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Mom's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce is a timeless classic, famous in our family, and my kid's top requested dinner! Made from scratch with simple ingredients like canned tomato, onion, garlic, ground beef and herbs, it's the perfect pot of comfort food! Homemade Spaghetti can be prepped in just 20 minutes and feeds a crowd or freezes well, you may never want to buy a store-bought jar of spaghetti sauce again!
Just Like Mom Used to Make
- Homemade Spaghetti Sauce is Just that Much Better! - I never buy a jar of spaghetti sauce, because making your own from scratch is so delicious and easy! There are some pretty good quality jarred spaghetti sauces these days, but a homemade pot of mom's version is not much harder to put together. There are no secret ingredients here, no big mystery why mom's is so amazing. It's just an honest, good ole fashion, pot of sauce!
- If you Love Mom's Spaghetti, try Italian Sausage Bolognese, Veggie Manicotti with Meat Sauce, and Grandpa's Spaghetti and Meatballs!
- It Makes a LOT! - This is a big pot of hearty marinara sauce! It can feed a crowd or makes great leftovers. It freezes well for another spaghetti night, or get creative with reusing it. I freeze it in pint size jars, filled only ¾'s full so they don't crack, and use it for Homemade Pizza or on simple Eggplant Panini's. It's great for quick flatbread pizzas for the kid's lunches too!
- Childhood Comfort Food - I hope one day to have a daughter who adores me as much as I adore my mom (update from 2020, I do!). Ever since I packed up my car and moved to Chicago to go to culinary school when I was 23, she has called me every single day. Even now that I don't live in that scary big city anymore, I wouldn't trade our daily chats for anything. My mom has always been a fabulous cook and has cooked from scratch since I was a child. She never made bisquick pancakes or kraft mac and cheese, and her spaghetti was always made from scratch. I started a hand written recipe book a good 20 years ago when I first started working it restaurants, and her spaghetti sauce and Buttermilk Pancakes were some of the first few entries. This is one of those recipes where "love" is an actual ingredient. Whenever mom would ask me "what should I make for dinner?" I'd say spaghetti, hands down, my absolute favorite. My little girl now says the exact same.
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Ingredients
- Olive Oil - Used for sautéing the onion.
- Onion - Finely dice a white or yellow onion and saute until beginning to caramelize to a light brown color.
- Ground Beef - Ground beef is most common in a hearty marinara meat sauce, but ground pork or Italian sausage could be used. I like to use one pound of 80/20 ground beef, but you could use more or less, depending on how meaty you like it. Try this Spicy Rigatoni with Meat Sauce for a quick pasta night!
- Salt and Pepper - Add directly to the sautéing onions and ground beef, but it is the seasoning for the whole pot of sauce.
- Garlic - Fresh garlic is the best in spaghetti sauce! I like to mince up 4 big cloves.
- Seasonings - I use oregano, thyme and a bay leaf, but using an equal amount of Italian seasoning is fine too.
- Brown Sugar - A bit of sugar balances the acidity of the tomatoes and gives you amazing flavor! You could use less or leave it out if you like.
- Tomato Paste - Tomato paste gives you a nice thick sauce with bold rich flavor.
- Canned Tomato - I like to use a combination of 3 large cans, usually 2 crushed and 1 whole peeled. I drain the whole peeled tomato juice into the sauce and them chop them on a cutting board. This gives you a bit of a chunkier tomato sauce. If you want your spaghetti sauce without tomato chunks, use all crushed tomatoes or grind whole peeled tomatoes in a food processor before adding. Use what you have, any combination of tomatoes will work. If you have fresh garden tomatoes, check out this Freezer Marinara Sauce from the Garden.
- Fresh Parsley or Basil - If you have them, fresh herbs are great to add in addition to the dry seasonings. Fresh parsley or basil gives you those little specks of green throughout. Add them in the last half hour of simmering the sauce so their flavor doesn't get cooked away. If you have a garden full of herbs, fresh oregano or thyme could also be included.
Step 2 - Move the onions to one side of the pot and brown the ground beef on the other side. Season both with salt and pepper.
Step 3 - When the beef is fully browned, add garlic, sugar and seasonings and mix well.
Step 4 - Add all canned tomato. Your 3 large cans of tomato can be any combination that you like: crushed, whole peeled or even diced tomato.
If you like a smooth spaghetti sauce without tomato chunks, use all crushed tomato or process whole peeled tomato in a food processor until smooth.
If you like a few tomato chunks, add the liquid from the can into the sauce, then chop the whole peeled tomatoes on a cutting board, squeeze them by hand, or pulse them in a food processor until your desired consistency.
Step 5 - Simmer at least 1 hour, adding chopped parsley, basil or both during the last half hour. Your spaghetti sauce can sit on a low burner longer than an hour, up to 3 or 4 hours, or until you are ready to serve it!
When ready, cook your pasta and serve topped with sauce and grated Parmesan cheese. Add an Italian Mixed Greens Salad and garlic bread!
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
- Storage Instructions - Store extra spaghetti sauce in the fridge for up to 5 days, or eat after 3 days if it is stored with the pasta. Microwave to reheat.
