Best Homemade Italian Meat Sauce with Spaghetti

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Are you ready to whip up the most amazing Homemade Italian Meat Sauce with Spaghetti? This recipe is guaranteed to leave you completely mesmerized with its zesty flavors, savory ground beef, and perfectly balanced acidic-yet-sweet tomato sauce. Forks ready, let’s eat!

One batch of this recipe makes eight to ten servings, making it convenient for feeding large crowds or meal-prepping at the beginning of the week.

In just one hour, you can make an easy and delicious meal the whole family will love or pack to-go lunches for the office or your kids’ lunchboxes.

Know your Italian sauces

So, what’s the main difference between pasta sauce, marinara, and pizza sauce? Are they all the same recipes with different names? Not quite.

Although these tomato-based sauces are similar, significant differences set them apart. For instance, marinara sauce is often used for dipping garlic bread, pizza slices, or fried mozzarella.

On the other hand, pasta sauce is poured over noodles, like our recipe today. And finally, pizza sauce is typically found just on pizza.

You can technically use all tomato sauces interchangeably. However, you may offend a traditional Italian cook! Otherwise, they are similar sauces with slightly different ingredients, textures, and cooking processes and are used for particular purposes. 

Furthermore, there is one more common Italian-based tomato sauce, bolognese, which differs from the others. The key to bolognese sauce is to cook it very slowly with fresh herbs and the best tomatoes rather than canned or dried products. The result is a more authentic and rich flavor. 

Ingredient notes

• Ground beef | For the best results, use high-quality lean ground beef.
• Onion | For a sweeter effect, chop up a yellow onion, but white onions also work.
• Bell pepper | I prefer green bell peppers for homemade meat sauce, but yellow, orange, or red work just fine.
• Garlic | The final ingredient to add fresh flavor to the sauce is minced garlic.

• Tomatoes and tomato paste | For the tomatoey base, use canned San Marzano tomatoes and a can of tomato paste. Crushed tomatoes also do the trick.
• Sugar | Add granulated sugar for sweetness, cutting the acidity of the tomatoes.
• Water | Water helps to create the perfect consistency for the classic Italian meat sauce.
• Herbs | Mix fresh and dried herbs — freshly chopped Italian parsley, dried oregano, and dried basil. Or, check out this homemade blend of Italian seasoning that will work just as well!

• Salt and pepper | Add a pinch of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to round out the flavors. Add red pepper flakes for extra heat.
• Fennel seeds| Fennel seeds lend a subtle sweetness, enhancing the sugar and balancing the acidic tomatoes.
• Pasta | Finally, pour the homemade meat sauce over the spaghetti noodles cooked following the package directions.

How to make Italian Pasta Sauce with Meat

This spaghetti meat sauce recipe is easy to make and tastes much better than any jarred or canned store-bought pasta sauce.

STEP 1 | Cook the ground beef

First, set a large Dutch oven over medium heat and crumble in the ground beef.

Add the onions, bell pepper, and fresh garlic, then cook for 7 to 8 minutes, often stirring to break up the meat, until it’s browned. Drain off any excess grease.

STEP 2 | Add the remaining ingredients

Next, blend the canned tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, and water, and add it to the browned meat. Then, sprinkle the remaining spices, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and fennel seeds.

STEP 3 | Boil and simmer

Now, bring the mixture to a boil. Then, reduce to low heat and simmer uncovered for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.

STEP 4 | Cook the pasta and serve

While the sauce simmers, prepare spaghetti noodles in a pot of salted boiling water. When it’s fully cooked, drain the spaghetti, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

Stir the water into the sauce, then serve over the noodles. All that’s left to do is dig in and enjoy! Top with freshly grated parmesan cheese and finely chopped herbs, like parsley.

For more homemade Italian recipes, try my saucy Meatball Subs, incredible Italian Sausage Butternut Squash Pasta Bake, this recipe for The Best Pomodoro Sauce, and this light and fluffy Lemon Ricotta Cake!

Variations and substitutions

• Swap the beef for ground pork, ground turkey, or Italian sausage if preferred.
• Add shredded carrots for more nutritious veggies.
• Add a splash of red wine to make a richer and more complex taste.
• And finally, adding aged balsamic vinegar or Worcestershire sauce is a great way to boost the meat sauce flavor.

Storage and reheating tips

• To store leftovers, keep the sauce in a tightly-sealed container, like a mason jar, for up to a week. To reheat, add to a saucepan over medium heat and cook until warmed through.
• You can pour the cooled sauce into freezer bags and store it for longer, up to 3 months.

Frequently asked questions

Serving suggestions

This meal is filling and complete on its own. However, you can absolutely serve it with traditional spaghetti sides, like bread or salad.

Check out my Cheddar Bay Biscuits and Peppery Cheese Quick Bread for unique homemade bread options. Or pair your from-scratch pasta and meat sauce with a refreshing Chicken Kale Caesar Salad or this flavorful Chopped Mediterranean Salad with Arugula.

Behind the recipe: Italian Meat Sauce and Spaghetti

Believe it or not, some historians believe Marco Polo was the individual who introduced pasta to Italy, not the Italians themselves. After a trip to China, Polo brought back pasta made from rice flour common throughout the East.

The Italians didn’t take too long to create their version of pasta made from wheat and formed into strands. From this invention eventually came spaghetti noodles, named after the Italian word ‘Spago,’ meaning ‘string.’

And many other shapes and textures of pasta were introduced to the Italian diet and different cuisines. What makes spaghetti especially common is its versatile structure and ability to support heavier sauces just as well as light sauces.

In comparison, angel hair pasta is fragile and thin, making it better suited for light sauces, like olive oil, butter, and lemon-based recipes.