Making spaghetti sauce from scratch is quick and easy with only one pot to clean.
This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe has ground beef, Italian sausage, two kinds of tomatoes and savory seasonings for the perfect sauce.
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Holly’s Recipe Highlights
- Flavor: Simmered tomato richness with layers of garlic, onion, and Italian herbs – this recipe is balanced and hearty.
- Skill Level: This beginner-friendly recipe is made all in one pot. Cook the meat, add the rest, and simmer. It’s so quick and delicious.
- Prep Note: Make a double batch and freeze for future recipes.
- Swaps: This flexible recipe works well with ground beef, ground turkey, or other ground meats.
- Recommended Tools: A meat chopper will make breaking up the beef and pork a cinch.
Ingredient Tips for Spaghetti Sauce
- Meat: I use ground beef for meaty goodness and Italian sausage flavor.
- Tomatoes: Diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and tomato paste are the trifecta of a perfect sauce texture.
- Seasonings: Use Italian seasoning or try this DIY Italian seasoning. This recipe is seasoned with dried basil and garnished with fresh herbs like parsley.
- Vegetables: A carrot is added to balance the acidic tomatoes, but chopped red bell pepper or a pinch of sugar will do the job just as well.
- Saucy Extras: Sauteed mushrooms and onions will add even more depth of flavor and texture to homemade spaghetti sauce. Even the kids won’t mind a bag of mixed veggies tossed in; once the spaghetti is sauced, they’ll dig right in!
Holly’s Tips for Success
- For an extra-thick sauce, simmer with the lid off the pot.
- Chop the meat while it’s cooking so the pieces are smaller for a little bit of meaty goodness in every bite.
- Spaghetti sauce is multi-purpose! Add it to pasta, lasagna, French bread pizzas, or baked spaghetti squash.
More Favorite Pasta Sauces
Did you enjoy this Homemade Spaghetti Sauce? Leave a comment and rating below.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 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 shredded carrot or a pinch of sugar
- 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or fresh basil (optional)
Instructions
- 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.
- Add diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, carrot, Italian seasoning, basil, salt, and pepper.
- Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or until thickened.
- Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Stir in fresh parsley if using.
- Serve over spaghetti or cooked pasta.
Notes
Carrot: Shredded carrots balance the tart flavor of the tomatoes. Carrot can be replaced with ½ finely diced red bell pepper or a small pinch of sugar.
Meat: If substituting Italian sausage for another ground meat such as ground beef or pork, increase the Italian seasoning to 2 teaspoons and add ½ teaspoon oregano and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
Consistency: To thicken this homemade spaghetti sauce further, simmer uncovered.
Pasta: Do not rinse the spaghetti after draining or add butter or oil to the pasta. The starches in the pasta will help the sauce to cling to the noodles.
Freezing: Spaghetti sauce can be kept in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days and in the freezer for up to 4 months.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 251 | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 691mg | Potassium: 1003mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 1327IU | Vitamin C: 25mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 5mg
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.
Awesome! Used ground turkey instead of beef, plus the sausage. One cup of water works great, trust Holly! :)
Hi Holly, I don’t have passata or tomato sauce on hand. Could I substitute jarred spaghetti sauce? I do have the diced tomatoes.
Sure you can! That’ll work perfectly.
Have made similar for years… but I put a whole carrot in and then take out and discard when ready to serve….I make up a big batch and freeze…
Can this be done in the crockpot? How long?
To make it in the crockpot, I follow this recipe. Enjoy Janet!
I’ve been making the same old sauce recipe I found when I first got married. This one looks similar but much easier to prepare. I’m anxious to try it.
We would love to hear how it turns out for you, Nancy!
is it necessary to add the one cup of water
The water allows the sauce to simmer (which helps the flavors blend) without thickening too much.
