The Best Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
This Homemade Spaghetti Sauce is so easy and delicious, you will never buy the jarred kind again! Try it and you will see why I call it the Best Ever!
For more delicious Dinner Recipes, be sure to check out my Mississippi Pot Roast, Slow Cooker Cilantro Lime Chicken Tacos, and Air Fryer Meatloaf.
This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe comes from my mother-in-law, and it is one that I have kept and used ever since she first made it for us.
I love that it is so easy to make, has a delicious rich flavor, and uses real ingredients.
It’s better than any jarred sauce you can find at the store, and there is always plenty left over to freeze for another meal or two in the future.
Ingredients for The Best Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
- lean ground beef
- onion
- green bell pepper
- garlic
- canned diced tomatoes
- tomato paste
- brown sugar
- Dried spices: oregano, basil, thyme, salt, bay leaf
- water or beef broth
How to Make Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Step 1: Cook meat and vegetables
In a dutch oven cook meat, onion, green pepper, and garlic until meat is browned and vegetables are tender. Drain off fat.
Step 2: Add tomatoes and spices
Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, oregano, salt, basil, thyme, and bay leaf.
Step 3: Simmer
Stir in the water or beef broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until sauce is of desired consistency, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf. Serve over hot cooked spaghetti.
Tips and Notes for Making The Best Spaghetti Sauce
- Try to use good quality tomatoes if you have access to them. My favorite brand of tomatoes is Tuttorosso tomatoes, Muir Glen, or Pomi tomatoes. I like the Pomi tomatoes because they come in a box rather than a can, which is nice if you’re looking to avoid BPA.
- Don’t skip the brown sugar. Adding a bit of sugar to your homemade spaghetti sauce helps to cut the natural acidity of the tomatoes and helps to balance the sauce.
- For an extra kick, add a sprinkling of red pepper flakes to your sauce. Only add this if you like some spice, though!
- Meat substitutions: you can replace the lean ground beef with ground turkey or pork sausage. You can also leave it out completely for a meatless, vegetarian spaghetti sauce.
- Let it simmer. I like to let my sauce simmer for at least an hour and a half, but longer is better (up to 2-3 hours.) The more time you allow your sauce to simmer, the richer the flavor will be. You can also transfer the sauce to a crockpot after preparing it on the stove and allow it to cook over low heat for a few hours. If your sauce is too thick after cooking, add a little more water to thin it out.
What to do with leftover spaghetti sauce
If you have leftover spaghetti sauce, here are a few ideas to help you put it to good use:
- Make baked meatballs and serve with leftover homemade spaghetti sauce, or turn them into meatball sandwiches.
- Use it for lasagna! We love zucchini lasagna and easy skillet lasagna for busy nights.
- Bake up some garlic bread and use the leftover spaghetti sauce as a dip.
- Stuff it into bell peppers and bake in the oven, or top cooked spaghetti squash with leftover sauce.
FAQs
Freshly made homemade spaghetti sauce will last for about 4-5 days when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Tomato paste acts as a flavor enhancer and also a thickener in the sauce. Also, your sauce will thicken as it simmers on the stove. If you’ve given your sauce plenty of time to simmer but would still prefer a thicker sauce, you can add a cornstarch slurry (1 part cornstarch to 1 part water whisked together; I’d start with 2 Tablespoons of each). Make sure to mix the slurry into your sauce very well to prevent any lumps.
Yes, and this homemade spaghetti sauce recipe makes enough to freeze leftovers for another meal. To freeze, allow the sauce to cool completely before transferring to a freezer safe container with a lid, or to freezer safe ziplock bags. If using ziplock bags, make sure to remove as much air as possible before sealing. Freeze for up to 6 months. Allow your frozen spaghetti sauce to thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating on the stove.
Not exactly. While both sauces are tomato based and slow-simmered to develop flavor, marinara sauce is meatless and includes fresh herbs and garlic. Spaghetti sauce usually contains a ground meat like beef, and also includes vegetables like onions, green pepper, mushrooms, etc.
More delicious Pasta Recipes You Should Try!
If you try this recipe, please leave a comment and rating below. I love to hear from you and always appreciate your feedback!
Recipe: The Best Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds ground beef or pork sausage
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 1 large green pepper, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes
- 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon dried basil
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cups water, or beef broth
Instructions
- In a dutch oven cook meat, onion, green pepper, and garlic until meat is browned and vegetables are tender. Drain off fat.
- Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, brown sugar, oregano, salt, basil, thyme, and bay leaf.
- Stir in the water or beef broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 ½ to 2 hours or until sauce is of desired consistency, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf. Serve over hot cooked spaghetti.
Notes
- Try to use good quality tomatoes if you have access to them. My favorite brand of tomatoes is Tuttorosso tomatoes, Muir Glen, or Pomi tomatoes. I like the Pomi tomatoes because they come in a box rather than a can, which is nice if you’re looking to avoid BPA.
