Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

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This flavorful Homemade Spaghetti Sauce is a classic red sauce loaded with onions, garlic, and large chunks of beef and is free of added sugar. This sauce can be ready in as little as 20 minutes!

I love spaghetti sauce- my husband, not so much. I tried for years to find a sauce that he would like. The jarred sauces were just too sweet and too acidic.

Fast forward to a couple of months ago. I made some spaghetti from a few ingredients I had laying around in the pantry. He asked for a bite, and to my surprise, he finished it off! I finally found a sauce he likes! Cue the happy dance!

Quick and Easy Spaghetti Sauce

This is a quick and easy red sauce tastes better than what you can buy in the store with the added benefit of customizing it to your own taste. This spaghetti sauce is great because most of the ingredients can already be found in your pantry! This sauce is low sodium, free of added sugars, and can be made without onions or garlic. The choice is yours!

This recipe makes about 5 1/2 cups of Homemade Spaghetti Sauce.

What’s the Difference between Spaghetti Sauce and Marinara?

The ingredients for both spaghetti sauce and marinara are relatively the same. The biggest difference is that spaghetti sauce often uses some type of meat. Spaghetti sauce often takes more time to make, because the meat needs to be cooked and the sauce needs time to simmer. Marinara makes a great replacement if you’re short on ingredients or time!

Additionally, you could leave out the meat (and onions and garlic if you want), and voila, you have marinara!

Uses for Red Pasta Sauce

My favorite way to eat this sauce is with a loaf of toasted, buttery french bread (because who doesn’t love carbs). This recipe makes a great sauce and it also works as a great dip!

This spaghetti sauce can be used for a variety of dishes, such as:

• Spaghetti, of course!
• Mom’s Lasagna
• Eggplant parmesan
• Zucchini boats
• Omit the ground hamburger meat and use it as a chunky marinara sauce for Baked Zucchini Bites or Bacon & Cheese Garlic Breadsticks

Ingredients Needed for Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

This recipe only needs 9 ingredients, and that’s including the spices!

• Ground hamburger meat
• Crushed tomatoes
• Tomato sauce
• Yellow onion
• Garlic
• Italian seasoning
• Salt
• Pepper
• Oil

About the Ground Hamburger Meat

For this recipe, I use a 90/10 ground hamburger. If you use higher fat hamburger meat, you might want to drain some of the fat off. I use 90/10 because it isn’t overly greasy, so I don’t have to drain it and it gives this sauce a little extra flavor!

About the Crushed Tomatoes

I have always been a huge fan of using Dei Fratelli canned tomatoes, especially when it’s not tomato season! This brand has always tasted the freshest and isn’t overly acidic, so this sauce won’t even need sugar! Any brand of crushed tomatoes will work, just be aware of the salt content!

Salt Content

If no additional salt is added, this will make for a great low-sodium spaghetti sauce. This recipe uses “No Salt Added” crushed tomatoes so the salt content may need to be adjusted. If you choose to use a full-flavor can of crushed tomatoes, be sure to taste the sauce before adding the additional salt.

About the Garlic

The garlic cloves can be substituted with minced garlic – 1/2 a teaspoon of minced garlic for each clove. If you don’t have garlic cloves or minced garlic, 1/8 of a teaspoon of garlic powder can be substituted for each clove.

How to Make Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Start this recipe by heating up some olive oil in a stockpot (I love using my Dutch oven!) and brown the ground beef. Drain the beef if necessary, but leave a couple of tablespoons of the fat in the beef.

Next, stir in the diced onion and minced garlic, and cook for about 5 minutes.

Add in the seasonings, crushed tomatoes, and tomato sauce. Note: If you’re using salted crushed tomatoes, taste the sauce before adding salt to see if you need additional salt.

Finally, heat the sauce until it boils. For best taste, I recommend letting it simmer for at least 30 minutes so the flavors have time to meld together.

Don’t want to wait? That’s okay, serve it up when the sauce is hot and bubbly!

Recipe Variations

You can add in:

• 8-ounces of sliced mushrooms (mini portobellas are our favorite!)
• One diced bell pepper (red bell peppers make a great addition!)
• One or two tablespoons of heavy whipping cream for a creamier version (or if the sauce is too acidic)
• Red pepper flakes to give it a kick!

How to Double This Recipe

Easily double this recipe to make a large batch of Spaghetti Sauce! Use the ingredients listed below and follow the instructions in the recipe card.

• 2 pounds of ground beef
• 2 28-ounce cans of crushed tomatoes
• 1 29-ounce can of tomato sauce, or 2 15-ounce cans
• 6 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 diced yellow onions
• 3 teaspoons of Italian seasoning
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 1 teaspoon of pepper
• 1 tablespoon of oil

How to Store and Reheat Homemade Pasta Sauce

Refrigerator: You can store this sauce in an airtight container for up to five days.

Freezer: This sauce can be stored for up to three months.

Thaw: Thaw frozen spaghetti sauce in the refrigerator, place it in cold water, or defrost in the microwave.

Reheat: Reheat spaghetti sauce on the stovetop or in the microwave.

*Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary based on ingredients used and cooking methods.

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