Our Favorite Spaghetti Meat Sauce
- PREP 5min
- COOK 40min
- TOTAL 45min
We’ve made this easy spaghetti meat sauce countless times and are always happy that we did. The sauce starts with a base of ground meat. We love keeping the sauce on the leaner side and use ground turkey, but any ground meat like beef, pork, chicken, and lamb will work.
You Will Need
Meat Sauce
1 pound lean ground meat like beef, turkey, chicken or lamb
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup (130 grams) chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup water, broth or dry red wine
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Handful fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving
Optional Ingredients, See Notes
2 to 3 teaspoons fish sauce
1 to 2 teaspoons mushroom powder, here’s our recipe
3 to 4 anchovy fillets, minced with some of their oil or use anchovy paste
Pinch sugar
1 leftover rind from a wedge of parmesan
Directions
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat (we use a Dutch oven). Add the meat and cook until browned, about 8 minutes. As the meat cooks, use a wooden spoon to break it up into smaller crumbles.
Add the onions and cook, stirring every once and a while, until softened, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring continuously for about 1 minute.
Pour in the water and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits of meat or onion stuck to the bottom of the pot. Stir in the tomatoes, 3/4 teaspoon of salt and a generous pinch of black pepper. Bring the sauce to a low simmer. Cook, uncovered, at a low simmer for 25 minutes. As it cooks, stir and taste the sauce a few times so you can adjust the seasoning accordingly (see notes for suggestions). Stir in the basil just before serving.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing/Make-ahead: The sauce can be made in advance and should last in your refrigerator up to 3 days and in your freezer for about three months.
- If the flavor of the sauce doesn’t pop, you probably need a bit more salt.
- If the sauce is too acidic, a pinch of sugar will do the trick.
- If the sauce tastes light on flavor, think about adding a few dashes of fish sauce or a few minced anchovies (both add a rich, savory flavor).
- Adding a leftover rind of a parmesan wedge to the sauce at the same time as adding the tomatoes adds richness and extra flavor. It won’t melt all the way, just remove what’s left before serving.
- Nutrition facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste — We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste