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The BEST Homemade Meat Sauce has both beef and Italian sausage. It’s perfect for lasagna, spaghetti, or zoodles, and it comes together with easy pantry ingredients.
This made-from-scratch spaghetti sauce is worth getting excited about. First of all, it beats anything out of the jar. You can breeze right through the pasta sauce aisle, knowing that your homemade meat sauce is worlds better. Galaxies, even.
Then put your luscious sauce to work with your next batch of Spaghetti and Meatballs, Lasagna, or Baked Ziti. Cutting carbs? This meat sauce is a critical element in our Zucchini Lasagna and Zucchini Parmesan, and I bet you could make it work with Stuffed Zucchini, too.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Ground meat: You can do 2 pounds of ground beef, 2 pounds of ground Italian sausage, or 1 pound of each.
- Sugar: Even a tablespoon is too much for some people. If you don’t like the sound of sugar in your meat sauce, please leave it out. In my family, people add ¼ cup or even up to ½ cup.
- Italian seasoning: It’s easy to make your own homemade Italian seasoning with dried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and marjoram.
- Fennel seeds: The seeds make the Italian sausage flavors pop. If you love the taste of a sweet tomato sauce, use just ground beef (no sausage), at least ¼ cup sugar, and omit the fennel seeds.
Step-by-step instructions
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add beef, sausage, and onion and cook until mostly browned, about 5 minutes. Drain if desired. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, and bay leaf. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I like 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper).
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: This recipe makes 2 quarts (8 cups), enough for 16 servings, ½ cup each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: The sauce can be cooled and packed into freezer-safe containers (I like glass pint jars). Leave 1/2-inch headspace for expansion. Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Meatless: For a hearty meatless sauce, try my Quick Tomato Sauce.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you sure can! Transfer the browned meat, onion, and garlic mixture to a slow cooker. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, and bay leaf, then cover and cook on HIGH for 2 to 3 hours or LOW for 4 to 6 hours.
Mix up your mix-ins by stirring in chopped green peppers or sliced mushrooms with the onions. Substitute fire-roasted tomatoes for the crushed tomatoes. Or, add chili flakes (a pinch or a lot!) for extra heat.
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Homemade Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ground beef and/or ground Italian sausage (see note 1)
- 1 medium onion chopped (about 1 cup)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar or to taste (see note 2)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning (see note 3)
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds (see note 4)
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- In a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add beef, sausage, and onion and cook until mostly browned, about 5 minutes. Drain if desired. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sugar, basil, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, and bay leaf. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season to taste with salt and pepper (I like 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper).
Recipe Video
Notes
- Ground meat: You can do 2 pounds of ground beef, 2 pounds of ground Italian sausage, or 1 pound of each.
- Sugar: Even a tablespoon is too much for some people. If you don’t like the sound of sugar in your meat sauce, please leave it out. In my family, people add ¼ cup or even up to ½ cup.
- Italian seasoning: It’s easy to make your own homemade Italian seasoning with dried basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and marjoram.
- Fennel seeds: The seeds make the Italian sausage flavors pop. If you love the taste of a sweet tomato sauce, use just ground beef (no sausage), at least ¼ cup sugar, and omit the fennel seeds.
- Yield: This recipe makes 2 quarts (8 cups), enough for 16 servings, ½ cup each.
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: The sauce can be cooled and packed into freezer-safe containers (I like glass pint jars). Leave 1/2-inch headspace for expansion. Label, date, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Delicious, easy to make, and most definitly worth its weight in flavor. Looking forward to making it again.
Glad you loved it, Diane! – Meggan
Love this recipe. Putting a spin on it, I add 1/2 cup of red wine and a bit of Worcestershire sauce. I don’t use sugar and I like just a bit of crushed red pepper in there too. I simmer partially covered for 40mins and uncovered for 15-20 mins. At the end I add about a tablespoon of butter to get the sauce velvety and add pasta water until it gets to the right consistency. Thanks for the inspiration!
You’re so welcome, Chuck! Sounds delicious! – Meggan
Very tasty dish. Will make it again.
Thank you so much Marky, I appreciate your comment! Glad you liked the sauce. -Meggan
YUM! Never have I ever put that much sugar into my meat sauce-but I really enjoyed it! Didn’t need any extra salt. I didn’t have tomato sauce on hand and it didn’t even matter! Made about 3-4 good helpings on top of 1 lb of spaghetti. So tasty.
Happy you loved it, Jess! – Meggan