Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipes

[kayeandjim00]

The other day there was a thread on making your own spaghetti sauce vs buying. I have always bought Ragu but would LOVE to make my own. Especially make a huge amount and freeze for future use. I'd love some recipes. Does anyone want to share?

 

[phyllis1966]

My family recipe (passed down from Grandma) is pretty simple, much simpler than many recipes I see in cookbooks and on TV, but it's always sweet and delicious. For 1 lb. of pasta, you will need the following:

-1 can whole tomatoes (we like Redpack Italian style with nothing added)
-1 small onion, diced fine
-3 to 4 medium-sized cloves of garlic, thinly sliced or chopped fine
-1 tsp. salt
-3 Tbspns. olive oil

If you like smooth sauce, like I do, whiz the tomatoes in a blender or food processor for about 10 seconds. If you like it chunkier, whiz it less.

Heat olive oil in a medium saucepot, then add onions and cook on medium heat until golden, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute.

Add tomatoes and salt. I always swirl about 1/4 cup water in the tomato can to get every last bit, then add to the pot. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to med-low (or it'll splash all over the stove) and cook uncovered for about 20 minutes. It should be thick enough by then, or else just simmer a few minutes longer. Toss with your favorite pasta. You can easily add almost any kind of meat to this if you like. When we want a heartier sauce, I add about 2 links of Italian sausage (with skin removed, crumbled and browned first) per can of tomatoes, and it's delicious, especially over stuffed and/or baked pastas.

 

[copper68]

i never follow a recipe, and never make it the same.. usually i use my grandmothers canned tomatoes, but if i'm out..

ground beef
onion
tomato sauce
tomato paste
garlic
chili powder

ground meat and add onion/garlic.. add in tomato sauce and paste with a can of water.. add chili powder, or cayenne.. i like it hot.. it always tastes better as leftovers too.. if you can believe that..

 

[kayeandjim00]

That sounds good! Thanks so much for the recipe - the simpler the better for me.

 

[tigercat]

My speggetti sauce never turns out the same way twice. Depending on how much you want to make you can reduce the amount of tomatoes.
I use 2 cans of diced tomatos
1 can of crushed tomatos
onions
garlic
oregano/basil/thyme/sugar
hot sauce like tabasco
I fry up the onions and garlic (if I want ground beef I do this now as well)
I then put it into the pot with the tomatos and the spices stir and let simmer for several hours. By the time we eat it in the evening it really tastes great. My family really prefers this over any jar sauce. I make it up in the morning and let it simmer all day. If you want you can skip the meat and add vegetables to it instead. My dd bizzibee made some the other day and was able to use her own jared tomatos for it. I would love to make it with fresh tomatos but they are too expensive.
tigercat

 

[Aimee K]

Based on my aunts in laws recipe...
they're VERY Italian... me, not so much

Large can crushed tomatoes (Muir Glen is my fav)
small can tomato paste
olive oil
1 onion finely diced
3 or 4 (or 25) garlic cloves chopped
1 or 2 T dried oregano
1 or 2 T dried basil
salt
pepper
1 tsp sugar or 1 small peeled carrot

Saute onion in olive oil until soft. Add garlic and saute just a moment more. Add tomato paste and herbs. Cook stirring constantly for a minute or two. Add can of crushed tomatoes and sugar or carrot. Fill empty tomato can half full with water. Add to sauce. Simmer at least 30 minutes, preferably all day

 

[jipsy]

Sorry, I can't give that out. Then I'd have to kill you.



1 large can crushed tomatoes
A few garlic cloves, peeled and crushed with a garlic press
Fresh herbs are better (mince them), but if you have dried that's fine. Just remember that fresh herbs dried are more potent than fresh, so use less:
Basil - a good amount
Oregano - less than basil, but still a good bit
Thyme - less than both of the others
Rosemary - a little goes a long way
A bay leaf (make sure you remove this after sauce is cooked) - don't eat it
A few tablespoons of sugar
A pinch of salt
A little virgin olive oil
Last night's leftover red wine (about a cup)

Throw it all in the crockpot in the morning and stir well, cook on low while at work. It's done when you get home. A little pasta and voila! You're a genius.

