This easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce is filled with ground beef, tomatoes, onions, garlic, green peppers and spices. Made from scratch, it’s one of the best pasta sauce recipes that everyone loves.
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Growing up, we had spaghetti at least once a week. I’m not even kidding. My mom would always make her spaghetti sauce from scratch. She said it just tastes better and I wholeheartedly agree. It really does.
Don’t get me wrong – somedays I will pop open a jar of pasta sauce when I’m short on time.
My Homemade Spaghetti Sauce takes about one hour and 20 minutes to make so it’s not too crazy. It’s worth the few extra minutes of simmering though, in my opinion. It really blends those yummy flavors
I like my spaghetti sauce with meat, but you could leave it out if you are vegetarian. I use ground beef, but Italian sausage could be substituted if you prefer.
Simple to make and delicious to eat, this homemade pasta sauce recipe is exactly what you need when you want a home-cooked meal.
Ingredients
For this recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients.
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Lean ground beef
- Onion
- Garlic
- Green pepper
- Mushrooms
- Bay leaf
- Oregano
- Italian seasoning
- Tomato paste
- Crushed tomatoes
- Tomato sauce
- Salt
- Pepper
- Sugar
- Fresh parsley (optional)
Ingredient Substitutions
- Ground beef – Try Italian sausage (spicy if you want an extra kick!) or ground turkey or chicken.
- Crushed tomatoes – I used a can of crushed tomatoes in this recipe, but you could use a can of diced tomatoes if you prefer. The sauce will be less “smooth”. I’m not a big fan of the chunks so I typically used crushed tomatoes.
- Green pepper – I add one in because that is what my mom always did, but you could leave it out. Alternatively, you could add a red pepper instead.
How to Make
- Add extra virgin olive oil to a large pot. Add ground beef, onions, garlic, green peppers and mushrooms. Cook over medium heat until beef is browned and vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in tomato paste, tomato sauce, crushed tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar, bay leaf, oregano and Italian seasoning.
- Reduce heat to low. Cover. Simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
- Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve with cooked spaghetti noodles or your favorite cooked pasta. Top with fresh parsley, if desired.
Recommended Kitchen Tools
This post contains affiliate links.
- Garlic press – A must-have! It makes mincing garlic so easy. No more smelly garlic fingers.
- Large pot – This recipe yields about 10 servings so the bigger, the better.
- Onion chopper – If onions make you cry, this is the product for you. It’s also a time-saver and your onions will be chopped up in much less time as the conventional cutting board method.
How to Take Out the Bitterness
Tomatoes are very acidic which can make them bitter. To combat the bitterness, use the tablespoon of sugar in your sauce. Don’t worry – it will not taste sweet!
If you want to omit the sugar, you could try adding some sweet vegetables to the sauce instead. Try shredded carrots or diced sweet red pepper.
I’ve also seen people use baking soda to neutralize the acidity. Add about 1/4 teaspoon to your sauce and let it cook.
How to Get a Richer Taste
I never have wine, but I know friends who add red wine to their sauce to give it a richer flavor. Add the wine after the vegetables have softened so it has time to burn off the alcohol.
You could also add a small amount of extra virgin olive in your sauce to take it up a notch.
Butter is another option. Just before serving add a pat of butter in and whisk to combine.
How to Store
- In the fridge: Store your spaghetti sauce in covered containers for up to three days in the fridge. I heat it in the microwave to serve.
- In the freezer: Spaghetti sauce freezes really well. Place the sauce in freezer safe containers or freezer bags and freeze up to three months for best results.
The Difference between Marinara Sauce vs. Spaghetti Sauce
Both are delicious and are similar! Marinara Sauce is a more basic tomato sauce with fewer ingredients. It typically has tomatoes, onions, garlic and seasonings.
On the other hand, Spaghetti Sauce includes meat and more vegetables. It’s meatier and a more dense sauce.
How to Make Keto
To make this recipe keto-friendly, you will want to replace or omit the sugar. I don’t mind the taste without the sugar, but if you don’t like the extra acidity, you could substitute a sugar replacement like stevia in its place.
Instead of spaghetti noodles, serve with cooked zucchini noodles aka zoodles.
What to Serve with Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
- Seafood Caesar Salad
- Green Bean & Tomato Salad
- Air Fryer Mozzarella Balls
- Easy Garlic Twists
- Easy Cheesy Garlic Biscuits
- Garlic Bread
More Spaghetti Recipes
- One-Pan Spaghetti
- Spaghetti Casserole
- Spaghetti Bake
- Spaghetti Pie
- Mexican Spaghetti
What is your favorite spaghetti sauce recipe? I’m always looking for more recipes to try! Follow me on Instagram on Facebook at Simply Stacie, and on Pinterest and let me know how you liked this and my other recipes!
