you’d like but the meat adds flavor and it freeze really well too.