Mom's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Spaghetti and meat sauce topped with chopped basil.

5 from 1 vote

Mom's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

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!

Prep Time20

Cook Time1

Total Time1 20

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: American, Italian

Servings: to 10

Calories: 478kcal

Author: Meryl Downing

Ingredients

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.

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