 

[Danvers]

Danver's Awesome Spaghetti Sauce (*Opinions are that of the OP)

*First, find a fairly crowded supermarket, and make your way to the tomato sauce/spaghetti sauce aisle.

*Park yourself directly in front of the spaghetti sauces, look for the CHEAPEST thing you can find. Usually, Classico is on sale 2 for $5. Good deal.

*Grab as many as you can of the spaghetti sauces that are on sale and pile them into your cart.

*Take them home, add some pepper, let it simmer and whalah! Awesome spaghetti sauce.

















Hehehehehe.

 

[VistaLeigh'smommy]

Mine is simple and so so so good

1 can of italian spiced diced tomatos
1 can of italian spiced tomato paste
pinch of sugar
diced garlic

I fry the paste with the garlic then I add it to an already boiling pot of tomatos

I let it simmer and it comes out amazing, I have tweaked it but it's easiest when it is that simple... to make more I just double it!


My boyfriend is not Italian at all and one day he comes home and says he wants to make his dad's meat sauce. I thought it was funny that they have a "meat sauce" so I said sure, make it! He grabs a jar of ragu and and a package of ground beef and he just mixed it. hahahaha it was cute.

 

[sweet angel]

I brown ground beef, sausage, chopped green pepper and onion, salt, black pepper, garlic powder, oregano (and whatever else you want). Then I dump it in a big pot, throw in a couple of jars of Ragu and simmer it for about an hour or so. Makes the Ragu taste more like homemade without all the work, so much so that my Irish DBF who grew up in an Italian home actually complimented me on it.

 

[DD2Disney]

This is the recipe DMIL makes, I love it. It was her father's special dish. I have only made it personally once. It's really good.

Heat 1/2 cup olive oil
add 1 pressed clove garlic
add,
1 pound ground beef
2 cups italian tomatoes
1/2 cup italian tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teas. salt
1/4 teas. pepper
1 bay leaf

Simmer sauce uncovered for about 1 hour. Season with 1 to 2 Tablespoons fresh basil.



I will include the meatball recipe too, just because.

1 LB ground beef (we do half lean half cheaper cut--lol that is the way the recipe reads honest )
1 egg
1/2 milk
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1 small onion minced
1/4 teas. garlic
1/4 teas. basil
1/2 teas. parsley
1/4 teas. oregano

I always drop the raw meatballs in the sauce recipe from above and cook slow all day.

Tricia

 

[kayeandjim00]

Thank you all for sharing. : I was afraid most people's recipes might be top secret!! I can't wait to start trying them.

 

[fran99999]

OMG I though all homemade gravy was made in a pot the size an army ate out of. LOL


My gravy is never the exactly the same but simplified version:

2 large cans Puree
2 large cans tomato sauce
2 meduim cans tomato paste (I try to keep to the same packager for all three)
Put in big pot over low heat or in crock pot 6 quarts or bigger

Take one large can of puree or sauce and fill with warm water. then pour from can to can to gather any left over product inside can to water. when you have done this add to pot. this gets more from the can and adds the water to the sauce.

As you can see I make a very smooth version of gravy. You could substitute one can of chunky tomato for 1 can of the Puree. Or if you have a large family you can just add the tomato can to the receipe.

In fry pan cook up about 1 pound hamburg and 3/4 pound sausage (if you have to remove from the casing if no package of fresh available) I suppose you could leave in the casing I just like the flavors to mix through out the gravy.
when cooked pour out most of the grease.
In the pan with hamburg/sausage grease add 1 cut up very large ( bigger than your fist) onion 2 if you love onions, 2 of each red/green peppers, and if in season 1 yellow peppers. saute until cooked. Make sure there is enough grease to cook but not soak in. remove from pan leaving some grease. add garlic (3-4 cloves)just quash with the flat of a knife, peel and then chop add to grease. cut up some chicken breast, pork. (I keep a container from previous meals that we had left over but not enough to make a meal in freezer.) Add to garlic to defrost and gather garlic flavor.

