Homemade Spaghetti Sauce With Ground Beef Recipe
Once you have this delicious spaghetti sauce or meat sauce (whatever you call it in your home) simmering away on your stove for a few hours, everyone in the house will be eager for dinner.
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I’m sure there will be many who read this and say “This spaghetti sauce is not Italian!” And they will be right. My homemade spaghetti sauce (meat sauce) is not even Italian-American. Neither am I. I didn’t have a Nonna whose side I stood by as a child watching her chop the veggies and gently stir the pot. But my sauce is homemade and delicious.
This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is inspired by many that I’ve read and many that I’ve eaten. Pasta is comfort food for me and probably for you or you wouldn’t be reading the recipe.
I love a good Bolognese sauce and will order it in nearly any restaurant and in any city. My sauce is not a bolognese but I do take inspiration from this as well. I’ve developed the flavor of my spaghetti sauce by making small changes over the years to tailor it to my family’s taste.
If you are looking for the best meat sauce for your next spaghetti night, read on!
The Ingredients You Need To Make Spaghetti Sauce With Ground Beef
I use a combination of ground beef and ground pork in my sauce. You could sub out the ground pork for Italian sausage, depending on your taste. Note, that this recipe does not call for tomato paste.
- Ground Beef, I choose the leanest available
- Ground Pork
- Tomato Sauce, low sodium if available
- Diced Canned Tomatoes, Or Crushed Tomatoes
- Mushrooms (chopped), white or crimini (my preferred)
- Onion (large, chopped)
- Garlic (diced)
- Red Wine (optional)
- Marjoram
- Oregano
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Olive Oil
How The Spaghetti Sauce Comes Together
First Prep The Aromatics
- Put Olive Oil in a large pot on the back burner and turn the heat to med-low
- Chop the onions and mushrooms and add them to the stock pot to begin to caramelize.
- Dice the garlic and set aside
Next Brown The Ground Meat
- In a large skillet on medium-high heat brown the ground beef first, when the meat is browned, remove it from the skillet with a slotted spoon (leaving any fat behind) and add it to the stock pot with the onions and mushrooms.
- Next using the same skillet, brown the ground pork (using the beef fat for flavor and to prevent the pork from sticking to your pan). Ground pork is usually very lean. When the meat is browned, remove it from the skillet with a slotted spoon (again, leaving any fat behind) and add it to the stock pot that now contains the onions, mushrooms, and ground beef.
Add Remaining Ingredients
- Add the garlic to the meat, onion, and mushroom mixture. Stir well and cook for 3 – 4 minutes.
- Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and wine (if using)
- Add marjoram and oregano.
- Taste the sauce at this point, before adding salt & pepper
- Depending on your taste, add salt and pepper as needed
- Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to a low simmer, cover the stock pot, and cook until sauce reduces and thickens (generally 3 – 4 hours)
Vickie De's Spaghetti Sauce
Some people call it sauce, some people call it gravy. My sauce is inspired by Italian flavors and my husbands love of meat.
Ingredients
- 16 ounces Ground Beef, I choose the leanest available
- 20 ounces Ground Pork
- 8 cups Tomato Sauce, low sodium if available
- 28 ounces Diced Tomatoes, 1 - 28 ounce can
- 1 Lb Mushrooms (chopped), white or crimini
- 1 Onion (large, chopped)
- 5 cloves Garlic (diced)
- 1 cup Red Wine, optional
- 1 tbsp Marjoram , if using dried herbs you may want to increase amount
- 1 tbsp Oregano
- Salt & Pepper , to taste
- 2 tbsp Olive Oil
Instructions
Prep the Aromatics
- Put Olive Oil in stock pot on back burner and turn heat to med-low
- Chop the onions and mushrooms and add them to stock pot to begin to caramelize.
- Dice the garlic and set aside
Brown the ground meat
- In the 12 inch frying pan brown the ground beef first, when the meat is browned, remove it from the skillet with a slotted spoon (leaving any fat behind) and add it to the stock pot with the onions and mushrooms.
- Next using the same skillet, brown the ground pork (using the beef fat for flavor and to prevent the pork from sticking to your pan). Ground pork is usually very lean. When the meat is browned, remove t-it from the skillet with a slotted spoon (again, leaving any fat behind) and add it to the stock pot that now contains the onions, mushrooms and ground beef.
Add Remaining Ingredients
- Add the garlic to the meat, onion and mushroom mixture. Stir well and cook for 3 - 4 minutes.
- Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, and wine (if using)
- Add marjoram and oregano.
- Taste the sauce at this point, before adding salt & pepper
- Depending on your taste, add salt and pepper as needed
- Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat to low, cover the stock pot and cook until sauce reduces and thickens (generally 3 - 4 hours)
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12Serving Size:
1 gramsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 363Total Fat: 24gSaturated Fat: 8gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 1018mgCarbohydrates: 15gFiber: 4gSugar: 10gProtein: 22g
How To Serve Your Spaghetti Sauce
Most people love their spaghetti sauce served over typical spaghetti noodles or another favorite pasta. Sprinkle the dish with parmesan cheese and garnish with fresh parsley or fresh basil for added flavor. Add some garlic bread to soak up any sauce that gets away.
If you are looking to reduce your carbs or increase your veggie intake, using spaghetti squash instead of noodles is a great way to go.
You can also use this homemade sauce to make a lasagne or another baked pasta dish.
I Just Call it Meat Sauce, and it’s All Homemade.
I enjoy making this sauce on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon (especially if the weather is not agreeable). While it’s just me and the hubby at home these days, I still end up making this double batch of sauce.
That’s not bad news, because this sauce stores well in freezer-safe containers. This way you don’t need to run to the grocery store for a jar of sauce on those weeknights when cooking is very low on your list. There is always a hearty meat sauce in the freezer ready for dinner.
If you enjoy this homemade spaghetti meat sauce recipe and are looking for more creative ways to use ground meat, check out my recipe for Larb, the Southeast Asian lettuce taco!
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