Rich, hearty, and packed with flavor—this homemade pasta sauce recipe would make a Nonna proud. A beefy sauce that is slow-simmered for a rich, savory taste. Serve it over pasta or bake it into lasagna.
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Holly’s Ground Beef Pasta Sauce
- Flavor: This sauce has a savory flavor with hints of herbs and a fresh tomato taste.
- Skill level: Making pasta sauce is a great beginner recipe, with simple steps but it has so much flavor that it’s perfect for anyone to make!
- Technique: I include a spice mix that I add to the meat, which is similar to the one I use in my homemade Italian sausage. It’s easy and adds an extra layer of flavor.
- Budget tip: Add leftover veggies in Step 3 for an extra boost of flavor and nutrients.
- Prep ahead: Pasta sauce freezes beautifully so double or triple the recipe for future meals.
Ingredient Tips For Pasta Sauce
- Meat: I use ground beef in this recipe and mix in my own seasonings. Half of the meat can be replaced with Italian sausage.
- Tomatoes: Tomatoes are the base of this sauce, I recommend a high-quality brand, I love San Marzano style tomatoes.
- Sugar: A pinch sugar will balance the acidity from the tomatoes. Or, instead of sugar, add half a grated carrot to the sauce.
- Seasonings: Dried Italian seasonings are added to the sauce in addition to the meat seasoning above. If adding fresh herbs, they should be added at the end of cooking so their delicate flavor doesn’t get cooked out.
Variations: Add sauteed mushrooms and onions in Step 3 or some shredded zucchini, chopped spinach, or kale for an extra bump in nutrition.
Not Just for Pasta!
The great thing about this ground beef pasta sauce is that it’s so versatile and having some on hand for last-minute meals is a weeknight timesaver.
Besides topping a pile of spaghetti, use pasta sauce for meatball subs, lasagna, mix it with rice for stuffed peppers, or create a casserole with veggies and cheese.
Storing Leftovers
Leftover homemade pasta sauce can be kept in the refrigerator in a covered container for up to 4 days. Freeze portions in zippered bags for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the refrigerator or reheat from frozen on medium heat on the stovetop.
Must-Try Pasta Sauces
Did you love this Homemade Pasta Sauce? Leave us a rating and a comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
- 1 large onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 28 ounces canned whole tomatoes or canned diced tomatoes*, 1 can
- 28 ounces canned tomato sauce
- 1 large green bell pepper diced, or red bell pepper
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil
Meat Seasoning Mix
- 2 teaspoons ground sage
- 2 teaspoons fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine ground beef with sage, fennel seeds, thyme, pepper, and allspice until well mixed.
- Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef mixture, onion, and garlic, breaking up the meat with a spoon. Cook until browned, drain excess fat if needed.
- Add the canned tomatoes with the liquid, tomato sauce, green bell pepper, water, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, sugar, and salt to the pot. Stir well to combine.
- Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour or until the sauce has reached your desired consistency. Stir occasionally.
- Once the sauce has thickened, stir in the chopped parsley and basil.
- Remove bay leaves, taste and season with additional salt and pepper. Serve over hot 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© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
This is a fantastic recipe! It is the only one I’ve seen that makes turkey super flavorful and not bland. My kids love it and its my only go-to for turkey spaghetti sauce.
That is great Karen! Thanks for sharing :)
In 1994 my wife and I vacationed in Europe, and when we visited Florence, Italy we went to a winery. The trip included a wonderful dinner provided by the winery’s owners. They served their homemade pasta sauce which was incredible. I managed to have a conversation with the owners wife and got her recipe. It turns out your recipe is nearly identical with yours.
Today I make this recipe but utilize some short cuts. However, I let my sauce simmer for 3-hours to enhance the flavor.
Then I mix it with Rigatoni noodles, top with Mozzarella cheese and broil until cheese is melted and lightly browned. All in all your reeecipe is dead on.
So glad you enjoyed it, what a great memory you have!! Visiting Italy has been one of my all-time favorite experiences!
Hello, I’m a first timer for your recipes and I love them.
You seem to have important tips to the recipe. Is there some way to include them for
print.
Thank you
Unfortunately, I don’t have a print option for them at this time. Thank you for the suggestion.
Holly how can I print your recipes without the picture? Pictures use alo t of ink. Thanks
Sorry Marge, at this time all recipe automatically print with the photo attached.
Hi there! I was just wondering what a good quality canned tomato brand might be? I tend to shop at Walmart (guilty), but can venture elsewhere if need be. Thank you for your help!
If you are looking for good quality canned tomatoes, you can look for Grade A tomatoes. Enjoy Ashley!
San Marzano tomatoes are a bit more expensive but worth every penny! Not San Marzano Style. theres a big difference. So sweet and delicious.
No sugar necessary with these tomatoes!
Thanks for the tip Noreen!
Hi Holly. This sounds delish and I will be making it very soon…..I plan to use beef and pork mince which works for me and we cant buy minced turkey here in S.Africa………I got shot of my mincer decades back.
Thank you for your recipes, tips etc……..you can teach an old dog new tricks !
You’re welcome Del! So glad that you are enjoying the site! :)
Is the garlic miniced, chopped, sliced, whole, or smashed?
Minced or put through a garlic press.
