After years of trying to create the best homemade spaghetti sauce, we’ve finally found the perfect recipe. This spaghetti sauce from scratch is a recipe we’re happy to eat over and over again!
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
After years of testing and retesting recipes for easy homemade spaghetti sauce, we finally have one that we want to shout from the rooftops. This spaghetti sauce recipe was a great springboard but we wanted one that wasn’t just a quick recipe, but one that would simmer and bubble all day until it’s flavors were irresistible.
Although this spaghetti sauce from scratch requires 3+ hours to develop its rich, hearty flavor, it’s very easy to make. The prep work takes all of 10 minutes to complete, and then you can walk away from the stove to tend to other chores around the house.
In this post, we walk you through how to make spaghetti sauce, and we also address a number of FAQs we’ve received about making homemade pasta sauce.
Spaghetti Sauce Ingredients
If you’ve already scrolled down to the recipe card to see what’s in this homemade spaghetti sauce, don’t be worried about the longer ingredient list. Most of the ingredients are herbs you already have in your pantry! Here’s what you’ll need to make this spaghetti sauce recipe:
- Fresh tomatoes
- Garlic
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- Onion
- Baby Bella mushrooms
- Red bell pepper
- Mild Italian sausage
- Fresh herbs
- Canned tomatoes
- Tomato sauce
- Tomato paste
- Bay leaf
- Balsamic vinegar
- Parmesan rind
How to Make Spaghetti Sauce
This Italian spaghetti sauce requires minimal hands-on prep work but delivers big flavor. Here are the basic steps for how to make spaghetti sauce:
- Halve the fresh tomatoes and toss in olive oil.
- Place in baking pan with garlic and roast until softened.
- In a dutch oven, sauté the onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and more garlic.
- Add the sausage to the dutch oven and cook until browned.
- Add the rest of the spaghetti sauce ingredients to the pot and pop the lid on.
- Let the sauce simmer for at least 3 hours, or all day.
How to Thicken Spaghetti Sauce
A watery spaghetti sauce is almost always caused by a lack of tomato paste. Tomato paste will thicken the entire sauce without taking away from the tomato flavor. In fact, it’s concentrated enough that it really gives that oomph of tomato you need.
Can I Make Spaghetti Sauce in a Slow Cooker?
Yes, homemade spaghetti sauce is a great choice for your slow cooker. You can even start the meat in it but remember, it’s going to take longer to brown. Start on high heat and add the meat as well as veggies and herbs. Once browned, add your remaining ingredients and allow to simmer on the low setting all day, stirring occasionally.
Should I Peel and Deseed the Roasted Tomatoes?
After roasting the fresh tomatoes, we prefer adding them straight to the pot of sauce without removing their skins or seeds. We find that the roasted tomatoes break down even more in the spaghetti sauce, so there’s no need to add that extra prep work to this recipe.
Can I Omit the Ground Meat?
Absolutely! If you’re vegetarian or simply don’t have ground meat on hand, you’re welcome to leave it out. Your spaghetti sauce will still have plenty of flavor.
Is it Okay to Can Spaghetti Sauce?
Yes, we can this homemade spaghetti sauce in the summer when we have lots of tomatoes on hand.
Can You Freeze Spaghetti Sauce?
Very easily! The best way to freeze spaghetti sauce is to let it cool completely and then seal it in a food saver bag. We aren’t getting paid to say this, but we truly do love our Food Saver. It’s been amazing to freeze even cooked meats and soups and have them taste perfectly fresh two months later when we reheat. We like to use the Rolls so we can cut the bag to whatever size we want, but the Premade Bags are great too.
If you don’t have a Food Saver, you can store the spaghetti sauce in freezer-safe containers or bags. When you’re ready to eat the sauce, place it in your fridge overnight to thaw.
Tips for Making the Best Spaghetti Sauce
There are a few secrets to making a good spaghetti sauce, and they all have to do with the ingredients you use. I’m sure it comes as no surprise that high-quality ingredients are crucial to making a batch of truly amazing homemade pasta sauce.
Here’s what you should know about the key ingredients in this spaghetti sauce recipe:
Tomatoes — You’re going to want whole tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste. Our local grocery store sells San Marzano tomatoes and if you have not canned your own, I highly suggest this brand as it truly does taste like a far superior tomato.
