This is our family's go-to spaghetti sauce recipe. It's very easy to make and tastes like it's been simmering for hours even though it only takes just over 30 minutes to make. We have a few tips on how to make this quick spaghetti sauce the best ever. With some ground beef and a few pantry staple ingredients, you can have a delicious dinner on your table in no time!

A pot with pasta and spaghetti sauce with a wooden spoon inside.

Our easy homemade spaghetti sauce

This is the spaghetti sauce recipe that we make 98% of the time when we're craving pasta. It's very easy to make and we usually have all the ingredients on hand. I like to eat mine with zucchini noodles and make some real spaghetti for my family. When we want to treat ourselves, I'll cook some store-bought refrigerated pasta – it's what you see in the pictures.

  • This spaghetti sauce is rich and meaty.
  • It tastes like it's been simmering for hours.
  • Even though it takes only a little over half an hour to make.
  • Made with 7 basic ingredients that you probably will find in your kitchen right now.
  • Sugar-free, thanks to two little tricks.
  • It's a healthy pasta sauce that's high in protein and has only 209 calories per 1-cup serving.

A pot of homemade spaghetti sauce.

How to make spaghetti sauce

Making a pot of spaghetti sauce is almost as easy as opening a jar and about 1 million times tastier. It's worth the extra effort.

  • Saute onion and garlic until nice and dark brown.
  • Now add some tomato paste to the pot and let it cook for a few minutes.
  • Then the ground beef goes into the pan.
  • Once the beef is cooked, add a can of crushed tomatoes and some Italian seasoning and dinner is ready!

READ MORE: Fresh Summer Spaghetti

Tips for making the best spaghetti sauce

This may be a quick spaghetti sauce recipe, but I promise you that it tastes like it's been simmering on the stove for hours. Here's how to make it taste the best:

  1. Mince the onion as small as you possibly can. You don't want big chunks of onion here. You want the smallest pieces so when it's cooked it almost melts right into the sauce.
  2. Saute the onion until it is very well browned and caramelized. This step is crucial for giving the sauce that “simmering for hours” taste.”
  3. Caramelize the tomato paste. Once you add it to the pot, let it cook for 3-4 minutes. It will darken and become sweet-smelling and add a lot of flavor to the sauce. It also adds sweetness, which is why we don't need to add any sugar to our sauce.
  4. Use a hardy beef to tomato ratio. This rich bolognese sauce gets much of its flavor from the beef. Don't skimp and use less beef or more tomatoes or the sauce will change entirely.

A pot with pasta tossed with spaghetti sauce and a wooden spoon in the pot.

Spaghetti sauce ingredients

There are 7 ingredients in this sauce and you're likely to have all of them in your kitchen right now.

  1. Olive oil
  2. Onion
  3. Garlic
  4. Tomato paste
  5. Ground beef
  6. Canned tomatoes
  7. Italian seasoning

Is spaghetti sauce a healthy recipe

Yes! This sauce is high in protein and low in calories and made with all real ingredients. And because we add sweetness with the caramelized the onion and tomato paste, this is a sugar-free spaghetti sauce.

For a truly healthy dinner, we like to serve this with zucchini noodles.

A white pasta bowl filled with homemade spaghetti sauce and pasta.

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Easy Pasta Recipes

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A pot with pasta and spaghetti sauce with a wooden spoon inside.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

  • Author: Kristen Stevens
  • Prep Time: 5 mins
  • Cook Time: 30 mins
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 8 servings 1x
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: American

★★★★★

4.7 from 3 reviews
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Description

This is our family's go-to spaghetti sauce recipe. It's very easy to make and tastes like it's been simmering for hours even though it only takes just over 30 minutes to make. We have a few tips on how to make this quick spaghetti sauce the best ever. With some ground beef and a few pantry staple ingredients, you can have a delicious dinner on your table in no time!

✨ If you love this easy homemade spaghetti sauce recipe as much as I do, make sure to give it a 5-star review in the comments below!

Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 large onion, very finely minced
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1 5.5-ounce can tomato paste
  • 2 lbs. lean ground beef
  • 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until it begins to soften, about 3 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until it is well caramelized, about 10 minutes more. Add the garlic and stir then push everything to the side of the pot.
  2. Add the tomato paste to the pot and let it cook until it darkens and becomes sweet smelling, about 3-4 minutes. Add the ground beef and cook until it is no longer pink.
  3. Add the crushed tomatoes and Italian seasoning and bring the pot to a simmer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

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A pot with pasta and spaghetti sauce with a wooden spoon inside and the recipe title on top of the picture.