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The BEST Meat Sauce Recipe has both beef and Italian sausage, plenty of spices, and even a touch of sugar. It’s perfect for lasagna, spaghetti, or zoodles, and it comes together with easy pantry ingredients.
This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is made from scratch and worth getting excited about. First of all, it beats anything out of the jar. You can breeze right through the pasta sauce aisle, knowing that your homemade meat sauce is worlds better. Galaxies, even.
I recommend making the sauce with both ground beef and ground sausage (a half pound of each), but you can choose one or the other, too. Either way, adding the fennel seeds will really elevate the flavor of this sauce. The sugar is possibly a Midwestern thing; we love sugar in our spaghetti sauce. Feel free to leave it out if that sounds weird.
Put your easy meat sauce recipe to work with your favorite pasta or next batch of Spaghetti and Meatballs, Lasagna, or Baked Ziti. Cutting carbs? This meat sauce is a critical element in our Zucchini Lasagna and Zucchini Parmesan, and I bet you could make it work with Stuffed Zucchini, too.
Or, just toss it with spaghetti noodles and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. It’s easy and delicious!
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Ground meat: You can do 2 pounds of ground beef, 2 pounds of ground Italian sausage, or 1 pound of each. Choose lean ground beef if that’s important to you.
- Sugar: Even a tablespoon is too much for some people. If you don’t like the sound of sugar in your meat sauce, please leave it out. In my family, people add ¼ cup or even up to ½ cup.
- Italian seasoning: It’s easy to make your own homemade Italian seasoning with dried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and marjoram. Fresh herbs are delicious if you have them.
- Fennel seeds: The seeds make the Italian sausage flavors pop. If you love the taste of a sweet tomato sauce, use just ground beef (no sausage), at least ¼ cup sugar, and omit the fennel seeds.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, add beef, sausage, and onion and cook until mostly browned, about 5 minutes. Break up clumps with a wooden spoon. Drain the grease if desired. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- To the bottom of the pot, add crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, and bay leaf. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I like 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper).
- Serve with cooked pasta or spiralized zoodles. Or, use in your next Homemade Lasagna, Zucchini Parmesan, or Eggplant Parmesan.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This spaghetti meat sauce recipe makes 2 quarts (8 cups), enough for 16 servings, ½ cup each.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: The sauce can be made, cooled, covered, and refrigerated up to 3 days in advance. To make sauce cool quickly, add it to a bowl set in a vat of ice water and stir frequently.
- Freezer: Cool the finished sauce, then pack into freezer-safe containers (I like to use glass Mason jars; leave a half-inch of head space for expansion), and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator. Flat-laying freezer bags work too!
- Customize your sauce: Change up this homemade meat sauce recipe to your personal preference. For a lighter sauce, use ground chicken or ground turkey instead of beef and ground pork sausage. You could even add veal for a “meatloaf mix.”
- Herbs: Stir minced fresh herbs into the final sauce or garnish your dish with fresh parsley or fresh basil.
- Spicy: Stir in red pepper flakes to taste with the other spices or pass separately at the table.
- Creamy: Add heavy cream to taste (start with ¼ cup and see if you want more). If you have time for the sauce to simmer longer, stir in a leftover Parmesan cheese rind from the freezer.
- Buttery: Add 1 or 2 tablespoons butter or a drizzle of olive oil to the sauce for a rich, buttery taste.
- Thicker: For a thicker homemade spaghetti meat sauce, simmer to your desired consistency or stir in a can of tomato paste.
- Bolognese sauce: Use a mixture of ground beef and pork with mirepoix, a mixture of onion, carrots, and celery sautéed in olive oil. Then, add tomato paste, white wine, and milk, and simmer. To me, the most noticeable factor of bolognese is that it doesn’t contain garlic.
- Italian meatballs: These classic Italian Meatballs are ready to be sauced and served with spaghetti, on meatball subs, or as an appetizer. Pan-fry and baking instructions included! Or try my wildly popular Turkey Meatballs.
- Meatless: For a hearty meatless marinara sauce, try my Homemade Tomato Sauce. You can add extra vegetables like onions, bell peppers, or finely diced carrots. This one makes a great pizza sauce, too!
- Spaghetti and Meatballs: This classic Spaghetti and Meatballs Recipe is a hearty and comforting family dinner idea. One bite of this Italian-American dinner recipe will transport you to a Midwestern red sauce restaurant.
- Spaghetti Squash with meat sauce: Learn how to cook spaghetti squash, then top with homemade tomato sauce or your favorite meat sauce.
- Lasagna: This traditional Lasagna Recipe has three kinds of cheese, two different meats, one fantastic homemade sauce, and plenty of cheese. Or, try my super popular Make Ahead Lasagna which uses standard lasagna noodles (not the no-boil kind) but they go in unboiled, uncooked, bone-dry. It’s amazing.
- Zucchini Lasagna: Grilled ribbons of zucchini stand in for lasagna noodles in this Zucchini Lasagna layered with ricotta and marinara-coated ground beef.
- Zucchini Parmesan: In lieu of the whole breading-and-frying situation, this fuss-free Zucchini Parmesan uses roasted zucchini “noodles” in one of my best Italian dinners for busy weeknights.
- Baked Ziti: Far less fussy than lasagna but just as cheesy and comforting, this meaty Baked Ziti casserole is made with ground Italian sausage and calls for just 15 minutes of prep time.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you sure can! Transfer the browned meat, onion, and garlic mixture to a slow cooker. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, and bay leaf, then cover and cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours or LOW for 4 to 6 hours.