No, it’s not. There is plenty of water in the tomatoes. This is how my mother used to make her spaghetti sauce. She never added water. This is how I make my sauce, when I do it from scratch. I don’t bother doing that though any more. Jarred Ragu is my base that I add hamburger/italian sausage too and if I’m feeling up to it, I’ll jazz it up by adding more garlic, diced onion, italian seasoning, basil and a splash of red wine. But truthfully, we like the jarred Ragu roasted garlic and parmesan combos that I often don’t.
There are many ways to make Spaghetti Sauce (and this is my favorite). Your version sound good too, thanks for sharing.
I cant wait to try thes resrespis thank you for sharing your resepis I am a firefighter in a smal town scaly mountain nc
Happy to share them with you Thomas!
I have been growing my own herbs/spices for yrs & I have fallen on love with Purple Basil. I use it now in everything. It adds just a bit of earthy flavor to things & this sauce recipe is no different. It gives it just a touch or sweet earthy flavor.
We will have to try it Sharon! Thanks for the suggestion :)
Hey there I’m just trying to find out how I can make my own spaghetti sauce
Hi Amelia, this recipe is a delicious homemade spaghetti sauce. You can scroll to the bottom or use the jump to recipe button at the top to view the whole recipe.
need 2 or 3 Bay leaves and sugar
Oh my! This is exactly my husbands recipe he used to make! He didn’t cook much, but he would make this & was always a favorite of ours. Believe me – it’s wonderful!!! Love it!
How do I purchase this?
You’re too sweet Ann! You will have to try whipping up a batch of this delicious sauce!
I noticed some greens on the top, is any of the seasoning supposed to be applied after it’s done?
Hi Nick, we garnished it with fresh chopped parsley but that is totally optional.
I’m shocked that your telling everyone they can eat a spaghetti sauce with meat in it for two weeks!! It only lasts 3 days in the refrigerator!!!
Thank you for pointing that out, that was definitely a typo and the post has been updated.
Hi Holly
This recipe makes 8 servings, how many cups is in this 8 servings.
Each serving will be approximately 1½ cups. Enjoy Jackie!
Can fresh can tomatos be used? If so how. I can a lot of tomatos. Thanks
I have only made this as written so I can’t say for sure how to substitute fresh tomatoes. If you have home-canned tomatoes, they should work perfectly in this recipe. Enjoy Robin!
Hi Robin, while I haven’t made this specific recipe but plan to. It’s really close to how I make homemade Italian meat sauce. Usually just wing it. I use fresh tomatoes when I have a ton in the garden. I put in more than what the cans hold as they will cook down and alot of the juice will evaporate. So there would be no need to add water and the sauce would have to simmer longer to reduce to a thicker sauce. But the results are amazing because all the flavor is infused in the process. As a matter of fact I purposley can my tomato sauce on the thin side so I can let it simmer longer when I use it it applications like this. You can always taste as you go in case it needs more seasonings. Dorie
If I want to replace the diced tomatoes with crushed tomatoes, do I add 2 28oz cans crushed tomatoes or would I need less crushed tomatoes?
If you prefer a smoother sauce, you can use all crushed tomatoes and simmer a bit longer so the sauce isn’t too thin.
This spaghetti sauce is SO delicious! We used spicy Italian sausage which gave it a tiny bit of a kick. This is the perfect meat sauce and was so easy to make. I’m glad it made so much so I can have leftovers all week long!!! SWP Employee
So glad you loved it Ayla!
The 1st sentence in the instructions cannot be right. I get it but just a FYI. I am going to try it. Sounds yummy!
Instructions
Cook sauce, beef, onion and garlic in a skillet until no pink remains.
Thank you for letting me know, it should say sausage, not sauce. I’ve updated the recipe!
I also make your sauce, but I add about half of cup of semi sweet red wine instead of carrots. I also add a cup of portobello mushrooms sliced.
Sounds delicious, thank you for sharing!
How about cooking this in the instant pot? Do you have the time for this if cooked in it?
I haven’t cooked this recipe in the IP yet. Let us know how it goes if you try it!
It’s doable but seems pointless to pressure cook it as it would take more time for the pot to come to pressure and would prevent the sauce from cooking down and allowing it to evaporate slightly.