Savory Spaghetti Sauce
This family recipe for savory spaghetti sauce puts a Southern spin on classic Italian meat sauce. You’ll make an irresistibly savory sauce with ground beef, fresh vegetables, aromatic dried herbs, and a short list of pantry items. Perfect for pasta, spaghetti squash, zoodles, and more!
So you’d like to make spaghetti sauce from scratch but are unsure where to start? I can help! These step-by-step instructions will teach you to make my mother-in-law’s DELICIOUS spaghetti sauce, a thick, meaty red sauce made with healthy ingredients and lots of savory flavors.
This sauce simmers low and slow and freezes excellently, so I typically double or triple the recipe to keep portioned in the freezer to speed things up on spaghetti night. This isn’t your traditional Italian gravy but a savory Southern spin the whole family will love.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- You’ll make a mouthwatering meat sauce from scratch.
- It’s easy and great for beginners.
- It freezes well, making weeknight spaghetti dinners a cinch.
- Deceptively nutritious (plenty of veggies snuck into the sauce)!
- Dairy-free, low-carb, and modifications for Whole30.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Extra virgin olive oil – As a rule of thumb with homemade sauce, always start with a quality EVOO.
- Ground beef – I use 92% lean ground beef, but meat with more fat is fine (and tends to be more flavorful). You’ll have more fat to drain from the pan.
- Green bell pepper – Green is the most savory of the bell pepper colors. Feel free to use yellow, orange, or red for a slightly sweeter sauce.
- Onion – You can use any onion here—yellow, white, or red onion.
- Celery & Garlic – Another layer of savory flavors. Feel free to go heavier on the garlic.
- Pantry basics – You’ll need tomato paste, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes -all canned items you might already have.
- Sugar – Sugar is the secret to cutting out excess bitter acidity from the tomatoes and veggies and making dairy-free spaghetti sauce delicious. I’ll share some modifications for this below.
- Dried herbs – Nothing extravagant here – just bay leaves, oregano, and basil for savory Italian flavors. You can also use an Italian seasoning blend.
How To Make Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Step 1: Brown ground beef with vegetables. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan or Dutch oven, then add the ground beef, peppers, onions, celery, and garlic and cook, occasionally stirring, until the ground beef is browned and no longer pink.
Step 2: Simmer spaghetti sauce. Drain the fat from the pan, then add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, sugar, and dried herbs. Stir well and bring the mixture to a full boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, for at least 2 hours (the longer, the better!). Toss with cooked spaghetti and serve hot.
Recipe Tips
- Chop neatly – Dice your veggies roughly the same size to get a consistent blend of textures and flavors.
- Wine pairings – To make every flavor taste even better, deglaze the pan with a splash of full-bodied red wine. Pinot noir and Chianti are excellent options and pair well to sip on the side.
- Less sweet – If the sweetness is a concern, try with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar for a slightly less sweet version.
Variations & Serving
Switch up the protein – Try ground turkey, ground bison, or ground venison. Replacing half of the ground meat with ground Italian sausage is also an option and a great way to boost savory flavors.
To cut carbs in spaghetti sauce – Feel free to swap the granulated sugar with 1-2 tbsp of coconut sugar or use balsamic vinegar or red wine vinegar to cut the acidity if it needs it. Serve with zucchini noodles, shirataki noodles, or palmini noodles.
Serving – This sauce is delicious with spaghetti and warm, crusty bread, of course, but it also makes these easy weeknight dinners even easier. Replace the meat in the instructions with this sauce.
- Baked Beef Spaghetti Casserole
- Zucchini Spaghetti
- Spaghetti Squash Meatball Casserole
- Meaty Pesto & Tomato Lasagna
- Zucchini Lasagna
- Old Fashioned Stuffed Peppers
Storing & Freezing
Storing: Let cool, pour the sauce into an airtight container, and keep it in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Freezing: Let cool completely to room temperature, then pour into a freezer-safe container leaving room at the top for expansion, and freeze for 2-3 months.
Recipe FAQ
The traditional way is with a cornstarch slurry. Combine equal parts cornstarch and water and add a small amount at a time until the sauce thickens. However, this sauce comes out hearty and thick.
One way to loosen up a thick sauce is with reserved pasta water. Stir in about 1/4 cup at a time until it’s the consistency you prefer.
Spaghetti sauce is great to double up on and freeze for later. Let cool completely, then keep it in an airtight freezer-friendly container or ziptop bags in the freezer for 2-3 months—Thaw in the fridge before reheating in a saucepan over medium-high heat and serving with fresh pasta.
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Savory Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 lbs lean ground beef I use 92% lean
- 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 1 green pepper finely chopped
- 6 stalks celery finely sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 12 oz tomato paste Two 6 oz cans
- 30 oz tomato sauce Two 15 oz cans
- 30 oz diced tomatoes Two 15 oz cans
- 1/4 cup sugar *see notes below
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp dried basil
- 1 tsp salt
- fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan or dutch oven on medium heat.
- Add ground beef, celery, peppers, onion, and garlic and cook until meat is no longer pink, stirring occasionally.
- Drain fat and return beef mixture to pan.
- Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a full boil. Stir and reduce heat to low.
- Partially cover (I prop the lid on sideways to vent and simmer for at least two hours, stirring occasionally. The longer this simmers, the better.
- Serve with your favorite pasta, spaghetti squash, or spiralized zucchini noodles.
Notes
- Chop neatly – Dice your veggies roughly the same size to get a consistent blend of textures and flavors.
- Wine pairings – To make every flavor taste even better, deglaze the pan with a splash of full-bodied red wine. Pinot noir and Chianti are excellent options and pair well to sip on the side.
- Less sweet – If the sweetness is a concern, try with 1-2 tablespoons of sugar for a slightly less sweet version. You can also use 1-2 tablespoons of coconut sugar, balsamic vinegar, or red wine vinegar to cut the acidity in the sauce to balance the flavor.
Nutrition
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Can you do canning with this or does it have to be refrigerated?
Hi Frances! I would freeze it or refrigerate it, unless you use a pressure canner. I just don’t have any personal experience with that method.
There is nothing like a great spaghetti sauce. I am with Lauren–I love being a connoisseur. I even love it over spaghetti squash…a good sauce and you never know its not pasta!
I agree, Karli! The sauce is always the star of the dish! 🙂
This has become my go-to sauce! I’ve made it several times and it always disappear in no time. There are so many recipes out there that are more complex but none are better!! Thank you for sharing!
Liz, thank you so much!! I’m so glad that you love the recipe and I really appreciate you taking the time to comment! 🙂
Amee, thank you very much! I really liked the recipe, I took it to my recipe book)
Thank you so much for the feedback Alyssa! I’m so glad that you enjoyed it!!
This sauce is the best I have tried. It is a keeper for me.
Thank you so much Joy! So glad you loved the recipe!