The Best Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
The rich, delicious flavor of this homemade spaghetti sauce is nothing short of amazing! Tried-and-true, this spaghetti sauce recipe really is the best.
This has been my go-to spaghetti sauce for years. I make a batch, freeze half, and we have several meals to look forward to!
The flavor in this spaghetti sauce is out of this world delicious.
How to Make Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
This sauce begins by building levels of flavor.
First: throw a chopped onion and red pepper in a blender and process until mostly smooth.
Doing this gives the sauce loads of flavor with minimal texture (making it especially kid-friendly!).
Second: brown ground beef (or a combination of ground beef, ground pork, or ground sausage) with lots of garlic and add the following.
- tomato paste
- blended onion and red pepper
- dried basil, oregano and thyme
- salt and pepper
Cook that mixture until sizzling and fragrant.
Third: add the “saucy” ingredients and a few more ingredients for flavor.
- diced tomatoes
- crushed tomatoes
- beef broth or stock
- brown sugar
- bay leaves
A Boost of Flavor
Cook the sauce at a low simmer for about an hour. It will reduce and thicken as it cooks.
Also: your house is going to smell amazing!
When it’s done cooking, stir in 1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar. Why? This balances out the sauce while adding a rich depth of flavor.
Slow Cooker Variation
This sauce can easily be made in a slow cooker for even easier prep!
Slow Cooker Instructions: cook the meat and garlic in a skillet on the stove. Drain the grease. Then add the cooked meat and everything else (minus the olive oil and balsamic vinegar) to the slow cooker. Cook on high for 4-6 or low for 7-9 hours. Stir in the balsamic vinegar about 15 minutes before serving.
A Family Favorite
This sauce has been our go-to homemade spaghetti sauce for over ten years. It’s perfect for spaghetti. But it can also be used for baked ziti, manicotti, and many other pasta dishes!
So many of you have become lifelong fans of this recipe as well.
Elizabeth says: This sauce is so good. I made everything exactly to a T. AMAZING!
Jorene says: I have been making this sauce for a couple years now. It truly is the best recipe. Everybody that eats it loves it. My sister asked for the recipe. That says a lot. I keep it in my freezer all the time.
Christy says: Omg! I haven’t made homemade sauce in over 20 years and I’m here to tell you that this is by far the best sauce I’ve ever tasted or made. Love it and wouldn’t change a thing. Thank you.
FAQ for Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Yes, it’s delicious meatless, too (you can also use it for spaghetti and meatballs – add cooked meatballs toward the end after the sauce has simmered and let the meatballs heat through in the sauce).
I haven’t canned this recipe, but here’s another option!
https://www.melskitchencafe.com/homemade-spaghetti-marinara-sauce-for-canning-or-freezing/
The flavor is a bit different than this homemade spaghetti sauce (in order for the sauce to be safe for canning), but it’s super tasty.
I simmer partially covered.
Yes I do that all the time!
What to Serve With This
- Hot, cooked spaghetti noodles
- Divine breadsticks
- Simple green salad (or something more fancy like this Gourmet Green Salad)
The Best Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups onion, chopped and divided
- 5 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 pounds lean ground beef or lean ground turkey
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded, cored and coarsely chopped
- 1 (12-ounce) can tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 teaspoons dried oregano
- 3 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 ½ teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 cans (14-ounces each) Italian-style diced tomatoes or regular diced tomatoes
- 2 cans (28-ounces each) crushed tomatoes
- 8 ounces button or baby bella mushrooms, chopped
- 1 ½ cups beef stock or beef broth
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Instructions
- In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add 1 cup of the chopped onions, and sauté until translucent and slightly browned, 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, and cook, stirring constantly for a minute or so.
- Add beef, and cook, breaking into small pieces, until it is no longer pink, 6-7 minutes. Drain excess grease.
- In a blender or food processor, blend remaining 1 cup onion and the red pepper until smooth. Pour the mixture into the pot with the beef and onions.
- Add the tomato paste, salt, pepper, oregano, basil and thyme, and cook for 1 minute, stirring until combined.
- Add diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, mushrooms (if using), beef broth, and sugar. Stir until combined before adding the bay leaves.
- Bring the sauce to a boil, and then reduce to low and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and let the sauce rest for 10-15 minutes (for the flavor to absorb) before serving.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe
Recipe originally published September 2016; updated September 2022 with additional photos, notes, etc (did not change the recipe).
