She’d be nearby for supervision, but it was a huge confidence boost for me to cook all on my own! And an even bigger confidence boost when my older brothers said they liked the food 🙂
Search

Search for

Homemade spaghetti sauce in a saucepan with a wooden spoon.

# Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

•

Last updated on July 5, 2022

•

Easy homemade spaghetti sauce, using ingredients you probably already have in your pantry! This recipe is a family dinner staple!

Homemade spaghetti sauce in a saucepan with a wooden spoon.

###### Spaghetti Sauce

This spaghetti sauce recipe may be the first thing I learned to cook, completely by myself, when I was really young. As I got better at cooking and baking (and because I loved it so much) I can specifically remember two recipes my Mom would let me make all by myself: this homemade spaghetti sauce, and our family’s favorite Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies.

She’d be nearby for supervision, but it was a huge confidence boost for me to cook all on my own! And an even bigger confidence boost when my older brothers said they liked the food 🙂

This Homemade Spaghetti Sauce recipe has been a family staple for as long as I can remember. It’s really simple and the flavors are fantastic.

This is one of those meals that always tastes amazing–and it’s perfect for busy weeknights this time of year! Plus, there’s no picky eater that would ever say no to spaghetti!

A white bowl full of spaghetti noodles with homemade spaghetti sauce on top and fresh grated parmesan cheese and basil.

###### How to make homemade spaghetti sauce:

First brown the beef and onion. Chop the ground beef finely as you go. After it’s browned I often like to add it to my food processor to pulse it once or twice so that it’s finely crumbled. It makes the sauce extra smooth (although some people like their spaghettie sauce with larger peices of meat in it,)

Side by side photos of a skillet with uncooked ground beef and onion, and then cooked and crumbled ground beef and onion.

Next, add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, seasonings, Worcestershire sauce, and sugar and bring the mixture to a simmer.  Add water and simmer for 30 minutes or longer, to get more depth of flavor. The longer you simmer it, the more the flavors will blend together beautifully.

A saucepan with the ingredients to make homemade spaghetti sauce including tomato sauce, spices, ground beef, ground italian sausage, and onion, next to another photo of the sauce mixed together and water being added to it before it simmers.

###### Spaghetti sauce, marinara sauce and pizza sauce; what’s the difference?

There is all sorts of confusion surrounding these terms, but spaghetti sauce, marinara sauce, and pizza sauce are usually all tomato based sauces. Marinara sauce, or pasta sauce is a slow-simmered sauce that is often made with tomatoes, garlic, and herbs.  In America, we often refer to marinara as a meatless, tomato-based sauce.

Spaghetti sauce is essentially any sauce that you put on spaghetti.  Traditional spaghetti sauce is often just a more complex marina sauce that has additional spices and may be made with meat, vegetables, cheese, etc.

Pizza sauce is typically uncooked and refers to any sauce you put on pizza. This sauce is usually simple, with few ingredients and is meant to cook with the pizza for added flavor.

Overhead photo of a saucepan filled with homemade spaghetti sauce.

###### Tips for making ahead and freezing spaghetti sauce:

This homemade spaghetti sauce can be easily made ahead of time.  Store it in the fridge for 3 to 4 days or freeze it.  Before freezing spaghetti sauce, allow the mixture to cool completely.  Label a gallon freezer bag and fill it with the sauce.  Store it on a flat surface so that it freezes into a flat shape that will store easily.  Store it for up to 4-6 months.  To use, place frozen sauce in a pot and reheat on the stove until warm.

###### Need a SIDE DISH? Some of my favorites include:

Recipe

Homemade spaghetti sauce in a saucepan with a wooden spoon.

4.97 from 6138 votes

## Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Easy homemade spaghetti sauce, using ingredients you probably already have in your pantry! This recipe is a family dinner staple!

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings 5

Calories 303

Prep 10 minutesmins

Cook 30 minutesmins

Total 40 minutesmins

### Equipment

### Ingredients      1x2x3x

### Instructions

- Season ground beef with salt and pepper.

- In a large skillet, add the beef and chopped onion and brown.  Drain excess grease.

- Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, Italian seasoning, parsley, garlic powder, crushed red pepper, worcestershire, and sugar to the skillet.

- Stir well to combine and bring to a boil. Add water and stir well.

- Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add chopped basil before serving, if desired.

- This sauce tastes great in Spaghetti Pie, Million Dollar Spaghetti, Slow Cooker Lasagna and Instant Pot Spaghetti.

### Nutrition

Calories: 303kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 18gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 64mgSodium: 814mgPotassium: 948mgFiber: 3gSugar: 11gVitamin A: 885IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 56mgIron: 4mg

Create a FREE Account to save your favorite recipes and create meal plans

###### Have you tried this recipe?!

RATE and COMMENT below! I would love to hear your experience.

*I originally shared this recipe in September 2015. Updated July 2018.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce recipe from TastesBetterFromScratch.com

This post contains affiliate links.

## Related Posts

### Homemade Lasagna

### Easy Cajun Chicken Pasta

### Patty Melt

### Ground Beef Tacos

Share Recipe

Original Post July 25, 2018

Updated July 5, 2022

Categories

#### About The Author



Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

4.97 from 6138 votes (5,656 ratings without comment)

### Leave A Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.Required fields are marked *

Recipe RatingRecipe Rating

Comment *

Name *

Email *

Δ

### Comments

1. Ruth D Inouye says:

5 stars

I was looking for a tasty Italian sauce and this is definitely it. Great ingredients that complement one another’s flavor.

5 Stars for sure.

2. May says:

5 stars

This is a great recipe!

3. JENNIFER TAYLOR says:

Love it! Made it with ground Turkey and spaghetti squash from my garden. Meal prepped this for easy healthy high protein meals during the busy week. One question…. How much is a serving? 1 cup? 2cups? I doubled the batch and froze some for later use.

4. Deanne says:

5 stars

Oh my goodness! ANOTHER DELICIOUS recipe from Lauren! I just made this tonight and it is PERFECT! When the grandkids eat it, you know it’s good! It’s very quick and easy to make! I’ll never use jarred sauce ever again!

5. Renita Brewer says:

5 stars

Hands down the BEST spaghetti sauce EVER!! This was my first pic for the first time making it scratch EVER and it was such a hit! I make it every time never using the jars anymore for at least the last 6/7 months… and It gets BETTER and better each time!.. I add a little more sugar and that’s IT!!!

6. Sheryl Socia says:

5 stars

I made this with ground turkey. This was awesome and I made a huge pot!

Thanks!

7. Dawn Pettey says:

5 stars

We made this sauce tonight for dinner. We had everything needed in our pantry. We thawed ground beef from freezer.

Only thing we changed was use of fresh garlic in lue of the garlic powder. We used red pepper flakes.

Next time I’ll reduce pepper flakes to a teaspoon. And I will process the meat as suggested.

My husband, of 20 years, said this was by far the best sauce I’d ever made for the family.

## Welcome to TBFS!

Here you’ll find recipes you can count on, with video tutorials, and free meal planning tools. Let’s bring the joy back to cooking!



30 Minute Meals

Want 30-Minute Meal Ideas?
I’ll send them to your inbox!

Email *

Get 30 Minute Meal IdeasLoading

Follow me for more great recipes

## Fall Favorites

### Baked Apples

### Sweet and Sour Chicken

### Egg Roll in a Bowl

### Pumpkin Bars with Caramel Frosting

### Apple Bundt Cake

### Slow Cooker Ribs

## Popular Recipes

### Flourless Chocolate Cake

### Instant Oatmeal

### Garlic Chicken

### Hawaiian French Toast Casserole

Sign Up For FREE Weekly Meal Plans

Each 5-day meal plan includes a printable grocery shopping list with budget information, to help save time and money!

cropped-Hawaiiian-Bowls-Web-8.jpgDay 1

Day 2

Mongolian beef on a plate with rice and chopped green onion on top.Day 3

Chicken Fajita Pasta served in a skillet with a scoop of salsa on top.Day 4

Five chicken taquitos lined on a plate with a bowl of salsa on the side.Day 5

This post contains affiliate links.

As seen on

usa-today

country-living

yahoo

msn

buzzfeed

womans-day

fisher-price

brides

sheknows

## Rate This Recipe

Your vote:

Name *

Email *

Rate and Review Recipe

A rating is required

A name is required

An email is required

## Recipe Ratings without Comment

Something went wrong. Please try again.