Italian Meat Sauce

plate of spaghetti and meat sauce with a fork

Homemade Italian Meat Sauce is perfect for everyone’s favorite pasta night dinner. Rich, hearty, and full of flavor, everyone will be asking you for this recipe!

5 from 5 votes

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Course: Kitchen Basics

Cuisine: Italian

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 1

Total Time: 1 10

Servings: servings

Author: Jennifer Stewart

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion diced small - roughly 2 cups
2 bay leaves I used 2 large ones but 4 if you have small ones
3 oz tomato paste
4 cloves garlic minced fine roughly 1 tablespoon
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
2 pounds ground beef
28 oz crushed tomatoes
2 cups water

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400F.
In a large pan on the stove top, add olive oil, onion, and ground beef.
Using a spoon, break up ground beef.
Cook over medium heat until the beef is cooked through and the onion is tender. (drain if desired)
Add the garlic, bay leaves, italian seasoning, and tomato paste.
Stir to combine.
Stir in crushed tomatoes and water.
Bring to a low boil.
Remove from heat and place in a preheated oven, uncovered.
Bake for 1 hour stirring a few times while baking.
Sauce should be bubbly and reduced in volume slightly.
Remove and let cool.
Serve immediately over your favorite pasta or spaghetti squash.
Garnish with parsley and grated cheese.

Video

Notes

This sauce is a great opportunity to sneak in some vegetables. A little carrot and celery when you are sweating the onions is ok. Some green pepper is great too!

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes while adding the spices gives the sauce a little kick.

Use stewed or fire roasted diced tomatoes instead of the crushed one for a different flavor twist.

Serve with pasta cooked al dente in salted water for the best flavor and texture.

Use this in this baked chicken spaghetti and serve it with a side of Italian green beans!

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