I made the sauce this morning, sample bites taste divine…awaiting a spaghetti dinner this evening .
Wondered if this sauce would suit lasagna?
I omitted the mushrooms as I did not have any on hand and halved the recipe. Those are the only changes I made and quite frankly I would not change a thing , though certainly would add the mushrooms next time and make a full recipe. I got six cups sauce from my batch.
Thank you for the great recipe!
I use this sauce in my lasagne all the time now!
Awesome!! will never buy sauce in a jar again
I made this tonight and it was awesome. I made it with puréed tomatoes instead of crushed because that’s what I had. I also added diced zucchini. Will definitely make again! It’s definitely a keeper!
I made this as the recipe said except for the red pepper. Since I didn’t have one around I used a medium sized carrot, just chopped it finely in a mini food processor. I was hoping to add a litttle sweetness that I might have gotten from the red pepper. I sautéed it at the beginning with the onion. Delicious! A big hit with my family!
I made this last night. I did 1/2 hot italian sausage and 1/2 ground beef. After I had it all in the pot and simmering I thought “Oh no! I didnt need all the seasoning because I used italing sausage!” But.. it was amazing! We had it over spaghetti squash and hubby and I had two helpings each. This would be great in lasagna or even on top of a baked potato!
Hi, it’s me again. For anyone reading comments…. in addition to the 1/2 sausage and 1/2 beef, I used green pepper instead of red and left out the balsamic. I finely diced all the onion, green pepper and mushrooms, rather than blending it up. I like a little chunkiness to my sauce. It was so delish I can’t wait for leftovers!
Can this sauce be made without the meat and still come out tasting good? While I’m not a vegetarian, I can’t stand minced meat of any kind in my sauce (it’s the texture). I always add loads of veg to my sauce to replace meat. Would it work for this? Thanks
The flavor will be slightly different, but I think it should work fine.
If you go ahead and brown some sausage or burger in the pan before you start adding the sauce ingredients it should still keep the flavor of having the meat. Just remove the scrambled burger/sausage and freeze it for another time or give it to someone in the family to use. Hope this helps!
This receipe is absolutely delicious!! I added spicy sausage for an extra kick. I love your recipes! Thank you sharing.
I made this its sooooo delicious . ate way to much ,but just couldn’t stop, it was soooo good thank you
This sauce was good. I’d like to try it with white sugar instead of brown. Didn’t quite like that taste. I also added more basil, oregano & salt. Left out spicy ingredients.
When you do it in a slow cooker, does it still reduce down? Or do you slow cook without the lid?
Made this according to recipe and husband who is meat eater said that this was superb! Have tried several recipes which were okay, but nothing like this. Will be making it vegetarian also now since the spices seem spot on. Have frozen, and reheating is easy and fast.
Thanks for this!
Question: If I missed it I’m sorry; how many cups does the sauce make? I need to make two dishes for my daughters ski team tomorrow night and wanted to use this sauce as the base for both.
This big batch yields about 16-20 cups/servings (the yield is right above the recipe title).
I came across your recipe on Pinterest. OMG thank you for sharing. I was a little skeptic. Been making home made sauce for my little girl (various ways, testing stove top, slow cooker, a combination and different recipes from all over the web). You are 100% correct, this is the BEST. My husband, who doesn’t eat spaghetti, tried the sauce this am and loves it. Thank you for sharing.
Lid on or off when simmering?
I simmer partially covered.
Hi Mel,
This recipe has been feeding my family since 2010. It has a permanent spot in my prized ‘I’ll-hand-these-down-to-my-children-binder’. I double the recipe each time and can’t thank you enough!
This was delicious. Thank you for sharing.! I only did a few changes because of what I had on hand. I used ground pork instead of beef and I used a green pepper instead of a red and I used regular vinegar instead of balsamic. Can you tell me what the difference the balsamic would make versus the regular vinegar?
The balsamic just adds a different layer of flavor (has a bit more depth than white vinegar).
I would love to try this today, but I don’t have a food processor or any sort of blender. Bummer. It’s like -4 degrees out so I don’t want to go shopping haha
Wondering it
It would still be good with the processor? I ha w a feeling that it won’t be nearly as good. Processing the veggies sounds like such a great idea for sauce
It would definitely be a bit more chunky in texture, but as long as you chop the onion and pepper very finely, I bet it will be fine.