Mix up your mix-ins by stirring in chopped green peppers or sliced mushrooms with the onions. Substitute fire-roasted tomatoes for the crushed tomatoes. Or, add chili flakes (a pinch or a lot!) for extra heat.
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Meat Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef and/or ground Italian sausage (see note 1)
- 1 medium onion peeled and chopped (about 1 cup)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar or to taste (see note 2)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (see note 3)
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (see note 4)
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add beef, sausage, and onion and cook until mostly browned, about 5 minutes. Drain if desired. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, and bay leaf. Simmer uncovered for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I like 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper).
Recipe Video
Notes
- Ground meat: You can do 2 pounds of ground beef, 2 pounds of ground Italian sausage, or 1 pound of each.
- Sugar: Even a tablespoon is too much for some people. If you don’t like the sound of sugar in your meat sauce, please leave it out. In my family, people add ¼ cup or even up to ½ cup.
- Italian seasoning: To make your own Italian Seasoning, in a small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp. of dried basil, 2 Tbsp. of dried oregano, 2 Tbsp. of dried rosemary, 2 Tbsp. of dried thyme, and 2 Tbsp. of dried marjoram. Store extra in an airtight container.
- Fennel seeds: The seeds make the Italian sausage flavors pop. If you love the taste of a sweet tomato sauce, use just ground beef (no sausage), at least ¼ cup sugar, and omit the fennel seeds.
- Yield: This recipe makes 2 quarts (8 cups), enough for 16 servings, ½ cup each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Hi Meggan,
If you wanted a little oil in the sauce I would drain the oil off from the meat and add a little olive oil.
Everything else is perfect. Thanks Meggan.
That sounds like a great idea Lou! Thanks, I’ll fix up the recipe with that.
I grew up making pasta sauce on Saturday mornings with my father, who enjoyed cooking. We always used a bell pepper. We cooked it all day in a black iron pot and it was so good. It was very similar to your recipe. Thanks for sharing.
Read the comments …. sounds soo good and I will try.
Question: ground Italian Sausage … are they links Italian sausage
and what brand you recommend.
Thank you for your help and feedback
Hi Myrna, thanks so much for your question! When I buy ground Italian sausage, I look for the bulk packages (looks like a package of ground beef but says “italian sausage” on it). It’s basically ground pork with spices. I usually buy whatever the store brand is or whatever I can find. Johnsonville sells it sometimes but only at certain stores. If you can’t find it, you could buy links (similar to bratwurst but again, Italian sausages) and take off the skins and use that. Same thing. Does this help at all? I hope so! Thanks again and take care.
I just made this for dinner. Everyone loved it! Even picky kids loved it! Definitely making this again. Thank you!
Thank you so much, Pamsy! It’s one of my favorite recipes. I really can’t get enough! Have a fantastic weekend. 🙂
What if I wanted to put it in the slow cooker?? Do I have too cook the meat first or can just toss it in?
Hi Danielle, personally I would cook the meat first before adding it but that as not technically required. If you cook it in a slow cooker, though, none of the liquid will be able to evaporate so the sauce might be a little watery (not as thick). But otherwise you should be good, probably 4 hours on HIGH or 8 hours on LOW.
Hi Meggan –
Here is my question…I want to serve this at my Super Bowl party this year, but we have to travel out of town leaving on Friday and returning Sunday around noon. Would it be to make on Thursday evening, leaving in the refrigerator until time to cook on Sunday? Or should I serve something else?
Hi Stephanie, yes you would be fine to do that. You’d actually be safe until Monday (leftovers are good for up to 4 days per the FDA and also per my Food Safety Manager certificate from the National Restaurant Association). If you have ANY doubts you could always freeze it and just give it some extra time to heat up. But yes, I would not hesitate to serve it 3 days later. Thank you!
I cooked this and it was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S thank you for the recipe it was really nice with this cold wheather.
Omg, so delicious! This is what my son requested for his birthday today. I’m sure he’ll love it!!
Hi Vivian, I hope he likes it! Thank you so much for reading. 🙂
I recently started pressure canning. Have you ever tried to can your sauce? I’m excited to try the recipe. Thanks!
Hi Melissa! I don’t have much experience with canning, but I own a copy of the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving. I’ll tell you everything I can find in the book that seems helpful! Since there is meat in the sauce, you are all set with your pressure canning method (the boiling water method wouldn’t work).
The recipe I have from the book is for pint or quart jars. It’s just for processing ground beef but I think it would work for this meat sauce, too.
Process the jars on medium-high. Vent steam for 10 minutes.
Put weighted gauge on vent, bring pressure to 10 pounds.
Process pint jars 1 hour and 15 minutes or quart jars 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Turn off heat, cool canner to zero pressure. After 5 minutes, remove lid.
Let jars cool 10 minutes. Remove jars from canner; do not retighten bands if loose. Cool 12 hours. Check seals.
If you didn’t actually NEED a recipe, sorry for listing it out. I hope you love the sauce whether you can it or not. It’s my favorite! Thanks so much for stopping by!
If I needed to skip the sausage and use 2 pounds of ground beef, would you recommend adding any additional seasoning?
Thank you!
Hey Julie! Personally I would not change the seasoning even if I was skipping the sausage and doubling the beef. But, the best thing to do is just taste it as you go (once the beef is cooked through, of course). That’s always the best way! 🙂