The Best Spaghetti Sauce with Beef (Spaghetti con Ragù)

This easy homemade spaghetti sauce with beef recipe is the best! Not only is it super quick and ready in just about 35 minutes, but it uses just 7 ingredients, and it freezes really well, making mid-week meal prep a cinch. This is the perfect spaghetti sauce, in my opinion.

Substitute ground pork, chicken, or turkey if you're trying to eat less beef, and feel free to pair this sauce with this homemade spaghetti alla chitarra (amazing!) or just about any pasta shape you have in your pantry, from penne to pappardelle.

If you enjoy cozy pasta you might want to try this authentic Amatriciana Recipe or this classic Italian Lasagna Bolognese!

Why You'll Love This Spaghetti Pasta Recipe

• It's super quick and easy (ready in about 35 minutes)
• It's an authentic Italian spaghetti ragù sauce recipe
• A perfect meat sauce for lasagna or almost any pasta shape
• A very kid-friendly homemade spaghetti sauce
• It freezes really well
• Uses just 7 total ingredients (8 if you count salt)

Best Tips For Making Spaghetti Sauce From Scratch

To make a really good spaghetti sauce, you'll need a few simple ingredients and a couple of easy pasta cooking techniques. And while higher-quality ingredients will always yield better-tasting pasta, this spaghetti recipe is still delicious even if you can't splurge on the more expensive imported Italian ingredients.

Below are a few helpful tips and techniques to make good homemade spaghetti:

• Don't over-salt the pasta cooking water because you'll add some of this starchy water to the finished spaghetti sauce just before adding the spaghetti noodles and tossing it all together.
• Add a little starchy pasta cooking water (about ¼ cup or a little more) to the finished meat sauce which helps the sauce bind better and coat the spaghetti noodles. But avoid adding too much water which will dilute your delicious sauce.
• Use the best Italian tomato passata you can find. Using one with only 2 to 3 natural ingredients is the best-case scenario. If you're using a lower-quality tomato passata or canned tomatoes you may find that it tastes very acidic. If this is the case, add a pinch or two of sugar or honey to help balance the acidity and mellow out the flavor. Many cheaper brands of tomatoes contain preservatives, added water, and/or loads of salt. Here in Italy, you mostly find the opposite. Read the labels to know what you're paying for. Mutti Italian Tomato Passata and Bianco Di Napoli canned tomatoes (produced in California), even Cento San Marzano, are all great options.

• Use 100% real Italian or Spanish extra virgin olive oil that's not mixed with other vegetable oils. If you can't splurge on olive oil, you can still find decent to good olive oil at places like Trader Joe's for a great price. No matter where you buy it, be sure to read the label on the back of the bottle because the American market is often flooded with low-quality "olive oil" that's not really olive oil. Instead, it consists of added soybean oil, sunflower oil, etc. It's a shame because I think companies are probably betting on a portion of shoppers not really knowing much about real-deal olive oil enough to notice the difference, or even care. Don't let these companies fool you. Start reading the labels on the back and be a more informed consumer, which is healthier for you (and your pocketbook).
• If you can't locate bronze-drawn or gold-drawn pasta (sometimes it's super pricy back home), use De Cecco, Garafolo, Barilla, Voiello, or Molisana, which are all good commercial pasta makers.

Abbruzzese Italian Ingredients in This Spaghetti con Ragù Recipe

If you're curious about the artisanal Italian ingredients I've used, they all come from Abruzzo, Italy, which is a food mecca for anyone who loves to eat or cook.

For the pasta, I've used handmade slow-dried Cav. Giuseppe Cocco artisanal bronze-drawn spaghetti, organic Pera d'Abruzzo tomato passata (organic Abruzzo pear tomatoes) from La Giara (one of our favorite Italian Slow Food producers), extra virgin olive oil from Juliis Timando (another one of our favorite Slow Food producers in Abruzzo), and a 20-month DOP Grana Padano to sprinkle over the top. 

If you don't have access to any (or all) of these Italian ingredients, don't worry -- as mentioned above, there are lots of great-tasting substitutions you can easily find in the States or just about anywhere in the world.

How to Make Spaghetti Sauce Like an Italian 

Feel free to make this spaghetti sauce the day before you plan to eat it. But even if you're crunched for time, it can be made and ready to eat in just about 35 to 40 minutes, including prep time.

1. Make the spaghetti sauce. To a medium-sized pot, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, smashed garlic cloves, carrots, onions, and a little salt, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally until onions are tender and translucent (about 4 minutes). Add the ground beef and break it up using a spatula, season with salt to taste, and sauté until the meat is cooked through (about 8 to 10 minutes). Add the tomato passata, and season with salt to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and cook for about 25 minutes, or until the sauce has slightly reduced and thickened. Adjust the seasoning, adding more salt if needed. Remove the garlic cloves and discard.
2. Cook the spaghetti. During the last 10 minutes of cooking the sauce, add the dried pasta to a lightly salted pot of boiling water, set a timer, and cook to al dente doneness according to packaged directions. When there are about 2 minutes left of pasta cooking time, add about ¼ cup of starchy pasta cooking water directly to the spaghetti sauce and stir well to combine. Strain the spaghetti, add it to the pot with the sauce, and stir vigorously to coat the noodles well. Top with grated cheese if desired and serve immediately. Enjoy!

How to Make Easy Spaghetti Sauce step-by-step recipe photos

The Best Way To Reheat Leftover Spaghetti So It Tastes Just-Made (or almost)

The Italian way: don't make leftovers

In Italy, leftover spaghetti isn't a thing. Italians cook only the pasta needed per person (80-90g) and toss it with a few ladles of sauce. The remaining sauce is refrigerated separately and combined with freshly boiled pasta the next day - so the pasta is always perfectly al dente. This is how I prefer to cook pasta at home.

The American way: skillet or microwave

That said, leftover spaghetti was absolutely a thing in our house growing up - a delicious one that saved my mom a lot of time. We'd happily have eaten it cold straight from the fridge, but my mom would just reheat it in a skillet with a little oil.

Reheating in a wide skillet is the best method: more direct contact with heat means the pasta warms quickly without going mushy, and you get a little crisp on the noodles for added flavor and texture.

Short on time? Microwave for up to 1 minute.

Looking for More Easy Spaghetti Recipes? 

If you love simple spaghetti recipes, we think you'll also enjoy a few of our family favorite recipes below -- everything from Amatriciana and carbonara to our fresh summer garden pasta.

More Easy Pasta With Beef Recipes

We don't eat nearly as much beef as we once did, but sometimes we have a craving for pasta with a tasty beef sauce - these recipes hit the spot every time.