Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

A bowl of spaghetti covered with meaty spaghetti sauce topped with basil and fresh Parmesan

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

This meaty sauce tastes like it simmered all day but cooks in under an hour.

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Comfort Food / Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Keyword: dinner, Italian, pasta, sauce

Servings:

Calories: 203kcal

Author: Tricia

Ingredients

1 pound 85% lean ground beef or a combination of ground beef and Italian sausage
1 tablespoon water + 1/2 cup divided
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil divided
1 large onion finely diced
3 cloves garlic minced
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
6 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon black pepper
28 ounce can crushed San Marzano tomatoes or tomato sauce
1 large sprig of fresh basil stems and leaves
salt and pepper to taste

For serving:

fresh basil leaves
Parmesan cheese
hot cooked spaghetti noodles or other pasta

Instructions

TIP: If serving with spaghetti or pasta, start heating a large pot of water until boiling. Reduce heat and keep warm until needed.
Mix 1 tablespoon water with ½ teaspoon baking soda in a small bowl. In a large bowl gently toss the ground beef with the baking soda water mixture and ½ teaspoon of salt until combined. Set aside.
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a Dutch oven or large skillet on medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the onion, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion starts to soften. Stir in the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and cook stirring constantly until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil and the tomato paste. Cook, stirring frequently, until the paste darkens in color and a fond starts to form on the bottom, about 3 to 5 minutes.
Add the beef and cook while breaking up any clumps with a wooden spoon until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Add the Italian seasoning, black pepper, and tomatoes with juice. Add ½ cup of water and stir until incorporated. Submerge the basil sprig into the sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.
While the sauce is simmering, cook the pasta al dente according to package directions and grate fresh Parmesan for serving.
Remove the wilted basil sprig and discard. Check the seasoning and add more salt if needed. Loosen or thin the sauce with about 1/4 cup hot pasta water, if needed, and serve over hot cooked spaghetti. Garnish with additional basil leaves and Parmesan.

Notes

Makes enough sauce to serve with one pound of pasta

Nutritional information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered as an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition