When I say “Amazing Spaghetti Sauce,” I am not exaggerating. This is my new favorite sauce recipe! I got it from my sister, and it is FANTASTIC!!! Like most Italian dishes, this sauce just gets better with time. It was good the first day, but the leftovers seemed even better! I pulled this sauce out of the freezer one night to make stuffed shells, and the sauce was even more Amazing!!!
At first, I was skeptical, because it simmers with a couple of bay leaves in it. I wasn’t sure what that would do to the flavor. Oh, man! It just might be the secret ingredient. It is so subtle, yet you are, like, “Dang! Why is this sauce so good? Hmm, maybe it’s the bay leaves?”
I have a giant container of bay leaves. It’s much cheaper to buy them in bulk. Mine has lasted six years and has at least 75-100 leaves in it still.
Use this Amazing Spaghetti Sauce to make:
- Italian Sausage and Peppers Lasagna Roll-Ups
- Creamy Bacon Spaghetti
- Amazing Stuffed Shells
- Sausage and Zucchini Lasagna Roll-ups
- No-Boil Meatless Lasagna
- The Best Italian Meatballs
how to make amazing spaghetti sauce
- Sauté the onion in the butter and olive oil for 2 minutes.
- Add sausage and garlic and cook until sausage is cooked through.
- Add the rest of the ingredients.
- Simmer for two hours.
- Remove bay leaves before serving.
- Serve over spaghetti noodles or use it to make lasagna or stuffed shells.
- Leftover sauce can be frozen and used in future meals.
**See that pan in the picture? It is what I like to call my “Special Pan.” I love this pan. I use it everyday! You can also put it in the oven. It has a very tight sealing lid, which helps cook food evenly and quickly. I LOVE IT!!!! It is like a member of the family. I would be lost without it. The company that makes this pan is out of business now, so sad. I also like enamel covered Dutch ovens and use mine almost as often as I use my special pan.”
Tips for making Amazing Spaghetti Sauce
- Make a double batch and freeze half to use this amazing sauce the next time you make lasagna. 🙂
- If you don’t have Italian seasoning, you can make a mixture of your own using thyme, basil, oregano, and rosemary. As long as you get a decent amount of Italian flavored spices in this recipe, you can’t go wrong.
- My sister makes the sauce without the meat and adds the cooked sausage later. But I love to let the sauce simmer with the sausage in it. It adds a depth of flavor that is AWESOME!
- You can use ground beef or no meat in this recipe at all. It will taste great with sautéed or canned mushrooms put in at the end as a vegetarian option.
- This sauce can easily be made in the slow cooker. First, brown the meat with the onion and garlic before putting all the ingredients in the slow cooker. Plus, add 2 Tbsp of tomato paste to help it thicken, which it naturally does as it cooks down on the stove. In the slow cooker, the moisture will not escape, so you need tomato paste to thicken it.
Serve with
- ¼ cup butter
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 4 segments of garlic, finely chopped or crushed
- ½ lb Italian Sausage, remove casings
- 1 29 oz can of crushed tomatoes
- 1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- ½ tsp pepper (scant)
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 tsp basil
- ½ tsp oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- Saute the onion in the butter and olive oil for 2 minutes.
- Add sausage and garlic and cook until sausage is cooked through.
- Add the rest of the ingredients.
- Simmer for two hours.
- Remove bay leaves before serving.
- Serve over spaghetti noodles or use it to make lasagna or stuffed shells.
- Leftover sauce can be frozen and used in future meals.
don’t forget to pin this awesome pin to your favorite pinterest board!
I can’t wait to try any suggestions if I omit sausage? Hamburger or no meat?
I think it would taste great with sauteed mushrooms, zucchini and spinach thrown it in at the end. (Or….my sister loves to add canned mushrooms and canned olives, I have eaten it that way at her house and it is really good too. You can add those while the sauce is simmering.) If you want it to have a little meaty flavor you could put beef bullion in place of the salt in the recipe.
This is a great sauce and you can call it home because that’s what it is
Thanks Don!
I am a chef of 23 years in Italian restaurant and I like these recipes for spaghetti sauce
Thank you Chef David! 🙂
Do you simmer covered or uncovered?
I cover it with the lid slightly ajar, that way it doesn’t splat but also lets the moisture out.
Nice recipe but I will definitely add fresh basil—other then that, it’s a great sauce
I make a sauce very similar to yours. The difference is I use 3 small cans of tomato sauce = 24 oz. with the large can of crushed tomatoes and minus the brown sugar. Most of the time I make it without the meat. Sometimes I cook the meatballs separate and then add to the sauce to give it a meaty flavor or sometimes I cook the sausages separate and then add to the sauce. Today I am trying your sauce and boy does it smell yummy. Thank you for the recipe!
Your sauce sounds delicious too. Hope you liked how mine turned out!
This is amazing. My family loves this sauce! Did it with spare ribs was so good!
Awesome! That sounds delicious.
I’m making this right now. I’ve been making this so many times. We love it so much! I can say it’s just a perfect ingredients for me. Thank you for the recipe!!
Thanks Muoi! I love that! Thanks for leaving the comment and letting me know!
I love that this is called “homemade” and calls for a “can of tomato sauce”
A “can of tomato sauce” can be from your own collection of your “homemade” tomato sauce…Oh, by the way, I love that your own “homemade” sauce recipe is so good that you had to google or pinterest a recipe =)
Touche!! Awesome sauce BTW!!
Thanks Kathy!
Ouch…that had to sting Emma.
I have made it with the canned sauce and with my own homemade marinara sauce and it is equally good with either. Some of you folks are way too critical!
Thank you, Joan!
Maria- making your sauce right now!! It’s awesome already and it’s only simmered for 1/2 hr. I don’t think my husband can wait the whole 2 hrs.👨🏼🍳 he loves it already!!👍To your critics, some of the best chefs say they prefer the canned tomatoes 🍅 (less water content)!! Some people are so petty , they need to get a life and try your awesome recipe!! Thanks for your homemade , made with love in your own kitchen, recipe!! Sincerely Brenda
Awwww, thank you so much Brenda! You made my day!
A little snitty/snotty today???
This is one of the best recipes on the net.
Loved it. Maybe only half an onion next time.
Glad you liked it.
Oh, man. I was so excited to use this recipe off pinterest when it said homemade spaghetti sauce. But, then it used cans and not fresh tomatoes. Next time! Still, looks yummy.
Not sure why everyone is having a cow over the canned tomatoes. Some people can their own tomatoes? Use fresh if you like, I’m sure if you google it someone will tell you the ratio of fresh to a can.
I kind of love you for saying that. 🙂
Sounds like a great sauce. I have made sauce from fresh tomatoes too, but you don’t always have the time or inclination to blanch and peel them so this recipe works for me. Thanks Maria.
You’re welcome. 😉 I rarely read comments on recipes for all the stuff like this!! Makes me crazy.
I just made this sauce and doubled the recipe. It smells really really good right now in my house. And those comments about not being homemade with can products, some people have nothing good to say ever. Thanks for the recipe. I have trie a lot of them and by far this is the one I am going to use for now on. Thanks again, Dennis from Dubuque,Iowa
Thanks Dennis! You made my day! So glad you love the sauce as much as I do!
So with home made BREAD do you expect I grind my own flour? lol well, still a great recipe, don’t concern yourself over all those “homemade” critics !! I bet they will love this if they try it!
I use a dash of cinnamon and a dash of cayenne when I make spaghetti sauce, too.
haha! Good point Suzy. 🙂 Cinnamon and cayenne ‘ey? Gonna have to give that a try.
If it’s not a jar sauce, it’s homemade!! Love it!!
🙂
Exactly what I was thinking!
There is nothing better than Pastene Chunky tomatoes canned…..to make a spaghetti sauce. They are always fresh tasting and delicious.
Homemade doesn’t mean you have to grow the freaking tomatoes people! Duh! Homemade simply means you didn’t open a jar or can that says “Spaghetti Sauce” on it. Why am I still so amazed at the stupidity of people?
Bravo!
I just blanched tomatoes my neighbors gave me and put them in the freezer until I have enough to do a BIG batch to freeze later for neighborhood get-to-gethers. at 84 I am considered a good cook and I love this and can add some red wine if I wish later . A large salad, sour dough garlic french bread and this with fresh fruit or home made ice cream is a truely great dinner.
Yum, yum, yum! I wish I could come to your neighborhood get together’s. 🙂
That’s true. Where else are you going to find fresh tomatoes more than 3 months a year…unless you live in California.
Or Italy…
Just made this and it was delish. Working full time with two kids, this is about as homemade as its gonna get. Thx for something easy yummy and better than any package or jar sauce.
Good for you Momma! ❤️
Thank you for putting your recipe on here….I used canned tomatoes too, cause today I don’t have time to chop up a pile of tomatoes….there are critics in every crowd, just remember we all do what we can and should be happy with meeting our own expectations! My #1 us putting love in my food, no matter whether some came from a can, it all came from my heart…can’t wait to try a new recipe today!
Hi Jessica, thanks for your sweet comment. I feel the same way about food. 🙂 I hope you enjoy this sauce as much as my family does.
Maria
How long will this keep in the freezer? As a mom of one (soon to be 2 in a couple weeks hopefully) We have been making freezer meals to prepare for the hustle bustle of our little ones arrival so it’d be nice to make lots of sauce if it will last for awhile. In my house if you are adding any ingredients it’s homemade!!! Can’t wait to make this!
Hi Dawn, Congratulations on the soon to be new baby! This sauce freezes great and can stay good in the freezer for two or three months. We double it and freeze the extra almost every time we make it. It is so nice to be able to pull out delicious sauce on busy nights.
I see you can freeze this but can you can it ?
I have never canned it because I don’t know what it’s ph level is and if it would need citric acid or vinegar added. I plan on doing some more research about it before next summer because I would love to be able to can this. I will let you know what I find out.
I use tomato paste also & a few dashes of red wine vinegar along with the crushed tomatoes! I also add Tony’s Cajun seasoning to my spaghetti sauce! My son n law loves my sauce , oh & of course meat & Italian blend seasoning! !!
I love Tony’s. I will have to try adding that sometime I add it to my sausage gravy for biscuits and gravy and the whole family loves it. I never thought to add it to spaghetti sauce. Thanks for the idea.
This is as close to homemade it gets for me, like a lot of other busy Mom’s I really don’t have the time to can my own tomatoes and Kudos to those of you that do! I did triple the recipe and it turned out wonderfully well! I used it for spaghetti and meatballs and lasagna and cheese tortellini and it is by far the best sauce I have made and is def going in the family cookbook! Thanks for sharing:~)
I found this on Pinterest and I cannot wait to try tonight with my quinoa meatballs over egg noodles! If I don’t use premade sauce out of a jar, and I am not eating ingredients I cannot pronounce, I consider it homemade too!
I bet this is delicious with sausage cooked into it as well, I will have to try that next time!
Hi Kristen,
So glad you found it. I love this recipe so much and yes, it is AWESOME with sausage! And Amen to the not out of a jar is homemade. 🙂
Maria
Hi Maria!
I love this recipe! Instead of using canned diced tomatoes, I just diced up a bunch of roma tomatoes (we grow our own) and threw them in the pot with the butter and garlic and onions, and added roughly a 1/2 tsp of baking soda to get rid of acidity and a 1/2 small can of tomato paste. Then when it had cooked down, whirred it up with an immersion blender. It tastes delicious and sooo flavorful – love the addition of bay leaves and brown sugar! Thanks so much 🙂 Just because some ingredients come from a can doesn’t make it not homemade!
You are so welcome! I am so glad you like the recipe. And I bet it was FANTASTIC with the fresh roma’s.
very excited about making this sauce!!!! My husband would eat spaghetti everyday of his life if he could. ☺️
We have always used jar sauce and I am tired of all the added “stuff”. This will be my first time making homemade sauce! Thank you for posting your recipe!
