The rich meat sauce simmered on the stove, filling my apartment with aroma. My neighbors knocked on my door, asking what I was cooking. “Just a simple homemade spaghetti sauce,” I said, trying to sound casual while secretly feeling like a culinary genius. The conversation stopped after the first bite when I finally sat down to dinner with friends that evening. “This tastes just like my Italian grandmother’s sauce,” one friend whispered. That’s when I knew this recipe was something special.
There’s something magical about creating a meat sauce from scratch. The transformation of simple ingredients into a rich, complex sauce is satisfying and impressive. This hearty homemade spaghetti meat sauce combines ground beef, aromatic vegetables, Italian herbs, and tomatoes into a robust, flavorful sauce that elevates any pasta it touches. While jarred sauces offer convenience, they can’t match a homemade version’s depth of flavor and satisfaction.
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Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
The science behind a perfect meat sauce lies in building layers of flavor. Browning the beef creates rich, savory compounds through the Maillard reaction. Sautéing vegetables in that same pan captures those flavors while adding natural sweetness. The slow simmer allows the herbs to release their essential oils and the tomatoes to break down, creating a harmonious blend where no single ingredient dominates. The secret weapon in this recipe is beef bouillon, which contains concentrated glutamates and nucleotides that amplify the meaty flavor profile without requiring hours of simmering. Combined with Parmesan cheese, these umami-rich ingredients create remarkable depth in just 45 minutes, rivaling sauces that cook all day. This clever shortcut delivers homemade flavor without compromising on taste or quality.
Ingredients
- Sugar – Counters acidity if needed (optional)
- Ground beef – Provides a hearty protein base and rich flavor, we prefer lean ground beef for this recipe
- Sweet onion – Adds aromatic sweetness that balances acidity
- Green bell pepper – Contributes fresh flavor and subtle crunch
- Tomato sauce – Creates smooth texture and consistent tomato flavor
- Stewed tomatoes – Offers chunks of tomato and complexity
- Water – Adjusts consistency and helps meld flavors
- Chicken or beef bouillon cubes – Enhances savory depth
- Dried basil – Provides classic Italian herb flavor
- Dried oregano – Adds earthy, aromatic notes
- Chili powder – Contributes subtle warmth and complexity
- Parsley flakes – Brings freshness and color
- Garlic powder – Delivers aromatic pungency throughout the sauce
- Black pepper – Adds gentle heat and seasoning
- Accent seasoning – Enhances existing flavors (optional)
- Parmesan cheese – Creates richness and savory notes
- Salt – Balances and enhances all flavors (optional)
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Instead of bouillon cubes, you can also use an alternative such as Better Than Bouillon.Â
MSG products like Accent sometimes get a bad reputation, but they add much flavor. If you choose not to use Accent, a dash or two of soy or Worcestershire sauce is all it takes for an extra umami kick.
You can substitute ground beef for ground chicken or ground turkey, or half of the meat for Italian sausage.
Add a kick of heat with a little red pepper flakes.
How to Make the Best Spaghetti Meat Sauce Recipe
To make this easy meat sauce for spaghetti:
- Dice the sweet onions and green peppers. Reserve for later.
- Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
- Add the ground beef to the saucepan and break it up with a wooden spoon or spatula. Cook the ground beef for a minute or two, then add the diced onions and green peppers. Brown the meat while stirring from time to time. If you want, you can drain any excess grease at this point.
- Stir in the tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, water, bouillon cubes, and all the herbs and spices. If you are using Accent, add it at this step as well.
- Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce it to a simmer. Cook the meat sauce for 20 minutes, uncovered. Occasionally, stir the sauce and adjust the heat so it remains at a slow simmer.
- Stir in the parmesan cheese.
- Taste the sauce and adjust the flavor with additional sugar or salt if necessary.
What to Serve With It?
Use spaghetti or another thicker pasta, like tagliatelle or pappardelle. The wider noodles give the meat sauce more surface area to cling to and provide a toothier bite. You can also serve it over spaghetti squash.
Serve the pasta garnished with fresh parsley along with a soup or salad. Don’t forget a crusty slice of Italian bread or garlic bread to mop up any extra sauce.
Different Ways You Could Use This Meat Sauce
This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe makes enough sauce for a pound and a half of pasta. Since most packets of dried pasta are only a pound, you will have some leftovers. And that’s a good thing. Sure, you can make more pasta tomorrow night, but there are so many more options for using this meat sauce. Here are just a few:
- Vegetable Casserole: Layer various sliced vegetables, such as eggplant, zucchini, and tomatoes, in a casserole dish. Spread the pasta sauce between each layer. Cook in the oven at 400 degrees until the vegetables are soft. Sprinkle parmesan cheese on top and serve.
- Hearty Vegetable Soup: Heat the leftover pasta sauce in a saucepan and thin it with chicken or beef stock. Simmer and serve with cooked egg noodles or cheese tortellini.