Hi Holly,
I just want to let you know that your sauce is now the single go to for pasta sauce in your house. I make variations from time to time, but this is the best sauce I have ever had. You should be proud. Worth the work.
Thank you so much Jim! I’m glad you love this sauce as much as I do! :)
This is REALLY good. Lots of flavor for just an hour of simmer time. I used ground pork because that’s what I had on hand. Otherwise, I made this recipe exactly as written. I’ll definitely make it again. I try to cook from scratch whenever I can, and jarred sauces just taste gross to me now. This sauce is super tasty with minimal ingredients, and at just an hour of cook time, it is comparable to the ease of a premade sauce. Thanks for a keeper recipe!
So glad you loved it!
Hi Holly
Can this recipe be frozen, if so, how?
Absolutely. I cook as directed and cool. You can either freeze in individual portions or in a family sized serving. I reheat on the stovetop.
is the “meat seasoning” suppose to be “Italian Seasoning”
No, the meat seasoning is almost like a sausage flavoring. The ingredients are listed below the title. :)
I have this simmering right now and can’t wait to try it but I do have a question. I only have the tube basil and wondering how much to use of that? I’m thinking I would only need a half of a 1/4 cup?
That sounds about right to me~
Holly i served this sauce yesterday for a fifty person luncheon and was told by multi people it was absolutely fantastic,some said it was the best they had ever tasted! I added a little beef bullion and used brown sugar in place of white sugar. Thanks
That is so awesome, we are happy to hear it! Brown sugar sounds like a tasty substitute, for sure!
This recipe looks delicious. One thing though. We are not fans of sage but I have discovered a poultry season by Epicure Selections that I use instead of sage for turkey dressing. Do you think this would be good?
You can certainly give it a try or leave the sage out if it isn’t to your liking!
Holly i tried your sauce and while letting it simmer i kept taste testing it and i thought it was missing something and finally put my finger on it and it was beef bouillon,other than that it was fantastic full of so much flavor.Sharing and will make again!
Thank you for the tip Bob, sounds great, I’ll have to try it! Did you use ground beef or turkey?
I used beef and served over spaghetti squash for a different twist.
That sounds yummy!
what if i want meatballs would i use same ingrediants
I haven’t tried this mixture as meatballs so I’m not sure how it would work out.
If using the ground beef do you still use the seasoning or is that just for the turkey meat?
I use the seasoning with beef or turkey.
I use one of the “squiggle” type potato mashers when I cook ground meat for a sauce like this. ..already have it and it works great. ..breaks up the meat as much as you desire. …
Great idea Deb! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Holly
What brand of meat chopper do you own?
Mine is from Pampered Chef but I have also seen them at Walmart or on Amazon.
So PastaLover what minor changes would you make? I’m making this recipe later in the week. I’m always curious to see what other cooks change in a recipe. Looks delicious!
I found this recipe good. However, there are SO many just ‘good’ recipes available I’m afraid I took umbrage at the ‘best’ label applied to this particular one. This is head and shoulders above what one might eat at a school cafeteria. It is above nearly every ‘gourmet’ type recipe too… Those are usually pretty nasty.
BUT…
Given that I have a sorta negative opinion just on the name or this recipe, especially one using just common ingredients in common amounts cooked commonly. I will try to be honest here on the flavor of the recipe as it is listed here. I feel I should state my misgivings up front so I don’t give a false impression.
Thus:
I found this very acceptable and flavorful. I would serve again with maybe minor tweaks where my tastes might differ or when I know a certain ingredient is superior, and or suchlike. I do NOT feel this is worth a 5 of 5 rating. It is a solid 4 of 5 recommendable to anyone who likes pasta generally, but, doesn’t spend a lot of time dwelling on recipes like this one. Maybe this is perfect for those who think pizza was invented in Italy rather than Italians who migrated from there.
Hehe… It is certainly perfect for those who cook for food network. It would teach way too many of their ‘cooks’ what flavor actually means. Hehe…
Do you have a recipe that you like better? Please share. One of the differences I would make is to use fresh tomatoes if possible.
Can you say “judgemental?” For goodness sake, it’s a recipe. Everyone has different tastes and opinions. Don’t like the name “THE BEST” move on.
I agree. I found that review very rude.
He’s just being honest. I found his opinion useful in that he said it was good. That’s all I need to hear so I’m going to make it today and see for myself. I’m sure it’ll be delicious!
I made a half recipe of this last night, I added fresh mushrooms and a nice taste of Malbec I omitted the water. This is the best sauce I have ever made.
So glad you enjoyed it Dorothy!
HOW DO I PRINT SOME RECIPES? I DO NOT WANT TO PRINT 10 PAGES WHEN I ONLY WANT THE INGREDIENT.
Under the small image next to the ingredients list you will see a print button.
I saw a fresh Italian turkey sausages in the grocery store both mild and hot anyone try later anyone think it should be okay instead of flavoring my own which I know will be better but to save time?
I always buy medium or hot or both and mix….I wouldn’t even know how to season it myself.
Yes! I make pasta sauce with the hot Italian turkey sausage and it is amazing! I use just cheap sauce (Hunts) then Doctor it up with diced tomatoes Italian seasoning, a little sugar, and hot pepper flakes. My family loves it!