Easy homemade spaghetti sauce, using ingredients you probably already have in your pantry! This recipe is a family dinner staple!
Spaghetti Sauce
This spaghetti sauce recipe may be the first thing I learned to cook, completely by myself, when I was really young. As I got better at cooking and baking (and because I loved it so much) I can specifically remember two recipes my Mom would let me make all by myself: this homemade spaghetti sauce, and our family's favorite Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.
She'd be nearby for supervision, but it was a huge confidence boost for me to cook all on my own! And an even bigger confidence boost when my older brothers said they liked the food 🙂
This Homemade Spaghetti Sauce recipe has been a family staple for as long as I can remember. It's really simple and the flavors are fantastic.
This is one of those meals that always tastes amazing–and it's perfect for busy weeknights this time of year! Plus, there's no picky eater that would ever say no to spaghetti!
How to make homemade spaghetti sauce:
First brown the beef and onion. Chop the ground beef finely as you go. After it's browned I often like to add it to my food processor to pulse it once or twice so that it's finely crumbled. It makes the sauce extra smooth (although some people like their spaghettie sauce with larger peices of meat in it,)
Next, add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, seasonings, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar and bring the mixture to a simmer. Add water and simmer for 30 minutes or longer, to get more depth of flavor. The longer you simmer it, the more the flavors will blend together beautifully.
I use this sauce all the time in my Spaghetti Pie, Million Dollar Spaghetti, Slow Cooker Lasagna and Instant Pot Spaghetti.
Spaghetti sauce, marinara sauce and pizza sauce; what's the difference?
There is all sorts of confusion surrounding these terms, but spaghetti sauce, marinara sauce, and pizza sauce are usually all tomato based sauces. Marinara sauce, or pasta sauce is a slow-simmered sauce that is often made with tomatoes, garlic, and herbs. In America, we often refer to marinara as a meatless, tomato-based sauce.
Spaghetti sauce is essentially any sauce that you put on spaghetti. Traditional spaghetti sauce is often just a more complex marina sauce that has additional spices and may be made with meat, vegetables, cheese, etc.
Pizza sauce is typically uncooked and refers to any sauce you put on pizza. This sauce is usually simple, with few ingredients and is meant to cook with the pizza for added flavor.
Tips for making ahead and freezing spaghetti sauce:
This homemade spaghetti sauce can be easily made ahead of time. Store it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days or freeze it. Before freezing spaghetti sauce, allow the mixture to cool completely. Label a gallon freezer bag and fill it with the sauce. Store it on a flat surface so that it freezes into a flat shape that will store easily. Store it for up to 4-6 months. To use, place frozen sauce in a pot and reheat on the stove until warm.
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Recipe
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef (or ½ lb ground Italian sausage and ½ lb ground beef)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
- 1 medium onion , chopped
- 15 ounces tomato sauce
- 6 ounces tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- crushed red pepper flakes , to taste
- 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (optional)
- spaghetti noodles , for serving
Instructions
- Season ground beef with salt and pepper.
- In a large skillet, add the beef and chopped onion and brown. Drain excess grease.
- Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, parsley, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, worcestershire, and sugar to the skillet.
- Stir well to combine and bring to a boil. Add water and stir well.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add chopped basil before serving, if desired.
- This sauce tastes great in Spaghetti Pie, Million Dollar Spaghetti, Slow Cooker Lasagna and Instant Pot Spaghetti.
Notes
Nutrition
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Have you tried this recipe?!
RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.
*I originally shared this recipe in September 2015. Updated July 2018.
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I made this sauce for my lasagna. It was the best I’ve ever tasted! Loved it and will continue to make it.
This recipe is seriously delicious, having made sauce hundreds of times this one is a true keeper. I’ve made your recipe about 10 times and it never fails. Thank you
Thank you so much for this keeper of a recipe. I have been looking all over and attempted so many recipes for homemade spaghetti sauce and am so glad to have found ‘THE ONE!’ It is absolutely ‘fantabulous!’ And I love pressing the easy button too!
I’ve tried a number of homemade spaghetti sauces and this is my favorite of all! Thank you so much.
Holy moly!! This is seriously good!! I was nervous that the seasonings wasn’t enough but it packed enough punch!! Soooo yummy and I made a huge batch so I’m sure the flavors will start to deepen and develop over a couple of hours. Thanks for sharing your yummy recipe!!
Hello, if I added veggies to this sauce would it need some tweaking ?
Yes, veggies work great! Just cook them with the onions and garlic at the start.
Quick, easy, and so yummy!
Any suggestions for doubling it? cooking it longer or hotter temp?
Yes, you can definitely double it! Just keep it on low heat and simmer a little longer.
Love, love, love, so easy to make, and my husband loved it too. I will definitely use this recipe again.
LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!! Yummy in my family’s tummy!
Seriously lacking flavor.
Let me start of with saying I love your recipe. It reminds me of my great grandmother’s.
I have tweaked it some because we love veggies as well.
So, since I usually double or tripe your recipe, I do 4-6 tbsp of butter, 2-3 good sized carrots, 1-2 bell peppers and 16 oz of mushrooms and let those sweat before adding everything in your recipe.
I love doing this because I can can the rest of it and use it at a later date when I’m in a hurry. It cans beautifully!
WOW. This is exactly what I’ve been looking for…for years! Simple ingredients make for a balanced spaghetti sauce. I did not have worcestershire sauce on hand so I substituted 1:1 for balsamic vinegar, combined it with a splash of soy sauce, and pinch of brown sugar whisked in a small bowl. Internet said that adding the soy sauce and brown sugar should match up to flavor profile of worcestershire sauce. It turned out wonderful!! I found that draining all of the grease made the spaghetti a little dry. To fix, I will try leaving 2 tablespoons of grease. Also suggestion edit for those who are inexperienced in kitchen: Cook the ground beef a little bit FIRST, until meat has only a few red spots/ mostly light brown(about 5 mins)…THEN add the chopped onions. Onions cook faster than meat, dont want to burn them. After adding onions, cook for a few more minutes until meats is nice and brown AND when onions look shiny. Then you can proceed with adding rest of ingredients!
I have to say I love this recipe. I have married 2 Italians and yes, they all have their own way of cooking so I combined the recipes and came up with my own meat sauce. With that being said I found yours and loved it. I now use yours when I do meat sauce as it’s my favorite!! Thanks for getting out there and sharing
Hi Lauren,
Have you ever tried adding a splash of red wine to your spaghetti sauce? Thanks for sharing this mouthwatering recipe! Your tips are genius, especially using a food processor for a smoother sauce. I can’t wait to try it in your Spaghetti Pie and other dishes.
I’m sure that a splash of red wine would be delicious! We also have this bolognese recipe with white wine: https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/bolognese-ragu/. Thank you for being here and making the recipes!
Thank you for the fantastic suggestion! I’ll check out the bolognese recipe with white wine—it sounds delicious. I appreciate the warm welcome and am excited to try more of your amazing recipes!