Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
If my kids had to pick an all-time favorite meal, this is it. Our homemade spaghetti with meat sauce features a slow-simmered, rich tomato meat sauce made with perfectly browned ground beef, Italian sausage, a balanced tomato sauce, and traditional Italian seasonings. While the sauce is simmering away, cook your spaghetti to al dente perfection and prep this Italian chopped salad and garlic bread for an easy, home-cooked Italian meal that is likely to become a favorite at your house as well!
This one is always a dinner win! 🍝
It’s hearty, comforting, and easy to throw together, making it a weeknight favorite that’s Sunday dinner worthy.
There are two tricks to this sauce. One is to use Italian sausage along with the ground beef for a super-flavorful and perfectly layered sauce. The second is a signature technique from Italian chef Marcella Hazan. She leaves the onion intact instead of chopping it. By adding it whole, the onion releases its flavor to the sauce, but in an understated way that acts as a backdrop to the tomato flavor, and also leaves the sauce with a smooth texture. Its’…
😋 Seriously delicious: Rich, meaty, saucy, and satisfying, no one leaves the table hungry!
🍅 Nutritionally balanced: We’ve got carbs, protein, vegetables, and flavor.
🛒 Made with simple ingredients: This meal comes together with a handful of pantry staples you likely have on hand and a few fresh ingredients.
🍝 Weeknight-friendly: If you can start this sauce a bit early, it’s ideal to prep ahead, but it can come together in about 35 minutes, start to finish!
👨👩👧👦 Family-approved: This is what I make when my family needs a bit of comfort food.
❄️ Freezer-friendly: The sauce freezes well, so make a double batch for a super easy dinner next time.
🧄 Flavor-packed: Layers of flavor that make this sauce taste like it’s been simmering all day.
You’ll also want to try my sausage and broccoli pasta, cheesy boursin pasta, lasagna soup, and chicken parm pasta.
So yummy for the whole family. For leftovers we used it up making sloppy joes. The bread soaked up all that yummy sauce. –Lisa
Ingredient Notes
You’ll need some fresh ingredients and pantry staples to bring this cozy meal to the table: ground beef, Italian sausage, Italian seasoning, sea salt, crushed tomatoes, vinegar, butter, sugar, white onion, spaghetti, Parmesan cheese, and any desired sides.
- Ground beef: Use high-quality ground beef. Depending on the fat content, you may need to drain the excess oil. I find grass-fed beef to be a bit leaner, so it’s typically not necessary, but use your best judgment.
- Italian sausage: Use a high-quality Italian sausage for the best flavor. You can use mild or hot. I typically buy it in bulk so it’s not in casings, but if it is, simply cut the sausage down the side and remove it from the casing.
Emily’s Tips & Tricks
- Cooking lesson: This simmered tomato meat sauce features a different technique than is typically seen in sauces and was created by Marcella Hazan. Her signature technique for her simple tomato sauce is to leave the onion intact instead of chopping it. By adding it whole, the onion releases its flavor to the sauce, but in an understated way that acts as a backdrop to the tomato flavor. It also gives a smoother texture to the sauce.
- Feeding kids without pressure: Serve the pasta without the sauce on the side if your kids are still getting used to it. Serve the meal with a few sides you know they will eat (milk, fruit, etc.) and some bread and butter if they don’t do pasta – yet!
- Variations: It’s easy to switch things up, use a different shape of pasta or a different ground meat if desired, ground turkey would work really well.
Easy Spaghetti with Meat Sauce Recipe
- Prep Time: 0 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Skillet
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
This easy homemade spaghetti and meat sauce recipe is rich, hearty, and flavorful. Perfect for family dinners!
Ingredients
- 1 lb. ground beef
- 8 oz. Italian sausage
- 1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 28 oz. crushed tomatoes
- 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp. butter
- 1 Tbsp. sugar
- 1/2 white onion (left in tact, don’t chop)
- 1 lb. spaghetti
- Grated Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes for serving
Instructions
- Heat a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add ground beef and Italian sausage to the Dutch oven. Season with Italian seasoning and salt and break meat up with a spoon. Cook until meat is browned, about 7-9 minutes.
- Add crushed tomatoes, red wine vinegar, butter, and sugar to meat mixture. Stir together. Submerge onion half (leave it whole as we’ll remove it after cooking) into sauce. Simmer meat sauce over low heat for 20-30 minutes. Remove onion before serving.
- While sauce is cooking, cook pasta according to package instructions to al dente.
- Serve meat sauce over spaghetti and serve with grated Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes to taste.
Notes
- Storage: Store leftover spaghetti and meat sauce in separate containers in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Reheat sauce in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop.
- Freezer storage: You can also freeze the meat sauce in pre-portioned containers (souper cubes are perfect for this!) and store it in the freezer for 2-3 months.
- Ingredient notes: Feel free to swap out the ground beef for another ground meat, and add additional toppings or fresh herbs like basil or parsley.
- Prep ahead: If you’d like to make the sauce ahead of time, simply prepare the meat sauce for spaghetti according to the directions and store it in the refrigerator until ready to serve. When you’re ready to eat, reheat on the stove and cook your pasta.
- Special tools: A Dutch oven works well for the sauce and can be covered to prevent any splatters! We love freshly grated Parm with the microplane zester, tableside like restaurants!
- Serve with: Garlic bread, Italian chopped salad (or lemon kale salad).
- Nutrition: The nutrition facts for spaghetti with meat sauce are an estimate and do not include any toppings.
Serving Suggestions
You can absolutely serve this on its own (we do that plenty of times!), or add a simple side or two to stretch the meal or serve a crowd:
- Italian Chopped Salad
- Lemon Kale Salad
- Air Fryer Broccoli
- Garlic Bread
- Bageutte and butter or olive oil
FAQs
There are a few ways to do this. You can start by cooking with a leaner ground beef. You can also drain some of the excess grease after browning the ground beef and Italian sausage.
If the sauce is too thick, add a splash of the pasta water to loosen it. If it’s too watery or thin, let it simmer, uncovered, a bit longer and it will thicken naturally.
Yes! Vegetables like mushrooms, bell peppers, zucchini, and spinach can be added. Dice the vegetables and cook with the ground beef and Italian sausage. You can also add cooked lentils for a fiber boost.
Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente, then drain, and immediately toss with a drizzle of olive oil or a little bit of the meat sauce to keep it separated.
More Pasta Recipes
If you like this easy meat sauce recipe, you might also like some of these other pasta recipes:
- Orecchiette with Sausage and Broccoli
- Chicken Parm Skillet Pasta
- Cheesy Boursin Pasta
- One-Pot Creamy Tomato Pasta
About the Author
Emily Dingmann is a recipe developer, nutrition expert, and founder of My Everyday Table. She specializes in creating easy, healthy recipes that help busy parents feed their families well every single day, without the stress. With a degree in Nutrition and over 20 years of experience, Emily shares family-friendly meals that are practical, nourishing, and full of flavor. Learn more about Emily’s approach to everyday cooking and nutrition here.
Food styling and photography by Loren Runion.
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Nice post
So yummy for the whole family. For leftovers we used it up making sloppy joes. The bread soaked up all that yummy sauce
So glad you enjoyed it and what a perfect way to use up the leftovers!
another great easy dinner everyone ate.
This one always goes over well at our house, too! 🙂 Thanks for leaving a review, appreciate it.