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Try my Best Spaghetti Meat Sauce Recipe with spaghetti and meatballs, and you will want to make it this way every time! This is an easy spaghetti sauce from scratch with tons of flavor, perfect for pairing with your favorite pasta or a meatball sub.
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Best Homemade Spaghetti Meat Sauce
If you're cooking for your family like I am, you know what a relief it can be to have an easy recipe to turn to for busy weeks where it feels like you have no time to make dinner. That's exactly what my homemade spaghetti meat sauce is for!
With under 10 minutes of prep, you can set this easy meat spaghetti sauce to cook at noon and have it ready by dinnertime to serve with pasta or meatball subs. It's such a simple sauce recipe with just 10 ingredients - that's including the seasoning and pre-cooked meatballs.
My family loves my spaghetti meat sauce recipe, and I guarantee yours will, too! Serve it with your favorite meatballs and pasta, on sub sandwiches, or leave out the meatballs and use it as a base for other Italian-inspired recipes using meat sauce.
Meat Spaghetti Sauce FAQs
The key to plenty of flavor in your homemade meat sauce recipe is to first cook your onions and garlic in the pot, then brown the meat, before adding any sauce or seasoning. Lower the heat to bring the sauce to a simmer, then allow it to cook for several hours covered on the stove. The seared meat and vegetables will impart delicious flavor to your meat sauce!
To save yourself time making homemade meat spaghetti sauce, you can use an Italian seasoning mix combined with fresh minced garlic and onion. Italian seasoning is generally a blend of oregano, rosemary, marjoram, thyme, and basil, though the exact herbs in the seasoning depends on which brand you use.
Spaghetti Sauce Ingredients
- Beef sausage
- Pork loin
- Olive oil
- Italian seasoning
- Garlic
- Onion
- Tomato sauce
- Sugar
- Salt and pepper
- Precooked meatballs - try my air fryer meatballs or Instant Pot meatballs
This meat sauce recipe can be made without meatballs, but I like to simmer meatballs in the sauce at the same time. It adds a lot of flavor and always feels like a "two for one" deal for meal prep! You can try making either of my meatball recipes, use your own, or even use frozen ready-to-heat meatballs.
If you want to make the sauce without meatballs, you can leave them out, but still cook the sauce for the same amount of time.
How to Make Meat Spaghetti Sauce
- Place a large, deep pot or Dutch Oven over high heat on the stove. Add olive oil and chopped onion, and allow the onion to cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in minced garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes until the onions turn golden.
- Add beef sausage and cubed pork loin to the pot and cook until the meat browns, stirring occasionally.
- Gradually pour in tomato sauce, then add sugar and Italian seasoning.
- Stir and add cooked meatballs to the sauce.
- Lower the heat to a simmer, then cover the pot and simmer for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Enjoy over pasta!
Tips for Making Spaghetti Sauce
- Homemade meat sauce lasts 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator, so it's a great recipe for making ahead of time. Cook it a couple of days before you plan on serving it and simply heat it up in a pot on the stove.
- You can use frozen meatballs if you don't any fresh meatballs on hand. Prepare the meatballs according to the package directions, then follow the recipe steps to add them to the sauce.
- You can easily freeze homemade meatball sauce. I love to make a double batch and freeze the other half. Allow the sauce to cool, then store it in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months labeled with the date. Allow it to defrost on the counter when ready to use or or in the refrigerator overnight for the next day, then simmer on low for 15-20 minutes to serve.
- If you're using homemade meatballs, prepare them the same day in the oven, air fryer, or Instant Pot, and then make the sauce. By cooking together, the flavors intensify into a delicious meat sauce recipe.
What to Serve with Spaghetti Meat Sauce
- Serve with Homemade French Bread to make a Meatball Sub Recipe
- Over pasta with a side salad like Lemon Kale Caesar Salad (omit the chicken)
- Prepare the sauce with fresh skillet roasted tomatoes
- Over homemade rice for spaghetti rice
Meat Sauce Recipes
- Beef Bolognese Sauce
- BBQ Sauce for Ribs
- Sugo di Carne
- Burger Sauce Recipe
- Try more of my Sauces for Meat Recipes!
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📋 Recipe
Best Spaghetti Meat Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Dutch oven or deep pot
Ingredients
- 1 pound beef sausage
- 1 pound pork loin cubed
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 4 28 oz. tomato sauce cans
- 1 small onion or half 1 large onion, chopped
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- salt and pepper to taste
- meatballs
See our Beef Temperature Chart for helpful tips on cooking any cut of beef!
Instructions
- Place a large, deep pot or Dutch Oven over high heat on the stove. Add olive oil and chopped onion, and allow the onion to cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir in minced garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes until the onions turn golden.
- Add beef sausage and cubed pork loin to the pot and cook until the meat browns, stirring occasionally.
- Gradually pour in tomato sauce, then add sugar and Italian seasoning.
- Stir and add cooked meatballs to the sauce.
- Lower the heat to a simmer, then cover the pot and simmer for 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Enjoy over pasta!
Video
Notes
- Homemade meat sauce lasts 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator, so it's a great recipe for making ahead of time. Cook it a couple of days before you plan on serving it and simply heat it up in a pot on the stove.
- You can use frozen meatballs if you don't any fresh meatballs on hand. Prepare the meatballs according to the package directions, then follow the recipe steps to add them to the sauce.
- You can easily freeze homemade meatball sauce. I love to make a double batch and freeze the other half. Allow the sauce to cool, then store it in a freezer bag and freeze for up to 6 months labeled with the date. Allow it to defrost on the counter when ready to use or or in the refrigerator overnight for the next day, then simmer on low for 15-20 minutes to serve.
- If you're using homemade meatballs, prepare them the same day in the oven, air fryer, or Instant Pot, and then make the sauce. By cooking together, the flavors intensify into a delicious meat sauce recipe.
Nutrition
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