Spaghetti Meat Sauce Recipe

I’m gonna show you how to make my favorite spaghetti meat sauce. This is freezer-friendly, great for meal prep. The kids love it.

Why You’ll Love This

It is such a go-to and it’s so easy. It is a total family favorite. My husband loves it. My kids love it. Freezes well, keeps well. It’s just one of those go-to recipes that’s perfect for like busy weeknights, the busy back to school season. You guys are going to love it and it tastes amazing. Super easy.

Ingredients

• 1 medium yellow onion
• 4 large cloves of garlic
• 80/20 ground beef (or a combination of beef and Italian sausage)
• Oil
• Salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• Dried oregano
• Basil
• Crushed tomatoes
• Tomato sauce
• Sugar
• Pasta (spaghetti or other noodles)
• Fresh basil
• Cheese

Spoken Moment

Oh, nope, there it goes. Hold on, it’s rolling. That did not work. – All bruised. – Aw.

– It’s the onion tears. – I want my mom. – It’s not that bad.

Oh my goodness, this is so yummy. Are you gonna share or what? What is happening? Okay, okay. I’m reading the body language. There’s no room here. Okay, fine, you can take it. Just take it. Okay. Okay, she’s backing away slowly. Well, there goes our taste test. It’s always an adventure.

Instructions

1. Finely chop up one medium yellow onion. Start by cutting it in half, peel back the top layer, cut off the stem end, and leave the root end intact. Slice horizontally with the grain of the onion, then turn it and cut the other way.
2. Mince up four large cloves of garlic. Chop off one end, smash it with the side of your knife, and those skins will slide right off.
3. Add oil to a large pot over medium-high heat.
4. Add your ground beef and break it up with a spatula.
5. Season your beef with salt and some freshly cracked black pepper.
6. Continue to cook that for another five minutes, breaking it up with your spatula.
7. Add your chopped onion. Saute that for another five minutes, until your onion is softened.
8. Add your garlic and stir for another 30 seconds.
9. Squeeze in a tablespoon of tomato paste.
10. Stir that in for another minute to develop the flavor and coat everything.
11. Stir in your dried oregano and basil.
12. Pour in your crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce.
13. Add just a little bit of sugar.
14. Bring that to a uniform boil while stirring.
15. Reduce the heat to a simmer.
16. Cover and let that simmer for about 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
17. About 15 minutes before the sauce is done cooking, start your pasta. Boil that in some generously salted water, according to the package instructions, or until the noodles are al dente.
18. When the sauce is done simmering and has thickened up nicely, usually add another half a teaspoon of salt.
19. Get some pasta.
20. Keep spoonfuls over your pasta.
21. Have our taste tester come out here and help us with the toppings.
22. Add a lot of cheese right over the meat sauce.
23. Get a little bit of fresh basil ready. Add a little bit of fresh basil for garnish on top. You can chop it. You can tear it. You can add whole leaves.
24. Add this meat sauce right into the full pot if you’re gonna eat it all at once.
25. Toss it all together.

Cooking Tips

Keeping the root end intact helps hold together the onion so it doesn’t fall apart while you’re chopping it.

You want the beef to be fully cooked through.

Add just a little bit of sugar. It helps to balance the acidity.

You wanna make sure it’s boiling evenly.

If you plan it right, the noodles and the sauce will be done at the same time.

The beauty of this is you can let it sit at like a very low simmer to keep it hot for a while. So it’s a little bit make ahead. It totally reheats well.

If you’re not gonna use all the meat sauce at once, don’t toss it with the pasta until you’re ready to serve. The noodles will keep much better that way.

Usually, like if you’re being fancy, you’re gonna have a tablespoon and you wrap it around a tablespoon. It’s easier.

Don’t get it on your clothes. That’s the danger with this dish.

Serving Suggestions

Our meat sauce is ready and we’ve timed it so that our pasta is ready at the same time. It’s time to put this together and enjoy it.

I cannot wait because my kitchen smells like an Italiano kitchen. It just smells so good.

Ooh, still hot and steamy. That’s how I like it.

You can add more beef if you want it more protein.

You can also do like equal parts of ground beef and Italian sausage for a little bit different flavor profile.

I’m using spaghetti, keeping it traditional, you know, spaghetti sauce after all. But you can use different kinds of noodles, whatever you have on hand. Just be generous. That’s the only rule.

We’re gonna be generous with this pasta.

It is so hearty. I love that it’s such an amazing source of protein.

I hope you guys totally love this recipe. My husband loves it.