Spaghetti Sauce

Made with simple ingredients, this homemade Spaghetti Sauce recipe is an easy and delicious sauce that is perfect for a weeknight dinner. It's so flavorful!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 1 10

Total Time 1 20

Servings servings

Calories 215kcal

Author John Kanell

Equipment

Large skillet

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef (450g)
1 medium onion chopped
6 garlic cloves minced
2 (14.5-ounce/411g) cans diced tomatoes
1 (15-ounce/425g) can tomato sauce
1 (6-ounce/170g) can tomato paste
1 dried bay leaf
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Fresh basil leaves optional

Instructions

In a large deep skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add the ground beef and onions. Cook, stirring often, until the beef is browned and crumbly and the onion is tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Stir in the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, bay leaf, dried basil, dried oregano, sugar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. Bring to a simmer.
Reduce the heat to low, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 1 hour.
Remove and discard the bay leaf. Stir in chopped parsley and fresh basil, if desired. Serve over cooked spaghetti noodles, or let the sauce cool to room temperature before storing in an airtight container. The sauce will keep refrigerated for up to 5 days or frozen for up to 6 months.

Notes

Add stock or water after cooking to adjust the consistency if you prefer a looser sauce. If the sauce is not as thick as you prefer, you can keep simmering it.
If you do not have ground beef, you can swap the ground beef with ground turkey, chicken, or pork.
Don’t rush the simmering process! The more time the sauce simmers, the richer the flavor will be.
This homemade spaghetti sauce is the perfect consistency for coating pasta. It also makes for a great lasagna sauce!
If you are serving this spaghetti sauce with pasta immediately, let the pasta and the sauce cook together for a few minutes before serving for a more flavorful dish, as the pasta can absorb some of the sauce.
If you prefer the sauce to be less chunky, you can use crushed tomatoes instead of diced tomatoes.

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