Now I know that most of y’all will head to the grocery store and pick up a jar of your fave spaghetti sauce on busy weeknights. But seriously, let me have you reconsider. My Southern-style homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is the real deal, and it is completely no fuss. You won’t believe how easy it is to make a spaghetti meat sauce from scratch. And trust me, the flavor is beyond anything you can even get in a jar.
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Ingredient Notes
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Just sub in a neutral oil like vegetable or canola.
- Ground Beef: Ground turkey or ground chicken works just fine y’all.
- Crushed Tomatoes: If you’ve got whole canned tomatoes, you can crush by hand or add to a blender for a few secs to make your own crushed tomatoes.
- Chicken Stock: Chicken broth or beef broth work just as well. You can also use vegetable broth or stock too.
- Red Wine: Or use more stock or you can add in a bit of balsamic vinegar.
How to make spaghetti sauce
Step 1: Add olive oil to large pot over medium high heat on stove. Add ground beef, italian sausage, onion, green pepper and salt and pepper.
Step 2: Brown until cooked. Next add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Step 3: Add in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, red wine, chicken stock, Italian seasoning, sugar, and red pepper flakes.
Step 4: Lower heat and continue simmering until sauce has thickened (about 40-50 minutes) then it’s ready to go boos.
Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- seasoned salt to taste
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1 cup chopped onions
- 1/2 cup chopped green peppers
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 48 oz canned crushed tomatoes 1 1/2 (28 oz) cans
- 29 oz canned tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp red wine
- 1/4 cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning can make it homemade
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar plus 1 teaspoon
- 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Add olive oil to large pot over medium high heat on stove.
- Add ground beef, italian sausage, onion, green pepper and salt and pepper. Brown until cooked.
- Next add garlic and cook for 1 minute.
- Then add in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, red wine, chicken stock, italian seasoning, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Lower heat to medium low and continue to simmer until sauce has thickened about 40-50 minutes then add to additional recipes or serve.
Notes
How to store & reheat Southern spaghetti sauce
Pop any leftover spaghetti meat sauce in an airtight container or freezer bag after it has cooled to room temp. I like to reheat on the stovetop in a saucepan over medium low heat until warmed through. Add a little water or chicken stock to thin it out.How long will spaghetti sauce last in the fridge?
It should last up to 5 days.Can I freeze homemade spaghetti sauce?
For sure boos. Pop in an airtight container or a freezer bag after it has cooled down and label. It should last for up to 3 months.Nutrition
Recipe Tips
- Use Quality: Go with quality tomatoes, meats and spices. Because this sauce is pretty low-key, the quality makes the difference in the final product.
- Don’t Rush The Simmer: Allowing that sauce to simmer and thicken at a lower temperature so those flavors really develop.
- Taste Along The Way: Give the sauce a taste as it starts to develop and adjust flavors along the way so it comes out just how you want it.
- Don’t Skip the Sugar: Listen, this sauce has more Southern vibes than strict Italian notes. The sugar really rounds out the flavor and doesn’t let the tomato flavor overtake the sauce with acidity and bitterness.
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Serving Suggestions
- Go Classic: This sauce is perfect with classic spaghetti and meatballs boos.
- Bake it Up: Having this sauce be the base for this baked spaghetti recipe, baked ziti or lasagna is beyond delish.
- Over Grits: Folks love to serve this sauce over polenta in Italy so why not do it with Southern polenta: grits! And if you want to cheese it up, serve over these cheese grits.
- Homemade pizza: No pizza sauce lying around? Use leftover spaghetti sauce instead. It would be a dream in this Sicilian pizza or meat lovers pizza.
Recipe Help
You sure can boos. In fact, you can make ahead up to 5 days. Just store in the fridge. For anything longer, just freeze.
Yep boos you can. I would still not skip the browning process since that gives a ton of flavor but you can toss everything else in a crockpot and let it go on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4.
If the consistency is too thick, thin it a bit with some additional chicken stock. If it’s too thin, just keep on simmering until it thickens how you like it y’all.
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Thank you! I made this and the family loved it!
Yay! So happy to hear that everyone enjoyed it!
I know you said the sauce can be frozen, but are you able to can it in jars for future use.
I would also like to know if that is possible?
Hi Marcia, I am not sure. I do not home can, and don’t see why you couldn’t but don’t have any insight on how to do that.