This easy spaghetti sauce can be ready to serve before you’ve even finished boiling the pasta. So easy and so tasty, it’s the perfect weeknight meal!
Spaghetti is definitely my family’s favourite meal. I actually don’t even like it as much as I used to, just because we have it so much.
And I guarantee that if you asked anyone in my family what we don’t eat often enough for dinner, they would say spaghetti.
So there’s that.
They just love it. So much. Whenever I ask what I should make for dinner, spaghetti is invariably the answer. From all four of them. Even if we had spaghetti the day before.
It’s a little ridiculous.
So, since they want spaghetti every day and twice on Sunday, clearly I needed a quick and easy spaghetti sauce recipe that could be made even on a busy weeknight.
This easy pasta sauce fits the bill.
Quick and easy to make, it can be on the table in under a half hour, but still has that fantastic homemade spaghetti sauce flavour.
We love this easy spaghetti sauce – almost as much as our favourite homemade spaghetti sauce that takes a bit longer to make.
And in a house that evidently needs spaghetti on a weekly basis, that’s a good thing.
Do you simmer with the lid on or off?
I always simmer spaghetti sauce with the lid on. I don’t find that it needs to be thickened at all, we like the consistency as it is. If you would like it to be thicker, you can simmer the sauce with the lid off, and that will reduce the liquid a bit and make a thicker sauce.
How do you take the bitterness out of spaghetti sauce?
The acidity of the tomatoes can make spaghetti sauce taste bitter. Adding a little bit of sugar to the sauce counteracts this acidity and gets rid of the bitter taste in the sauce.
So don’t skip the sugar in the recipe! There’s still much less sugar in this homemade spaghetti sauce then you will find in most bottled sauces.
How to make Easy Spaghetti Sauce:
- This sauce is as simple to make as browning some ground beef, opening a couple cans, and tossing in some seasoning. Let it simmer for as long as you have, and it’s good to go.
- It will taste better if you can let it simmer for 15-20 minutes, but I have served it after 5-10 minutes of simmering when we were in a hurry and it was still great, so go with however much time you have.
- This pasta sauce also freezes well if you have leftovers or want to make a double batch to freeze half. Let it cool completely, then freeze it flat in a large freezer ziplock bag, or in some mason jars or other freezer safe container. It defrosts most quickly in a ziplock bag that is laid flat to freeze.
- If you’re looking for more great pasta sauce recipes, I have 12 Easy Pasta Sauce Recipes here that are all fantastic!
Here are some more great pasta recipes for you:
Easy Spaghetti Sauce
This easy spaghetti sauce can be ready to serve before you've even finished boiling the pasta. So easy and so tasty, it's the perfect weeknight meal!
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454g) ground beef
- 1 teaspoon onion powder (or 1/2 cup diced onion)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder (or 3 cloves, minced)
- 1 - 28 ounce can (796 mL) crushed tomatoes
- 1 - 5.5 ounce can (156 mL) tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- hot pasta, for serving
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, over medium heat, brown the ground beef, stirring until no pink remains. Drain the grease.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, rosemary, oregano, and sugar and stir to combine.
- Bring the sauce just to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.
- Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, or as much time as you have until your pasta is ready.
- Serve over hot, cooked spaghetti noodles.
Notes
The recipe says to simmer this sauce for 15 minutes, and it IS better if you have time to let it simmer. But I have served it as soon as the pasta is ready and it is still delicious, so let it simmer as long as you have time for and it will be fine!
If you are using fresh onion and garlic instead of powdered, add it after browning the ground beef and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, until the onions are softened.
Source: Adapted from my Homemade Spaghetti Sauce.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
serves 4Serving Size:
1/4 recipeAmount Per Serving: Calories: 281Total Fat: 7.4gSaturated Fat: 2.7gCholesterol: 101mgSodium: 808mgCarbohydrates: 15.6gFiber: 3.7gSugar: 9.6gProtein: 38g
Demi
Monday 25th of March 2024
This was delicous and came in handy when I was getting prepared to head out for my college bike ride in the early morning, I will definitely be sharing thid recipe with my family so they can try it as well.
Elysse Moore
Wednesday 16th of February 2022
It wasn't a top recipe for us. I was disappointed because it was so simple and I really tried to like it because it would be something quick and easy for us to whip up in the future if we had a busy day. It wasn't horrible, but it just wasn't for us. I did enjoy trying a new recipe though.
Stacey
Tuesday 22nd of February 2022
Oh that's too bad, I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it. We love this spaghetti sauce, but everyone has different tastes. You might enjoy my Homemade Spaghetti Sauce recipe more if you want to try it. It takes longer but has a nicer flavour due to the lengthier simmering time and more ingredients. I prefer that one for flavour, but make this one more often just because it's so fast. That one can also be frozen so it can be made ahead of time so it's quick the day you want to serve it.
Marg
Sunday 26th of April 2020
Made this tonight and I would have to say was delicious, I did use real onions and garlic and added mushrooms because I had them and they had to be used, I also really like mushrooms in my spaghetti sauce. I ended up simmering for over an hour because I had a few other things I wanted to do, the sauce thickened up beautifully . Thank you so much for the recipe! Will make again rather than buying a jar of sauce.
mimi rippee
Friday 20th of March 2020
Very nice. I prefer fresh onion and garlic over powders, so I'd use those, but I love the recipe. I don't know how people can buy prepared spaghetti sauce...
Demi
Monday 25th of March 2024
@mimi rippee, by going to the store and spending some money to buy it.