Description
This easy, beefy homemade spaghetti sauce 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.
Ingredients
- 24 ounces Italian tomato passata (700g) (sub finely chopped, crushed or whole tomatoes)
- 16 ounces spaghetti pasta (or other favorite pasta) (450g)
- 1/2 pound (8 ounces) lean ground beef, or up to 1 pound if desired (225g)
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or more to taste (30g)
- 3 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1-2 medium carrots, finely diced (100g)
- 1 large onion, finely diced (200g) (sub shallot or leeks)
- salt to taste
Optional Add-ins:
- 2 tablespoons dry white OR red wine to deglaze cooked beef (30g)
For Garnish:
- freshly grated aged Parmigiano-Reggiano (or Grana Padano or American Parmesan)
Instructions
- Cook the aromatics (carrots first). Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 3 smashed garlic cloves to a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat and let the garlic blister for a couple of minutes. Add the carrots and cook about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they turn golden brown. This concentrates their natural sweetness and helps balance lower-quality or acidic tomatoes. Add the onions and a little salt and cook until soft and translucent.
- Cook the beef. Add the ground beef, break it up with a spatula, season with salt to taste, and sauté until cooked through, about 8 to 10 minutes. Optional, for more flavor. Pour in 2 tablespoons of dry white or red wine once the beef is browned and let the alcohol cook off for about 3 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Add the tomatoes and simmer. Add the tomato passata and season with salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid, and cook about 25 minutes, or until slightly reduced and thickened. Adjust the seasoning. Remove the garlic cloves and discard.
- Cook the spaghetti. During the last 10 minutes of cooking the sauce, add the pasta to a lightly salted pot of boiling water and cook to al dente according to package directions.
- Combine everything. About 2 minutes before the pasta is done, add about 1/4 cup of starchy pasta cooking water to the sauce and stir to combine. Strain the spaghetti, add it to the pot, and toss vigorously to coat. Top with grated cheese if desired and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
Ingredient quality:
Tomato passata: choose one with just 2 to 3 natural ingredients. If your passata or canned tomatoes taste acidic, balance it with a pinch or two of sugar or honey. Good options: Mutti passata, Bianco DiNapoli (made in California), or Cento San Marzano.
Olive oil: use 100% real Italian or Spanish extra virgin olive oil, not a blend cut with vegetable oils. Read the back label, since many cheap "olive oils" are mostly soybean or sunflower oil. Trader Joe's has solid budget options.
Pasta: bronze-drawn or gold-drawn is best. If it is pricey or hard to find, De Cecco, Garofalo, Barilla, Voiello, or Molisana are all reliable.
Technique:
Don't over-salt the pasta water, since you'll stir some of it into the sauce at the end.
Add a few splashes of starchy pasta water (not more than 1/4 cup) to the finished sauce to help it bind and coat the noodles. Don't add too much, or it will thin the sauce too much.
Make ahead and leftovers:
Make the sauce 1 to 2 days ahead, or refrigerate leftover sauce on its own and toss with freshly cooked pasta the next day so the noodles stay al dente. This is the Italian way, and it means no soggy reheated pasta.
To reheat already-dressed spaghetti, a wide skillet with a little oil beats the microwave: the noodles heat fast, stay firm, and pick up a little crisp. A microwave works in a pinch (up to 1 minute).
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 ounce serving
- Calories: 660g
- Sugar: 11g
- Sodium: 260mg
- Fat: 15g
- Saturated Fat: 4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 100g
- Fiber: 6.4g
- Protein: 29g
- Cholesterol: 50g