- Meaty Baked Potato: Split a baked potato and top it with this homemade meat sauce. Sprinkle on your shredded cheese, and enjoy.
Storage Instructions
- Refrigerate: Cool completely and store in airtight containers for up to 3 days.
- Freeze: Portion into freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to 1 month.
- Thaw: When ready to use frozen sauce, thaw overnight in the refrigerator for best results.
Reheating Instructions
- Slow cooker: For larger portions, place in a slow cooker on low for 1-2 hours, stirring occasionally. This method is excellent for keeping the sauce warm during gatherings.
- Stovetop (Recommended): Pour sauce into a saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until warmed through (about 5-7 minutes). Add a splash of water or broth if the sauce has thickened too much during storage.
- Microwave: Transfer sauce to a microwave-safe container, cover loosely with a microwave-safe lid or paper towel. Heat on 70% power for 2 minutes, stir, then continue heating in 30-second intervals until thoroughly heated.
- With pasta: For leftover sauce and pasta combined, add 1-2 tablespoons of water or broth before reheating to refresh the texture. The pasta will have absorbed some of the sauce during storage.
Classic Homemade Spaghetti Meat Sauce with Italian Herbs
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 sweet onion diced
- 1 green bell pepper diced
- 24 ounces tomato sauce
- 14.5 ounces canned stewed tomatoes
- 14.5 ounces water
- 4 chicken or beef bouillon cubes
- 1 tablespoon dried basil
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon parsley flakes
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon Accent seasoning optional
- 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 pinch salt optional
- 1 pinch sugar optional
- 1 1/2 pounds spaghetti noodles to serve
Instructions
- In a pot over medium-high heat, sauté the ground beef, onion, and bell pepper until the meat is browned. Add the tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, water, bouillon cubes, and all the herbs and spices. Simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add the Parmesan to the pot and stir. Taste the soup and add a bit of salt and/or sugar, if necessary.
- To serve, boil 4 quarts of water. Add the spaghetti to the boiling water and stir until the water returns to a boil. Turn the heat down and simmer for 8 to 9 minutes, until the noodles reach the desired tenderness. Drain the spaghetti and serve alongside the sauce.
Notes
Nutrition
Favorite Sauce Recipes
- Chinese Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Classic Hollandaise Sauce
- Katsu Sauce
- Olive Garden Alfredo Sauce
- Olive Garden Marinara Sauce
- Olive Garden Three Meat Sauce
- Mustard Cream Sauce
- Red Clam Sauce
- Thai Peanut Sauce
- Vodka Sauce
Popular Spaghetti Recipes
Check out my easy sauce recipes and the best Italian recipes on CopyKat!
Thanks to Columbiamo for sharing this spaghetti recipe.
I am sure you see the trend here… this pasta sauce is soo good, you will need to double this recipe.
This has become my go-to recipe.
Loved this spaghetti sauce. I served it with some Caesar salad, and a nice bottle of Italian Chianti, and played Vivaldi’s four seasons while I dined.
I never put sugar in my sauce,i cut up a carrot instead and cook it in my sauce.(natural sugar)beta carotene)
Warning: this is super high in sodium. 4 bouillon cubes is 400% of an adult’s daily intake of salt. Other sources of salt here include the tomato sauce (if canned), the stewed tomatoes (if canned), chili powder, parmesan cheese, and the Accent powder (MSG contains sodium, not as NaCl of course; about half as much as table salt).
I do 1 can tomato sauce, 2 cans stewed tomatos, 1 can tomato paste, 2 lbs ground beef and 2 bouillon cubes and 1 Tbsp Clubhouse Italian seasoning. Probably about more than half the sodium as your recipe, yet it is definitely salty enough. Sometimes I even just use 1 bouillon cube.
This is the best spagetti sauce I have ever had!! From now on I will be skipping the canned/jar sauces and just making this!! It was the perfect sauce!! I served mine with homemade rolls and a salad! Yum!
WHAT? Sugar in Spaghetti Sauce NEVER
Most Italians wont allow it
Just simmer the sauce long enough and the sweetness of the tomato will come through
I don’t know if you have ever watched Kitchen Boss with Buddy Vilastro but he is as italian as they come and he puts sugar in his sauces sometimes!
I used this recipe, but used a meat substitute (LifeLight Simply Ground) and omitted the bouillon cubes. LOVED all the spices and flavor. Probably the best spaghetti ever!
This is a recipe that I developed and really enjoy. However, the pepper should be 1/4 teaspoon instead of a teaspoon and my user name is Columbiamo. You can adjust the pepper to taste and I am sure you will love the recipe.
I’m looking forward to suggesting this recipe next time we have spaghetti for dinner. It’s always amazing to try new recipes like this that add a flavorful twist 🙂