- Don’t skip the brown sugar. Adding a bit of sugar to your homemade spaghetti sauce helps to cut the natural acidity of the tomatoes and helps to balance the sauce.
- For an extra kick, add a sprinkling of red pepper flakes to your sauce. Only add this if you like some spice, though!
- Meat substitutions: you can replace the lean ground beef with ground turkey or pork sausage. You can also leave it out completely for a meatless, vegetarian spaghetti sauce.
- Let it simmer. I like to let my sauce simmer for at least an hour and a half, but longer is better (up to 2-3 hours.) The more time you allow your sauce to simmer, the richer the flavor will be. You can also transfer the sauce to a crockpot after preparing it on the stove and allow it to cook over low heat for a few hours. If your sauce is too thick after cooking, add a little more water to thin it out.
Very good and simple sauce recipe. The recipe itself is very easy to make and flexible enough to add in certain variants. I definitely recommend the beef stock as opposed to water. I like to add 1 whole jalapeno and red pepper flakes just to give a hint of spice. Seed and dice the jalapeno and cook it with the rest of the vegetables. Add the red pepper flakes in with the rest of the seasoning. Just don’t add too much or you’ll overpower the sauce.
Can I use a red bell pepper instead?
Sure!
Have tired many homemade recipes for pasta sauce, this one I love!! Very easy to make, made a few changes with seasonings to kick up the taste but all in all , this is my go to pasta sauce from now on. Thanks sooo much.
Beef broth flavor a bit overpowering. It wouldn’t thicken enough. Cooked 2 hours.
Use chicken stock. That’s what we use . it takes a while but it will thicken. Worth the wait.
I had a similar problem but the issue I had is that I didn’t have the temp set to simmer high enough. I just kept it warm for 2 hours and it stayed a little too runny. Once I kept it bubbling, it reduced enough to thicken beautifully
I used sausage, fresh thyme and bay leaf, tons of garlic, and beef broth. It ended up simmering nearly 4 hours. It was so amazing!
Simple and tastes great.
Great recipe. I used sausage and added fresh basil. Other than that, followed recipe as written. Will be making this again, soon. Thanks for sharing.
So easy and so good!
I absolutely had to add bunch of mushrooms. Good stuff
Pretty bland. Hoping it tastes better tomorrow.
Maybe your bland
you’re.
Maybe you need grammar lessons.
Love the sass
Made this and my husband loved it!! Getting ready to make again this week for family and out of town family.. Thanks again for your recipe!!!!🤗🤗🤗
Excellent sauce!!! I used half ground beef and half sweet Italian sausage, the beef broth and added a tad more garlic. Cooked it for about 6 hours. Refrigerated it overnight and heated it up the next day. INCREDIBLE! It is now my go-to spaghetti sauce recipe! Thank you!
Is a dutch oven a must? I don’t currently have one and would be perfectly fine browning the meat/softening veggies in a deep skillet, then transferring everything to a big saucepot to simmer. Will I be sacrificing any taste this way?
No you don’t need the dutch oven. A large saucepan will work!
I keep chopped up peppers in my freezer, green, red, orange and celery and green onions to always add into my recipes. I buy fresh and then chop and mix in my freezer bag. This recipe is so good.
Can I do this without the brown sugar? I’m trying to avoid added sugar and was wondering if this effects the taste so much that I must include it?
You can leave it out!
Sometimes I do use the brown sugar but an old Italian woman told me peel a small raw potato and drop it in the sauce it will absorb all the acid it works much better than the brown sugar
Or add a carrot for sweetness
Add the peels or peel the entire potato then add it in?
The reason for using the sugar, is to cut the acidity from all the tomatoes. A few things you can do if you don’t want to use the sugar….You can sub or add shedded carrots to your meat. I would maybe sauté the carrots a bit first then add the meat. A sweet wine works well. Just don’t use as much water or broth. Or use honey instead of sugar. Taste as you go. Remember you can always add, never take away. 🙂 I hope some of this might help.
I’m sorry you can sub carrots for the green peppers or add also.
Rightly named. This is the best I’ve tasted! My husband loves spaghetti so much, and he’s approved this. It goes together quickly, after simmering, it’s perfect!
I made spaghetti for the kids this past weekend and this sauce is delicious! The step by step instructions were easy to follow. Thank you Ashlyn
Just made this tonight. Only changes I made were to add more garlic, and also to take the advice of a previous commenter to add in some balsamic. Absolutely lovely!
I added 1/8 cup balsamic vinegar, head of garlic 4 tablespoon of an Italian seasoning and a little red pepper flake. Both me and my wife thinks it’s the best sauce ever tasted. Not a restaurant, canned or jarred is better then this. I’m making meat ball sandwiches tomorrow and using this as the sauce. Its good for everything.