Just made this sauce it was fantastic I will make this again for my family.
This comment is long over due as I’ve been making this sauce for a few years now. We love it! It’s perfect. I usually slow cook this sauce all day, and freeze half of it. I always add 1lb of Italian sausage, and it’s the perfect meat to sauce ratio. You can only imagine how good your house will smell! Thank you!!
So I’m making this now and haven’t made homemade sauce in a very long time, I’ve added everything as described. It’s now all sitting in the crockpot on high…. I tasted it and it seems kind of bland. Is this how it should be at the beginning? I feel like I should add more spices but if it’s suppose to be this way and the flavors come out in the cooking time I will refrain. Help… Dinner in 4 hrs. Thanks!
Try adding a bit more salt – that can make a huge difference.
The best sauce recipe!! And I’ve been making spagetti sauces for 35 years….this one wins hands down !!
Just made this followed recipe all the way. HOLY SMOKE! YUM! Perfection.
Can I make meatballs instead, and why don’t you use meatballs. Who should I add them. Is this better then any restaurant,
I TRIED every restaurant, HAVE NOT FOUND GOOD SAUCE yet.
I made two massive batches of this sauce for a spaghetti dinner fundraiser last January. I STILL have people at church telling me that if I bottled it, they would buy it! Thanks for the great recipe. I’ll be using it to make lasagna for Christmas.
Leslie, I’m making this sauce for a fundraiser at my church, I need to feed approx. 150 ppl. How many batches of this would you say I need to make?
I am thrilled with your site. I am going g to try your spafhetti,sauce as it looks wonderful but i,have one quetuon.
Does the balsamic vinegar make it taste tangy or sour? Know it is small amount but never used it in sauce.
Thank you will Let ypu know when I make it.
You can leave it out if you aren’t sure about flavor – I don’t think it makes the sauce sour, personally.
I made this recipe and it was the BEST spaghetti sauce I had. I made it exactly like the said and my family and friends just devoured it. Thank you so much, this is homerun recipe.
I decided to make this in the crockpot, but I read it too quickly and added the olive oil and balsamic vinegar too early. WHOOPS! Will it ruin it?
I think it will be fine!
Thank you Mel Cooked ahead for a Thanksgiving camping week
my Family thinks I rock!
I find peace and comfort in my kitchen these days. Last year, I lost My precious husband ~~~ 31 Years of love, laughter and good food- he was a fantastic cook
So, now I find myself cooking up a storm- many dishes are your wonderful recipes!
My neighbors have seven – yes – seven great kids- I cook and deliver in my picnic basket!
We all say : “Thanks Mel”
Ah, thank you! Your neighbors are lucky to have you! I’m sorry to hear about your husband. I’m sure he’s proud of you for cooking up a storm in his place!
When simmering do you put a lid on it?
I either partially cover or leave the lid off.
I am very excited to try this! I have to follow recipes very closely due to my lack of cooking skills so I have a couple of questions. What kind of onions do you use? Also, can I use minced garlic in a jar? If so, how much should I use? Thank you!
I use white or yellow onions (sometimes red if that’s all I have). I think you can probably use minced garlic from a jar – try a tablespoon and see how that goes. 🙂
Love this!! Usually I don’t comment on pages, but this sauce deserves the recognition! Hands down the best sauce ever.
I froze the leftover sauce into dinner sized portions (for 2) and it’s so amazing to pull this out and have a delish supper ready in 10 mins!
Thanks, Miriam!
Can you make this without the meat and the consistency still be okay?
Yes.
When I tried to blend the pepper and onion they just flung to the side and would not blend. Even after repeatedly scraping them toward the middle they just kept going to the side. I halved the recipe so maybe there wasn’t enough in there? I have a blendtec so I know it’s not the blender. Oh well, I just scraped them into the meat mixture even though it wasn’t a sauce haha
Sometimes adding a bit of liquid (like some of the diced tomatoes or crushed tomatoes) to the blender can help it all combine a bit better.
I blended the pepper and onions with the broth. I already had the meat cooked so just threw all in the sauce and simmered for 4 hours. Awesome!
I put them in the standard two cup glass pyrex measuring cup and use an immersion blender. It works great.
