Easy Homemade Meat Sauce

Our homemade meat sauce is dinner made easy. Ready in minutes, you can spice up your spaghetti night with our flavorful meat sauce that brims with herbs, spices, and, of course, garlic.

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Evenings, more often than not, are busy, busy, busy!

We have kids in activities and school work and work work and *sigh*

You get the idea.

There are more nights than not when ordering a pizza is just so tempting.

So I am all about meals that are quick and full of flavor like Ground Chicken Taco Meat or this homemade meat sauce.

And just like my simple Italian tomato sauce, this flavorful meat sauce does not need to take all day to make.

And, at least in this case, it doesn’t even require you to chop a whole bunch of aromatics, like onions and peppers.

Cut out all the work and don’t cut anything!

And you’ll still be cooking a homemade meal that you can serve up in less time than it takes to boil water for pasta and happily will feed your family.

Ingredients and Kitchen Supplies

Here’s what you need to make homemade meat sauce for spaghetti night this week:

• Ground Beef – We tend to use 85/15 or lower fat. This helps prevent the need to skim fat off the top. You could also use other forms of ground meat if you prefer, but traditionally meat sauce tends to use beef.
• Olive Oil – You could use a non-stick spray if you like, but you need a little just to coat the bottom of your skillet when you start cooking.
• Pureed Tomatoes – You can use crushed tomatoes if you like or even the canned sauce. We find that puree has the richer flavor and is generally thicker than either of the other options. Also, with crushed tomatoes, you tend to get bits of skin, which not all people like.
• Herbs and Spices – We use onion powder, garlic powder, Italian seasoning blend, red pepper, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Fresh Garlic – Fresh garlic offers additional flavor and a bit of heat. You can skip or reduce how much you use if you like.
• Parmesan Cheese – Grated parmesan cheese gives the meat sauce a bit of flavor and saltiness.
• Small Amount of Water – Reserve about a 1/4 cup of the water you cooked the pasta in. If you are not serving the meat sauce with pasta, you can add a little tap water as needed to help thin the sauce if it gets too thick.

You do not need any special equipment for meat sauce. However, you will want a deep, large skillet.

How to Make Meat Sauce

As you get started with the meat sauce, fill a pot with water and prepare whatever pasta you use according to the package instructions.

1. Coat the skillet and start cooking.

Coat the bottom of the skillet with olive oil or a bit of non-stick spray.

Add your ground beef to the skillet and use a sturdy skillet to break it up into smaller pieces.

Spread the ground beef around the skillet, mixing frequently.

2. Add in the herbs and spices.

After the meat is about half-way through browning, add in the herbs and spices.

Mix to coat the meat fully and continue to cook the meat until it has completely browned.

3. Add the tomato puree.

Before adding the sauce, crush or mince the garlic and add to the ground beef.

Pour in the puree and stir to completely coat the ground beef.

Allow it to simmer for about 5 minutes before stirring in the parmesan cheese.

If the sauce is too thick for your preferences, you can add a little bit of the pasta water or tap water and mix it in to thin it out slightly.

Serving

Meat sauce tops spaghetti or any other pasta you like.

You can also use it to top your homemade pizza or French bread pizza.

You could also use it to make stuffed peppers, lasagna, or any other recipe that uses red sauce.

Storing

To store meat sauce, allow it to cool and then pour or scoop it into an air tight container.

It should stay fresh in the fridge for about 3 to 5 days.

You can also freeze meat sauce following similar steps.

It should stay fresh for about 6 months in the freezer.

To serve, allow frozen meat sauce to thaw over night in the fridge.

You can reheat it either in the microwave or on the stove top over low heat.

Tips and Tricks

• Leaner ground beef is generally better for meat sauce to prevent it from getting too greasy or oily. If you only have ground chuck, you may want to skim or drain the fat before adding the tomato puree.
• You can add more fresh ingredients if you like. Onions, peppers, and fresh basil can all add an extra layer of flavor to the meat sauce. If you add in onions and peppers, I recommend dicing them and sauteeing them in olive oil until they start to soften. Then add the meat into the skillet.
• You can also use a bit of red wine to deglaze the skillet before adding in the tomato puree. This adds a bit of flavor to the meat sauce.

What to Serve with Meat Sauce

You can put meat sauce on almost anything!

Try it on:

• any type of pasta
• in this Easy Ravioli Lasagna
• baked pastas like lasagna or baked ziti
• pizza before adding the cheese

This Italian sauce also works great as a dip for homemade garlic bread, focaccia bread or mozzarella sticks.

Did you make this? Let me know!

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