My Family's Spaghetti Sauce
This is how I make spaghetti sauce as I learned from my mom. Everyone in the family puts their own spin on it, so you are encouraged to use this as a guide and modify it as you see fit. It can be made with either fresh or dried spices depending on how much time you have, so if you are busy then dry spices will get the sauce going quickly with no prep time. I often do not measure ingredients, and this is one recipe in particular where I never measure anything; I simply eyeball it based on how many cans of tomato sauce I am using when I make it.
This is how I make spaghetti sauce as I learned from my mom. Everyone in the family puts their own spin on it, so you are encouraged to use this as a guide and modify it as you see fit. It can be made with either fresh or dried spices depending on how much time you have, so if you are busy then dry spices will get the sauce going quickly with no prep time. I often do not measure ingredients, and this is one recipe in particular where I never measure anything; I simply eyeball it based on how many cans of tomato sauce I am using when I make it.
- Carbohydrate 0.44982 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 6.50016 g
- Fiber 0.157799995422363 g
- Protein 0.04566 g
- Saturated Fat 0.904296 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (7g)
- Sodium 0.267 mg
- Sugar 0.292020004577637 g
- Trans Fat 0.187566 g
- Calories 59 calories
Step-by-step
- If you have the time, use fresh spices for the best flavor. This will require some prep time for chopping and mincing. If you are short on time then dry spices will still make an excellent sauce. Go ahead and get your spices ready if you are using fresh ones.
- Next, wash the lids and open the cans of tomato sauce you will be using to make your sauce. I typically use 4 of the large (29 oz) cans of tomato sauce, or three of those and one large can of crushed tomatoes if I want a thicker sauce. You will want to have them ready to go so you can deglaze the spices you will be browning at the beginning. Place a stock pot large enough to contain your sauce on the stove top burner, but do not turn on the heat yet. Add enough extra virgin olive oil to give the bottom of the pot a good coating. You basically want enough oil to coat and brown all of the spices. In the middle of the bottom of the pot, make a mound of chopped onion, then cover the onion with parsley. Next, sprinkle garlic liberally on top of the parsley and around the olive oil. Finally, toss in several good shakes of basil and a bit of oregano too.
- Now that your spices are ready, turn the burner on medium-high heat. Use a wooden spoon to stir the spices and oil as it begins to heat up and brown. You need to watch it very carefully because you want the spices to brown but not burn. This will occur much more quickly with dry spices than fresh due to the lack of moisture. Keep an eye on the onions, and when they look and smell right then pour in all of the tomato sauce while stirring it. This will create some bubbling and popping, so be careful. Turn the heat down to medium while stirring everything together.
- Once all of the sauce has been added to the pot and it is well stirred and settled down, add the same spices to the top of the sauce (omitting the olive oil this time) just as you did in the beginning: a mound of onion covered by parsley followed be garlic, basil, and oregano. Top it off with a bay leaf and then stir these spices into the sauce as well. If you are making a meat sauce (see below for more on that), add the raw meat now. Partially cover and allow the full volume to heat to bubbling before reducing the heat to simmer. Allow the sauce to simmer for the afternoon so it will thicken and cook any meat you may have added. Be sure to stir it often and try to avoid letting it scorch on the bottom of the pot. At this point all you have to do is let your sauce simmer partially covered for the afternoon, but be sure to give it a good stir periodically. I let my sauce simmer at least 5 hours before serving or using to make the main dish.
- Italian sausage and pork chops are cooked to tender perfection when added to the pot raw following the addition of the tomato sauce. Prepared meatballs are also excellent, which I will post as a separate recipe. As noted above, this recipe is easily modified to suit anyone's taste, so take it as a suggestion and be creative. Fresh tomatoes or spices, particularly when from your own garden, will take this sauce from great to incredible. It also freezes and reheats well, so I typically make a large pot of it and use it for several recipes that call for spaghetti sauce. I simply fill a few freezer storage bags with the leftover sauce and thaw whatever I need when I need it. Remember when making a meat sauce that you will want to avoid taste testing it before the meat is fully cooked, and also I do not store it as long refrigerated as compared to a meatless sauce.
Timing the moment aromatics hit the hot oil dictates whether the sauce builds a deep, toasted foundation or burns into bitterness. Because dry herbs lack internal moisture, they brown much faster than fresh ones and require vigilant stirring over medium-high heat before the canned tomatoes go in. Watching the onions closely ensures they develop adequate color without turning acrid before the liquids halt the cooking process.
Choosing between fresh herbs and their dried counterparts alters more than just preparation time. Fresh basil, parsley, garlic, and oregano contribute bright, herbaceous notes that shine best when added toward the end of simmering, whereas dried equivalents release their concentrated flavors steadily throughout a long afternoon on the stove. Combining both approaches yields a complex depth that bridges the gap between quick weeknight cooking and all-day simmering.
Simmering the mixture partially covered for at least five hours allows excess water to evaporate steadily, concentrating the crushed and canned tomatoes into a rich coating. Periodic stirring prevents scorching against the bottom of the stock pot as the starches and sugars thicken. This extended duration also safely cooks any raw pork chops or Italian sausage submerged directly into the liquid.
Adaptability remains a primary strength of this preparation, allowing cooks to substitute ingredients freely without compromising the fundamental structure. Keeping the base vegan by omitting meat or swapping components to accommodate specific dietary restrictions requires zero changes to the core cooking technique. Leftovers transfer easily into freezer storage bags for long-term preservation.
