When it comes to pasta it doesn’t get any better than spaghetti and meat sauce.
Spaghetti was always one of my favorite meals when I was growing up.
I love this meat sauce because it is easy to make and has such a wonderful flavor. I like having sauce left over to freeze and it is always great for those busy weeknight meals. Sometimes I will use this sauce on lasagna or pizza.
As a menu it is great with a garden salad and a side of garlic bread.
Homemade Spaghetti Meat Sauce
Servings 8
Ingredients
Sauce
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 (14 ½ oz.) cans of diced tomatoes
- 1 (6 oz.) can of tomato paste
- 1 (8 oz.) can of tomato sauce
- 1 (6 oz.) can of olives drained and chopped
- 1 (4 oz.) can of mushrooms drained and chopped
- 1 ½ cups water
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon white pepper
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon thyme
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Spaghetti
- 1 package of spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons butter
Garnish
- ¼ cup shaved or shredded Parmesan cheese
- 1 small chopped zucchini squash
- fresh parsley
- red pepper flakes
Instructions
Sauce
- Heat olive oil in deep pot over medium high heat.
- Add the crumbled beef and chopped onions and garlic. Cook for about 3 minutes or until light golden brown and onions and garlic are tender. Skim off excess fat.
- Add remaining ingredients; cover. I use my rice pot and slow cook for 2 hours, but you can also use a dutch oven and simmer for 1 ½ hours; partially covered. Simmer until sauce is thick. Stir occasionally during cooking.
- Serve warm with cooked spaghetti. I like angle hair for serving my meat sauce, but spaghetti is always a favorite too!
Spaghetti
- Cook spaghetti in large kettle of boiling salted water according to package instructions
- Stir in butter. Plate and ladle sauce over the spaghetti. Sprinkle shaved Parmesan and chopped zucchini and maybe a little cracked pepper with parsley at the side
Here are some pictures of the ingredients I used:
Can of olives drained and chopped.
Spices
Parmesan cheese for garnish
Fresh squash and parsley from my garden as a garnish.
Enjoy!