Add the onions, and peppers back to pan and let simmer ( check to make sure enough grease to simmer and not burn)

put all this in with the tomato sauce mixture. Add various spices Ie oregano, bayleaves (6 or so) basil, rosemary, sage If you have any fresh from window garden great if not just buy the Italian seasoning mix at local store. Remember to rub in your hand or crush in your hand prior to dropping in gravy. It helps to release the flavors. Oh and if you like spicy sauce red crushed peppers.

simmer over at least 4 hours. If in crock pot over night stiring every hour or so. My crock pot as most do has a crock watcher that automatically turns up and down the heating element to keep it simmering without burning.

You will know by the taste and smell when it is done.

It taste better after it has cooled. Freezes great and If you drain your pasta correctly this gravy stays on top of the spagetti it is not the thin kind that flows to the bottom.

If to thick or thin add water (to thin out) or tomato paste (to thicken) to your taste.

I used to feed a family of 12 with this recipe so I know it makes a large amount of gravy. If you need to feed more people add meatballs about 1/2 size of your fist. bake them in the oven if you need them and the gravy is cooked. They do give the gravy more flavor and taste better if you parcook in a skillet and finish cooking in the sauce. It also removes some of the grease> 1 of each per person

This gravy is the only thing about me my DMIL liked. I was the official gravy maker for the family gatherings. She was born and grew up in Naples Italy. LOL

 

[momof3disneyholics]

I'm printing this thread out!!

 

[Poohnatic]

I grew up on homemade, and the first time I had spaghetti at a friends house I was AMAZED that they ate Ragu. Old world italian parents, and they used jarred sauce!

Here's the recipe I've been using for nearly 30 years, I learned young. It's funny, I'm one of eight kids (the reason why I know big batches) and each of us has taken my mom's recipe and altered it to our liking. One sister likes zucchini and carrots in it, my brother does it without peppers, etc. I also do this with fresh tomato, but figured you'd want this way first!



1 #10 can of crushed and peeled tomato (the size you find at costco or sam's)
2 6 oz cans paste
approx 2-3 tbsns olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the pot)
5-6 cloves of garlic, minced
2/3 tbspns each oregano, basil, garlic powder, onion powder and paprika
2 large onions, diced
2 peppers, diced
2 bay leaves
(I even vary it, sometimes wine, sometimes a little hot sauce, sometimes meat)

take a large pot/dutch oven and cover the bottom with oil. Add your garlic and seasonings and warm on medium heat. Once heated, add the vegetables and cook until the onions are translucent, stirring well to mix the seasonings and vegetables.

When vegetables are ready, open paste and stir into veggies. Then CAREFULLY pour in the crushed tomatos. Stir well and cover, turning heat to low. Stir periodically.

I usually give this the whole day treatment, but two hours is a good start for mixing the flavors. When I had a gas stove, it went on at barely heating and stayed overnight---that's the sauce I get the most raves for!

Hope you like. And HEATHROW, there ya go-another Suzanne Recipe!

Suzanne

 

[denisem]

I won't pretend this is authentic Italian, but it's my favorite MEATY sauce made in a crockpot.

(Can be tweaked to your preferences - we use extra garlic & basil, plus 1/2 cup red wine).

1/2 lb. sweet or hot Italian sausage
1 lb. ground chuck
1 lb. round steak or stewing beef, cut in cubes
2 medium chopped onions
1 large chopped green pepper
2 cloves minced garlic
2 TBS. sugar
1 TBS. salt
2 tsp. basil
1/8 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 16 oz. cans Italian style tomatoes, crushed
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 6 oz. can tomato paste

Brown sausage, ground chuck, steak in skillet, drain well. (Recipe calls to remove sausage from casing, but I like cutting them in meatball size hunks).

Add to crockpot with remaining ingredients, stir well. Cook on low for 8-16 hours, high 4-6. For thicker sauce, cook on high for last 2 hours removing cover for last hour. Makes about 3-1/2 quarts and freezes well.