I don’t see the instructions for the bay leafs and my spaghetti sauce is now simmering, help!
It will probably be fine – you can toss them in at any point of simmering for future reference.
I just bought the ingredients for this. I’ve tried a couple homemade sauce recipes and nothing has really stood out, so I’m hoping this will be the one!! Making this for my hubby and 3 kids this weekend–will post an update!!
Hope you love it, Alisha. 🙂
This was delicious – my picky kids devoured it! Truly tasted like restaurant spaghetti, would recommend 100% to anyone…many thanks!!!
Hi! Do you have suggestion on what to do so I don’t have to cook it for 4-6 hours? The recipe looks delicious. I want to try it soon.
I’m a little confused by your question – the recipe only needs about an hour of simmering time.
Question! Could this work in the Instant Pot? If not no worries. Just wondering if I can speed up the ‘simmered for hours’ taste!
I haven’t made this sauce yet (love your quick one with the soy sauce) but the reviews have convinced me I’ve put this recipe off too long!
Yeah, totally, I think it could. I’d probably suggest 20-30 minutes high pressure. The only thing is that a few times that I’ve put ground beef/turkey in the Instant Pot, it definitely changes the texture after pressure cooking (different than when it’s simmered on the stove; not sure why). I don’t think that’s a bad thing, just an observation. Also, it might not cook down and thicken like it does on the stove when simmered.
I made this Spaghetti Sauce for a very picky husband & teenage son and it was a “Hit”! This makes a GREAT sauce! So much better than jar sauces you buy at the grocery store! I omitted the Bell Peppers, used jar mushrooms last 5 minutes prior to simmer (we love & use fresh mushrooms most of them he time, but I was worried about the sauce being to thin according to other reviewers), and used a Red Vinegar Balsamic “Glaze”! I just have one more word for this recipe: YUMMINESS!!!
This truly is The BEST Homemade Spaghetti Sauce. Very versatile and forgiving! I am gonna use this as the base for baked spaghetti. Thanks for a great recipe. I will definitely be making this again!
One word… Wow! I definitely have a new spaghetti recipe now.. I made this spaghetti sauce exactly as the recipe called for.. I didn’t deviate at all, resisting my urges to tweak it, and I was rewarded with possibly the very best spaghetti I’ve ever had!
Thank you so much for sharing this great recipe
My husband and I tried this tonight and it’s delicious!!We’re both pretty young (both 24yrs old) and obviously still starting out so we typically go for quick and convenient. This recipe wasn’t scary at all, we halved the recipe and have plenty of leftovers! Thank you for this easy delicious recipe 🙂
Awesome recipe! Made it for dinner last night, left out the mushrooms and pepper as I didn’t have one but added a can of purée red kidney beans and a bunch of spinach! My picky little ones asked for seconds! Thank you!
I made this tonight, and no one in my family like it! A lot of wasted food, sometimes I can tweek a recipe but I don’t think I can in this case. Sorry , I hate to write anything bad but we just didn’t like it.
So did you follow this to a tee?
I substituted fresh tomatoes and this sauce was really good! I added some red pepper flakes also.
Delicious!!! Love this recipe. The work to put it together is definitely worth it! Have made this several times.
This was really good. I added mushrooms and green peppers. I also used Italian sausage. Will make again.
Great freezing sauce!
Great for Soppy Joe”s
First year gardening on our farm and I had two five gallon buckets of fresh roma tomatoes, fresh onions, garlic and basil. It was a labor of love blanching and preparing my tomatoes for this sauce but I’m so glad I decided to go with this recipe!!! The sauce is so simple yet rich and full of flavor! I let my sauce gently simmer for 4 hours in the pot and stirred every once and awhile. Letting it cook low and slow just made the flavor all the better! It thickened and allowed my tomatoes to cook down perfectly. I tripled the recipe and froze over 50 cups of sauce in freezer bags. Looking forward to enjoying it through the winter! This will definitely be my go-to sauce when I preserve tomatoes every year!!! Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe Mel!!
Amazing, Emily!
There is no better sauce than this on the planet! I know this recipe be heart and it’s rare not to have a bag or two in my freezer! I love to come home from church and smell it coming in my crockpot…it’s glorious and the balsamic vinegar gives it that depth! Thanks again Mel! we love you!
Thanks, Jill! Love that this is a staple for your family just like it is for ours!