Do you think I could put this in the slow cooker on low all day while gone to work and it come out ok? Very exited to try it!
yes! I think it will turn out delicious!
I have done this! It worked great!
This was delicious, thank you!! I followed the recipe exactly, although I added more sausage to avoid wasting it. I love a meaty sauce anyway. My husband said that it’s his favorite red sauce to date. I might use spicy sausage the next time or add some red pepper flakes for a little kick, but with or without added spice, we loved it!
Hi Emma,
I am so glad you liked the sauce. It is my favorite too. Now you just need to try it on stuffed shells. Amazing!
Thanks for letting me know it was a hit at your house. I love hearing that!
Maria
Made this tonight and my Italian boyfriend loved it. I added some hot pepper flakes and mushrooms….also didn’t add the sausage but simmered chicken breast in the sauce….So delicous! Thanks for the recipe…I will use it over and over again.
Thanks Kristy! So glad you both liked it and I love hearing new ideas on how to serve it. I will have to try simmering Chicken Breasts in it!
Maria
This spaghetti sauce lives up to it’s name! I took your advice and doubled it. So glad I did! Delicious and easy!
Thanks Melissa! I love hearing that people like it as much as I do! 🙂
I am trying this recipe today! I canned a mixture of yellow and red tomatoes…. I am excited to see the color of my sauce! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
🙂 I bet it will be so yummy!
I found this recipe on Pinterest and just wanted to stop by and say thank you! I’ve made it a handful of times now and the family just loves it! It’s the best. Never buying the premade stuff again. 🙂
Oh YAY! I love to hear this! We love it too, in fact I just made a quadruple batch this week and froze it to have on hand. Thanks for taking time to come back and comment!
It really seriously looks amazing! I will have to make this next time we have spaghetti!
Amazing spaghetti sauce is something you should always have in the freezer. This looks great!
It’s always a good idea to make large batches of spaghetti sauce. This one looks tasty 🙂
Love that you can double it so that you can always have some on hand!
This looks and sounds delicious! I’m virtually always in the mood for spaghetti 🙂
I love a sweet sauce. I’ve never tried brown sugar in mine! Must try!
This is a wonderful recipe. I have red sauce flowing through my veins.
Can this be done in a crockpot?
Hi Samantha. Yes, If you brown the meat with the onions and garlic in the butter and olive oil first. You can add it and the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot and cook it on low for 4-6 hours.
If I make meatballs should I only cook them partially in the oven and then put them in the sauce to summer for 2 hours, do you know? Or cook meatballs completely? I’ve never done homemade meatballs before so I don’t know the best method!
Either way will work great. If you cook them partly in the sauce it adds a little different meaty flavor that I really like, so I usually do it that way.
Hi Maria, I found this for you on how to can your spagetti sauce, and it sounds almost like yours except it uses fresh tomatoes. But you can substitute canned tomatoes. I am going to try your sauce tonight, it sounds yummy. Thank you!!!
Forgot this : http://www.simplycanning.com/canning-spaghetti-sauce.html
Thank you so much Marilyn.
Could i make this in bulk and can it? Looking for a new sauce recupe for canning.
I don’t can it but I freeze it in gallon bags. I still have one in the freezer from this September when I made huge batches to freeze and it is still good. When canning tomatoes the ph has to be just right and I don’t know if this recipe would need to be altered to meet the needed levels so I just freeze it.
How much garlic would you use if you used garlic from the jar, oh yes I do use jar items
lol, I would do 3-4 tsp or more if you really like garlic. 🙂
If it’s cooked at home, it’s homemade.
I made this tonight and the flavor is out of this world! Seriously, like a great restaurant. I absolutely loved it! I used ground turkey and added sautéed mushrooms and zucchini at the end. My sauce wasn’t thick though. I was afraid if I simmered it for 2 hours without the lid it would get way too thick. Is it supposed to be simmered with the lid off? I’m guessing it will thicken a bit when we reheat it. It is absolutely delicious! Thank you so much for sharing! Bottled sauce doesn’t even come close!
So glad you love the sauce! We love it too. Yes, keeping the lid on doesn’t allow it to cook down and thicken. I made this in the crock pot on Sunday and had the same issue. It still taste great but doesn’t thicken. If you want to cook it with the lid on try adding a couple tablespoons of tomato paste, that will help it thicken.
You can also add your pasta about 30ish minutes (I usually slow cooker, and the time will depend on how hot your pot is. If your using your cook top, I would follow the pasta directions) before you serve it. It will soak up most of the liquid and save some dishes.
Wow! I’ve never tried that. Sounds like a great time/one more pot to clean, saver!
Loved this recipe and instead of meat I added some green and red peppers finely chopped.
Awesome! Glad you liked it Joanna!
I made this last night and it was really good but made such a small amount I have made sauce many many times and several different recipes and they all call for water did I miss something or is there not any ? Will definitely make again but in order to add meatballs and have some to freeze I will have to quadruple
Hi Dodi, I am glad you like the sauce. It’s our favorite. And yes, if you don’t double it it only makes about 5-6 cups of sauce. I mention on the recipe card that I like to double it so I can freeze half for a later meal. Quadrupling is even better 🙂
Is there somewhere to find the nutrition info on this sauce?
I am sorry, I don’t have that feature. You would need to go to a site that does that and enter the ingredients.
Wonderful sauce. I’m sicilian and my Grandfather’s family brought the family’s top secret sauce/gravy recipe with them when they came to America. Quite honestly, your recipe is very very similar. 🙂 For all those who have an issue with canned tomatoes…that’s what my Nonna and Nonni used too! Nice recipe!
And before anyone has a meltdown….I know that a grandfather is called Nonno in Italian. But we called our grandfather nonni. 🙂
Thank you Cheryl!
This is amazing! Better than any other homemade sauce I’ve made ,my husband won’t eat any other sauce. Not only delicious but super easy to make. Thanks for sharing. I always double the recipe for future use.
Thank you so much Donna. My kids are the same way too now. Last time I was in a crunch I used bottled sauce and they all looked at me like I was trying to torture them or something. 🙂
I found your recipe thru Google and looked easy enough to give it a try! I wanted to use my crockpot and not have to worry about cooking later tonight. Haven’t tried it yet but it already smells so good! Thanks for the recipe and I’ll be checking out the rest of your blog 🙂
Hi Madison, I have noticed that when I make this in the crock it doesn’t cook down the same way (and thicken) like it does when I cook it on the stove. I would suggest adding half a can of tomato paste if you do it in the crock pot. Hope you like it!
This sauce is AMAZING!! I could not stop eating it as it simmered! Thank you for posting this recipe!
I feel the same way Melissa! It’s addicting! My kids are becoming sauce snobs. Last time I tried to give them store bought, they revolted. 🙂
Hopefully even though this was posted awhile ago, you’ll still respond.
When cooking in a slow cooker how long do you recommend?
Thank you ?
Hi Veronica, I usually do 4-6 hours on low.
Thank you! My family loves the sauce. Even my boyfriend who’s a chef and my daughter who is crazy picky!!
I used ground beef. Should I drain it before adding the rest of the ingredients?
I don’t but if it is extra fatty, you might want to.
OMG! Amazing! Love this “homemade sauce”! Home made is anything that doesn’t say Prego or Ragu in my book! And I can tell you I will be making this recipe instead of jarred sauce from now on– I had no idea it would be so much better!!
Thanks Jayme, I felt the same way the first time I had this sauce! It is awesome and its the only sauce I make now.
I have made a lot of sauces in my lifetime but this is without a doubt the very best!!!
Oh Wow! High praise indeed. Thank you Maureen!
Got it cooking now. Debating should I add tomato paste after reading about the sauce being thin. But I will say it smells amazing..
Hi Felix, I rarely add tomato past because I like to let it cook down until it is nice and thickened. But when I make it in the Instant Pot I add some tomato paste.
