Spaghetti Sauce

Anyone can learn how to make spaghetti sauce from scratch with our simple slow-cooker recipe. With beef, Italian sausage and a whole garden’s worth of fresh and dried herbs, giving it a deep flavor everyone loves.

This spaghetti meat sauce is a perfect set-it-and-forget-it weekend dinner. Throw the ingredients together in the morning and serve them over hot pasta in the evening. Add a simple vegetable side dish and it’ll be full-meal deal. Have leftovers? This sauce freezes really well, too.

Spaghetti Sauce vs. Marinara Sauce vs. Pizza Sauce

There are slight but significant differences between these three tomato sauces. Pizza sauce combines just a few ingredients, such as tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and oregano, and is pureed to create a smooth topping for dough. Marinara features crushed or diced tomatoes and has a chunkier texture. Spaghetti sauce is often the most complex of the three, possibly including onions, meat and a bouquet of herbs. You generally cook it longer on the stovetop or in a slow cooker.

Ingredients for Spaghetti Sauce

Christine Ma for Taste of Home

• Ground beef: Because you cook the meat before adding it to the crockpot, use a ground beef blend with a lean to fat ratio of 80-to-20 or 90-to-10. Grass-fed beef is a top choice for its flavor and nutritional benefits.
• Italian sausage: Italian sausage adds a ton of flavor to this spaghetti sauce. Use bulk hot or mild sausage. If you can only find links, remove the casings first.
• Onions and garlic: Onions bring sweetness and sharpness to the sauce, while garlic lends a fiery pungency. Cutting an onion without crying is possible, and the best way to mince garlic is still with a knife (though a garlic press will get the job done!).
• Tomatoes and tomato paste: Canned, diced tomatoes give spaghetti sauce some texture, while rich, concentrated tomato paste deepens the flavor.
• Salt and pepper: Like many recipes, you need salt and pepper to season the sauce. Feel free to adjust the amounts to taste just before serving.
• Sugar: Adding sugar to your spaghetti sauce counteracts the acidity of the tomatoes. If you prefer, you can reduce the amount of sugar, skip it altogether, or swap it for a slightly sweet vegetable, such as diced red bell peppers or carrots.
• Worcestershire sauce: Made from a complex combination of ingredients that includes anchovies, tamarind and molasses, Worcestershire sauce brings umami to the party. None of these flavors will be detectable in the finished spaghetti sauce, but all contribute to its depth of flavor.
• Canola oil: The recipe calls for a splash of canola oil, but you can use olive oil instead.
• Fresh herbs: Italian cooking leans heavily on herbs, and this spaghetti sauce is no exception. Fresh parsley, basil and oregano are tomato-friendly standards.
• Dried herbs: Many kitchens are stocked with bay leaves, rubbed sage and marjoram, but if you don’t have them, consider using an Italian seasoning blend instead.
• Cooked spaghetti: Once your sauce is ready, toss it with hot spaghetti (or another favorite pasta shape) for a perfect, comforting meal. Make sure to salt the water!

Directions

Step 1: Brown the meat

In a Dutch oven, cook the beef, sausage, onions and garlic over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink. Drain off any excess grease.

Step 2: Cook the sauce

Transfer the meat mixture to a 5-quart slow cooker. Stir in the diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, oil, parsley, basil, oregano, bay leaves, sage, salt, marjoram and pepper. Cook the sauce, covered, on low for eight to ten hours.

Step 3: Toss the sauce with spaghetti

Christine Ma for Taste of Home

Discard the bay leaves, toss the sauce with hot spaghetti and serve.

Christine Ma for Taste of Home

Spaghetti Sauce Variations

• Make it meatless: If you’d like to replace the meat in this recipe, cook two pounds of sliced cremini mushrooms with diced carrots along with the onions and garlic, then proceed with the recipe as written. You could also use your favorite plant-based meat substitute instead of the beef and sausage.
• Add some dairy: This sauce has a lot in common with beef Bolognese, but you could bring it even closer by adding a cup of grated Parmesan and some milk or cream.
• Give it a kick: Many traditional Italian pasta sauces include pungent or bold ingredients such as anchovy paste, capers, red pepper flakes and olives. You could also go the smoky route, using chopped bacon in place of some or all of the sausage.

How to Thicken Spaghetti Sauce

If your spaghetti sauce recipe turns out watery or thin, the easiest way to thicken it is to simmer it. As the water reduces, the sauce will become more concentrated. If the sauce isn’t watery, but you’re looking for a creamier consistency, you could attain that by adding grated hard cheese or even melting in a block of cream cheese.

How to Store Spaghetti Sauce

Leftover spaghetti meat sauce should be packed into containers with tight-fitting lids and stored in the fridge. Since red sauce can stain plastic and is very aromatic, glass dishes or jars are recommended.

How long does spaghetti sauce last?

Like most leftover food, spaghetti sauce can be safely kept for up to four days in the fridge.

How do you freeze spaghetti sauce?

Make sure your sauce is cool before placing it in freezer containers with tight-fitting lids, or in zip-top bags. Spaghetti sauce can be frozen for up to three months and should be thawed in the fridge overnight before using.

How do you reheat spaghetti sauce?

Homemade spaghetti sauce can be reheated in a saucepan over low heat. Use a slightly oversized pot, as tomato sauce has a tendency to spatter once it comes to a simmer. Because it’s thick, the sauce can also develop hot spots as it heats, so make sure to stir it frequently.

Spaghetti Sauce Tips

Christine Ma for Taste of Home

How do you use spaghetti sauce?

You won’t go wrong pairing meaty tomato sauce with just about any kind of pasta. This style of sauce is often tossed with long, slender spaghetti, linguine or fettuccine, but is also well-matched with short, tubular shapes like penne, or with petite, chunky pastas such as elbows or cavatappi. However, avoid mixing a heavy, chunky sauce with very slender noodles like angel hair.

Because of its meat content, you can also use this spaghetti sauce in sloppy joes: slathered onto bread, topped with cheese and briefly run under the broiler. You can also add it to pasta casseroles, such as our best lasagna. Have baked potatoes, roasted zucchini or fried eggplant? Use your meat sauce as a hearty topping.

What can you serve with pasta and spaghetti sauce?

To match the flavors of the pasta, try some Italian vegetable sides, such as Parmesan-roasted broccoli, white beans and spinach or a balsamic zucchini saute.