- Freezer - Spaghetti sauce freezes well for up to 6 months. Store it in the size containers that you intend to use the leftovers. Large containers are great for another spaghetti night or to repurpose in lasagna or manicotti. Small containers or glass jars filled only ¾'s full are great to use as the sauce for Homemade Pizza, Eggplant Paninis, or for flatbread pizzas for the kid's lunch. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
- Make Ahead Instructions - A large pot of spaghetti sauce is easy to make ahead and feeds a crowd. You can make it up a day or 2 in advance and either simmer it for an hour, or just refrigerate it and simmer for an hour when you reheat and serve it. You can also make it up in the morning and transfer it to a crockpot all day on low to be ready for dinner.
What to Serve with Spaghetti Night
Pasta night always goes great with a salad, like this rustic Spinach Arugula Salad, and some crusty garlic bread like my Homemade Dutch Oven Bread.
- Try my favorite salad Italian Mixed Greens Salad with Crispy Prosciutto, or this Prosciutto Parmesan Salad with Basil Vinaigrette.
- In the summer, you can add a non-lettuce salad like this Panzanella Bread Salad or this Green Bean Salad with Tomato and Feta.
- Add an appetizer if feeding a crowd! Bruschetta with Cherry Tomatoes, Goat Cheese Appetizer Dip, or White Bean Bruschetta are all great with a spaghetti menu!
Recipe FAQs
Yes! This is a completely gluten-free tomato sauce. Serve it with a gluten-free pasta for a gluten-free dinner!
Yes! This homemade spaghetti sauce is completely dairy-free, just leave off the Parmesan cheese.
Homemade spaghetti sauce will last in the fridge for up to 5 days. If refrigerating with the pasta and the sauce combined, eat within 3 days.
Yes! Homemade Spaghetti with meat sauce freezes well for up to 6 months. Freeze it in different sized containers depending on how you plan to reuse it. A larger container can be used for another spaghetti night or turned into manicotti or lasagna. A smaller container can be used for pizza sauce or Eggplant Paninis. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
Yes! I love to freeze my extra spaghetti sauce or Italian Sausage Bolognese sauce in pint size jars (filled only ¾'s full) to use as a marinara sauce on pizza. A bit of ground beef on a pizza doesn't hurt a thing, and this way I always have pizza sauce ready in the freezer!
If you don't like chunks of tomato in your spaghetti sauce, or the kids don't, simply use all 3 large cans of crushed tomato. If you want to use whole peeled tomato, you can pulse them in a food processor until smooth.
YES! Puree extra veggies in the food processor and cook them as you would cook the onions along-side the ground beef. In addition to the onion, this could include a few chunks carrot, red bell pepper, kale, mushrooms, celery, or zucchini. It's a great way to sneak a few extra veggies into your family's diet, and mixed into a big pot of sauce, they are unnoticeable! Check out this recipe for Italian Sausage Bolognese which includes lots of hidden veggies!
More Favorite Pasta Recipes!
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Mom's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
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Print Pin RateIngredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 1 pound ground beef more or less depending how meaty you like it
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 6 grinds fresh black pepper
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 Tablespoon dried oregano (or substitute Italian seasoning)
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 cans tomato paste small 6 ounce cans
- 3 large cans tomato (a combination of crushed and whole peeled tomatoes, chopped)
- ½ cup fresh parsley or basil chopped
- 1 to 2 pounds spaghetti pasta 1 pound serves 4 to 5 people
- 1 cup Parmesan cheese for serving shredded
Instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, add olive oil. Add onion and saute until soft and starting to lightly brown, about 6 minutes.
- Move onion to one side of the pot and add ground beef to the other. Let the beef brown completely, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Season onions and beef with salt and pepper.
- When beef is cooked through, you can decide to drain the fat if you want, add garlic, sugar and dry spices. Stir well to combine.
- Add all cans of tomato. Whole peeled tomato can be squeezed by hand in the pot, chopped on a cutting board, or pulsed in a food processor. See note.
- Let sauce simmer on low heat for 1 hour (longer is ok), stirring occasionally. You want it to be slightly bubbling but not splattering out of the pot. Add chopped parsley or basil in the last half hour before serving.
- When ready to serve, cook pasta following package instructions with a pinch of salt. Top with sauce and grated Parmesan cheese. Serve with salad and garlic bread.
Notes
- Canned Tomatoes - Your 3 large cans of tomato can be any combination of crushed, whole peeled or even diced tomato. If you like a smooth spaghetti sauce without tomato chunks, use all crushed tomato or process whole peeled tomato in a food processor until smooth. If you like a few tomato chunks, add the liquid from the can into the sauce, then chop the whole peeled tomatoes on a cutting board, squeeze them by hand, or pulse in a food processor until desired consistency.
- Storage Instructions - Store extra spaghetti sauce in the fridge for up to 5 days, or eat after 3 days if it is stored with the pasta. Microwave to reheat. Spaghetti sauce also freezes well for up to 6 months.
- Crockpot and Make Ahead Instructions - Spaghetti sauce can be made up in the morning, transferred to a crockpot and simmered on low all day until dinner. It can also be made a day or 2 in advance, kept in the fridge, and reheated or simmered the full hour before serving.
Nigel Julian Butkowski says
Looks great, the addition of vegetables sounds great, but why is there no mention of them in ingredients and cooking methods?
Meryl Downing says
Hi Nigel,
Added pureed vegetables are optional, not part of the original recipe. However, you can add them when sautéing the onion for extra nutrition! Carrot, red bell pepper, mushrooms, kale, and zucchini are good options!
Mary Bakken says
Meryl, I made your Mom’s Homemade Spaghetti on Friday night. It was so delicious and enjoyable to make! I will definitely make it again.
Meryl Downing says
So glad you liked it Mary!