Oooooooh – how long do you cook it for in the Instant Pot?!? This sauce is my all time favorite go-to recipe – but to use the IP instead of allowing 2 hours for simmering would make my day 😊
Hi Mandi, I brown the meat, onion and garlic on the saute setting and then pick a setting that will do 20-30 minutes. I also add in a couple tablespoons of tomato paste because it doesn’t thicken like it does on the stove because none of the moisture is escaping. 🙂
I was looking for a sauce like I just had in Rome – smooth, not acidic. This was perfect. My family loved it – a keeper!
This makes me so happy! So glad your family loved the sauce!
Has anyone left this in the crockpot on low for 8 hours? Would it matter?
Also, do you put the tomato paste in right away with all the other ingredients or wait until it’s almost done?
I put it in right away. At the end if it isn’t looking thick enough, you could add a little more.
I have. When I do this sauce in the crock pot I add a tbsp or two of tomato paste to help it thicken.
Haha! Im reading comments like 🤨😳😤🤯 I’m going to try this recipe out tonight, but I admit, I have to add wine to it 😆❤️ I’ve gone to culinary school and been a sous chef at a 4⭐️ Italian restaurant and let me tell you, ITALIANS USE CANNED TOMATOES FOR THEIR SAUCE TOO! I actually much prefer canned tomatoes to make marinara. The texture, moisture level, acidity and (hello) TIME! Girl, do your thing! If you don’t have time to chop up tomatoes, you definitely don’t have time for all that negativity!
Ps. I’m trying to satisfy a crowd of kids and picky eaters, so my normal marinara is too spicy and time consuming for this event. 😁 crock pot it is!
Lol, you crack me up! And, thank you so much, for the validation Tarah! Good luck with the crowd of kids! I’m going to have a crowd of them at my house tomorrow too, for my daughters birthday.
Maria.
Will be making this sauce tomorrow for my daughter and granddaughters visit.
When I moved into my home over 30 years ago, the elderly couple left practically everything behind which included pans that you mentioned in your blog. One of them is my favorite to make posole in because it is so big .
Thanks for the recipe.
AHH! I love it that we have the same pans Perla!!!! I just made this sauce last night for dinner! So yummy! It sounds like I need your Posole recipe!!
Can’t wait to try this recipe! I’m making it for our youth Pastors family who are having their 7th child and I know it’s going to be amazing! Thank you for sharing it and for your grace in the comments. I am sometimes amazed at some comments but we know hurt people hurt people. ( or should I say try to 😉) 🙏
Thank you Vickie! You are a sweet heart!
I am in the middle of making a batch following the recipe printed. I am not a cook, but married to a woman that is. Since I am doing this for bragging rights I would like to ask a couple of questions (after the fact). I found a bottle of marinara sauce in the cupboard. Could I have used it in place of the tomatoes or would I have to adjust the other ingredients. I used 8 ounces of tomato sauce out of a 16 ounce can. could I have used the other 8 ounces without changing the finished results? Also I bought a 12 ounce package of Italian sausage. I used 4 of the 5 links. Can I cook the other link for this batch? Thanks from a real novice.
Hi, these are great questions. No to the marinara sauce, but yes to all 16 ounces of tomato sauce being okay and yes, to adding all of the sausage! I hope your wife loved the finished product. This is one of my all time favorite recipes!
Hi. Just read this recipe on Yummly. What are casings? Does it mean sausages ?
Hi Jacqueline, Italian Sausage is usually sold in casings. I like to remove them for this recipe.
I love the smell of spaghetti sauce but never eat it because I’m basically a child. I do not like onions or tomatoes but will eat pizza sauce and ketchup. Is it possible to strain this after making it to remove the onions and tomato chunks? If so I’m definitely interested in trying it. I’ve really been craving chicken parmigiana but would prefer a red sauce that I know what’s actually in it if you catch my drift.
You could try it, I would leave the meat out and add it last. The other thing you could try is use and emulsion blender to smooth it all out.
By far, the best and most delicious pasta sauce ever! Made it just like you did, Maria, with the Italian sausage. Oh, yummmm! Just dipping bread in it was amazing! Thank you for the awesome recipe! Used it on your stuffed shells recipe–oh, what a treat!