Description
This homemade spaghetti sauce is a rich and flavorful Italian classic made with crushed tomatoes, aromatic herbs, and optional ground meat. Perfect for serving over your favorite pasta, this sauce can be customized to be vegetarian or enhanced by slow simmering to deepen the flavors. It offers a delicious and comforting meal that can also be prepared in advance and frozen for convenience.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound ground beef or Italian sausage (optional)
- 1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley or 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1/2 cup water, as needed
- Freshly grated Parmesan cheese (for serving, optional)
Instructions
- Sauté Onion and Garlic: Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the finely chopped onion and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Stir in minced garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until fragrant.
- Cook Meat (Optional): If using ground beef or Italian sausage, add it to the pan now. Break it up with a spoon and cook until browned and fully cooked through. Drain any excess fat if necessary to keep the sauce from becoming greasy.
- Add Tomatoes and Seasonings: Stir in the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes if using, dried oregano, dried basil, dried thyme, and the bay leaf. Mix thoroughly to combine all ingredients.
- Adjust Consistency and Simmer: Add water as needed to achieve your preferred sauce consistency. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat to low. Partially cover the saucepan and let the sauce simmer for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking and to develop deeper flavors.
- Finish and Serve: Stir in the fresh chopped parsley towards the end of cooking and remove the bay leaf. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning if needed. Serve the sauce hot over cooked spaghetti noodles and top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese if desired.
Notes
- To make this sauce vegetarian, simply omit the ground meat and follow the rest of the recipe as is.
- For deeper flavor, simmer the sauce longer—up to 1.5 hours—stirring occasionally.
- This sauce can be made ahead of time and frozen in portions for quick and convenient meals later.
- If gluten-free pasta is used, the sauce is gluten-free.
