Are you in the mood for some homemade spaghetti for dinner tonight? Then look no further! This recipe for tomato meat sauce is great over spaghetti pasta, or any pasta for that matter. It’s also good on ravioli and stuffed shells. Last and certainly not least it makes an amazing filler for homemade lasagna.
Check out my recipe for Lasagna!
This is a pretty basic tomato meat sauce recipe so feel free to add some chopped bell pepper or a can of sliced mushrooms for a heartier sauce.
For ground meat you can use ground beef, ground Italian sausage, or ground turkey. Since we always have a freezer full of deer meat on hand, I like to incorporate deer meat into any recipe that calls for ground meat. For this recipe I used half ground deer and half ground beef (73% lean).
Homemade meatballs can also be used in place of ground meat. I like to cook the raw meatballs in the sauce while it’s simmering. In my opinion letting the meatballs cook in the sauce, rather than pre-cooking them, gives the sauce and the meatballs so much more flavor.
You can also omit using any meat altogether if you want more of a marinara style sauce for pizzas or a dipping sauce.
Let’s get started! Here’s what you’ll need…
Ingredients:
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp. garlic, minced
- ¼ cup red wine
- 2 lbs. ground meat
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. pepper
- 14.5 oz. can Italian style diced tomatoes
- 2 (6 oz.) cans Italian style tomato paste
- 28 oz. can crushed peeled tomatoes
- 28 oz. can tomato puree
- 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
- 4-6 tbsp. brown sugar
Instructions:
1. In a large pot, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until soft.
2. Add red wine and cook for about 5 minutes.
3. After the wine has reduced some, add ground meat, salt, and pepper. Cook until ground meat is cooked all the way through and no longer pink.
Since I’m using a combination of ground deer and beef I mixed the two together with a meat masher before adding to the pot.
4. After the meat has cooked all the way through, add all the canned tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and sugar. Stir.
5. Cover and simmer for 2-3 hours stirring every 20-30 minutes.
6. Serve over pasta and enjoy!
A Dash of Mel
Spaghetti Tomato Meat Sauce
A classic tomato meat sauce recipe made with ground meat, onion, garlic, olive oil, wine, Italian herbs, and canned tomatoes. Serve over spaghetti pasta, ravioli, stuffed shells, and makes an amazing filler for homemade lasagna. Omit the meat for a marinara style sauce for pizzas or a dipping sauce.
- ½ cup olive oil
- ½ onion (chopped)
- 2 tbsp. garlic (minced)
- ¼ cup red wine
- 2 lbs. ground meat
- 2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. pepper
- 14.5 oz. Italian style diced tomatoes
- 12 oz. Italian style tomato paste
- 28 oz. crushed peeled tomatoes
- 28 oz. tomato puree
- 1 tbsp. Italian seasoning
- 4-6 tbsp. sugar
In a large pot, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat for 5-10 minutes, until soft.
Add red wine and cook for about 5 minutes.
Add ground meat, salt, and pepper. Cook until ground meat is cooked all the way through and no longer pink.
Add all the canned tomatoes, Italian seasoning, and sugar. Stir.
Cover and simmer for 2-3 hours stirring every 20-30 minutes.
- Meatballs can be used in place of ground meat.
- Feel free to add some chopped bell pepper or a can of sliced mushrooms for a heartier sauce.
- Can also be used as a sauce for lasagna, stuffed shells, and ravioli.
- Feel free to omit the ground meat if you want more of a marinara style sauce.
