Mom’s Spaghetti Sauce Recipe (Meat Sauce)

There is no recipe in my book more nostalgic that our spaghetti sauce recipe. It was the first recipe I learned from my mom which makes it special, but it is also downright delicious and scales up nicely for groups. So dive into this very easy, shortcut way to a delicious spaghetti dinner.

Are you sure this is Spaghetti Sauce?

I had to research a bit as I wrote this, and I always call this sauce by the wrong technical term. This is technically a meat sauce since there’s ground beef in it. However, it’s the only sauce I like on spaghetti, so I call it spaghetti sauce. It starts with a pre-made spaghetti sauce base, and we layer in extra flavor to magnify the yumminess. If you want to call it a meat sauce and put it on other stuff, go right ahead!

Ingredients & Equipment

Ingredients

My favorite part of this meat sauce recipe is that it uses all of the containers that it opens. No more wondering how to store the remaining 4 oz of tomato paste…

• Yellow Onion– I use a sweet onion for nearly everything, so that’s what I go with. We are going to cook it until nice and brown, which means a nice sweet flavor for the base. Hit it with soy sauce nearly the end for a nice caramelization, you won’t regret it.
• Garlic– I use the garlic in a jar because I’m lazy and impatient. We add it in two phases; one for fragrance which is added with the onions, and the other added near the end to give the sauce a garlic undertone as well.
• Ground Beef– I use one pound when I make this recipe, but you can scale it up or down to your preference. At a pound, the ground beef reminds you that this sauce isn’t just 4 different layers of tomato, which is nice.
• 28 oz Jar Spaghetti Sauce (Prego-Traditional)– This is the bulk of the sauce and totally cheating. If you can make a spaghetti sauce better than Prego, go for it, I can’t. If you have a different brand preference, go for it.
• 6 oz Tomato Paste– Exactly 1 tiny can of tomato paste. Adds a tasty, sweet layer of tomato to the sauce and thickens it a bit.
• 28 oz Diced Tomato– While the two previous sauces added pureed goodness, the diced tomatoes add a layer of chewiness to this meat sauce that has nothing to do with meat. It really ups the ante on the mouthfeel.
• Brown Sugar or Molasses– Add a hint of sweetness to counter the spice from the upcoming pepper flakes. Molasses instead of sugar would add the complexity without all of the sweetness of straight sugar, which I will try next time I make this.
• Red Pepper Flakes– Adds spice and battles the inherent sweetness of the sauce. 1/4 tsp is almost unnoticeable. 1/2 tsp to 1 tsp should add some definite interest to the sauce.

Equipment

For a single preparation of this, my 3qt. Calphalon Saute Pan works beautifully to prepare this meat sauce. I use a big saucepan for cooking the noodles. If I had to scale it up, I would use a dutch oven for the meat sauce and a big stockpot for the noodles. Other than that, just a strainer for the noodles.

As a word of caution, use the strainer for the noodles. You can technically use the lid of the pot your cooking in hold the noodles in and drain the water, however, the chances of dropping all of the noodles down the drain are there… I have done this since I was being lazy, and my kids learned some new words as I tried to salvage our dinner from the sink…

Preparation

Making the Spaghetti Sauce

The first step in making the sauce is browning the onions. Toss the diced onions in first and get them nice and translucent. Then toss in the first round of garlic. Do not burn the garlic, just sizzle it a bit to let it smell up the room. Then toss in the ground beef.

Brown the beef and drain off the excess fat. Set it aside if you wish to cook with it later. It makes a delicious cooking fat since it has the onion/garlic taste in it.

Toss in the rest of the ingredients (excluding the basil), stirring as you go. The second garlic addition goes in now. Ill explain that in a bit. Stir everything together and set it to simmering. It’ll seem a watery but itll thicken as it simmers.

After the simmer is finished and you are ready to serve, since in the chopped basil. This adds a layer of brightness to the sauce, but cooked basil as less awesome. (The pictures have no basil, I didnt have any on hand.)

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Adjusting the Flavor

This sauce comes out sweet, especially if you don’t add much spice, which is not an option in my house currently. So here are some recommendations:

• Add Heat: Stir in red pepper flakes 1/2t at a time until the desired heat level is achieved. Simmer for 5 minutes since the spiciness extracts from the flakes over time.
• Add sweetness: Sugar, brown sugar, or molasses are my go-to sweeteners for this sauce. I would say 1T at a time and stir in between.

Time for Noodles

I am not going to explain how to make noodles. It’s right there on the box. Basically, make the noodles and strain them. Then, I add some butter or olive oil to them to keep them from sticking to each other. It works wonders if you made your noodles to early, and doubles as a tasty snack for kids who only want noodles.

And that’s it. Since it’s one of my favorite recipes, please let me know if you try it out and if you enjoyed it!