If you can’t find them, try to watch for a good sale and buy the best canned tomatoes you can find. It’s worth it. I’ve linked to them so you can see what the can looks like. We try to freeze or can tomato sauce as well during the summer but it is the same rule as above.
Fresh Herbs — Herbs will create a more flavorful, fresh sauce. A combination of fresh and dry herbs or completely dry herbs will be okay as long as you bloom the herbs. By this, I mean you should add the herbs while you’re sautéing things in the hot pan so that the flavors wake up, so to speak.
Parmesan Rind — A Parmesan rind is the key ingredient to making the BEST spaghetti sauce. Don’t you dare ever throw out that Parmesan rind again. Toss it into your sauce and let it simmer to really allow the cheese to seep into the sauce. It doesn’t taste cheesy, but boy does it taste wonderful. Even as leftovers sit in the fridge, I allow that rind to be in there.
Time — A truly wonderful sauce needs time. I start mine in the morning and let it simmer all day. In fact, I sometimes make it a day ahead of time, let it sit in the fridge and then slowly bring it back to temperature the day of serving. Time is the only thing that can meld and fully bloom the flavors of the sauce.
Meat — You don’t need meat in a homemade spaghetti sauce, but if you do add meat I prefer to do half beef and half Italian sausage or all Italian sausage. These will really create more flavor in the sauce.
Other Italian Sauce Recipes:
Looking for more Italian Sauce recipes? Who doesn’t love Italian sauces!? Make sure you try these out the next time you are making that Italian dish:
- Authentic Bolognese Sauce
- Spaghetti Sauce
- Pizza Sauce
- Easy Pesto Recipe
- Garden Veggie Marinara Sauce
- Easy Beef Ragu
- Cilantro Pesto
More Homemade Condiment Recipes You’ll Love:
- Red Enchilada Sauce
- Tomatillo Cilantro Ranch Dressing
- Taco Seasoning
- Classic Pesto
- Burger Sauce
- Pizza Sauce
- BBQ Rub
- Authentic Salsa Verde
- Restaurant Style Salsa
- Nacho Cheese Sauce
- BBQ Sauce
- Ham Dipping Sauces
- All CONDIMENT RECIPES!
Favorite Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Description
Ingredients
- 4 Large Fresh Tomatoes , or 6 Small
- 2 Cloves Garlic
- Olive Oil
- Salt and Pepper
- 1 Diced Onion
- 1/3 Cup Minced Baby Bella Mushrooms
- 1/2 Cup Minced Red Bell Pepper
- 1 Pound Mild Italian Sausage
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Parsley, chopped (or 2 Tablespoons Dried)
- 1 Teaspoon Fresh Rosemary, chopped (or 1/2 Teaspoon Dried)
- 1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, chopped (or 1 1/2 Teaspoons Dried)
- 1 Teaspoon Fresh Oregano, (or 1/2 Teaspoon Dried)
- 1 Can San Marzano Tomatoes, 28 oz
- 30 ounces Tomato Sauce * , (about 2 cans)
- 2 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
- 1 Teaspoon Kosher Salt , plus more to taste
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 2 Teaspoons Balsamic Vinegar
- 1/2 of a Rind from a Parmesan Cheese Wedge
Instructions
- Heat an oven to 400 degrees F and drizzle a little oil on a cookie sheet.
- Slice the tomatoes in half and toss in the oil on the pan.
- Add the garlic, in it's skins and toss in the oil.
- Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the tomatoes are wilted.
- Press the garlic out of their papers, mince and set everything aside.
- Heat a dutch oven over medium heat and add a drizzle of oil.
- Add the onions, bell peppers, mushrooms and garlic and stir with a wooden spoon until the onions begin to turn translucent.
- Add the Italian sausage and break it up a little.
- As the meat browns, occasionally go back to the pan every minute or so and continue to break up the meat.
- Add the herbs and stir again to combine, allowing to cook for 30 seconds.
- Add the tomatoes, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, and tomato paste.
- Stir to combine and sprinkle with kosher salt evenly over the sauce.
- Add the bay leaf, balsamic vinegar and parmesan rind.
- Stir to combine and allow to simmer for 3 hours or all day.
- Before serving, remove the bay leaf.
- We let the parmesan stay in until we've eaten all of the sauce, even with the leftovers in the fridge.
Kenna
Just so you know, the nutritional info needs a correction. It lists a serving as 1 gram so all the associated values (carbs, calories, fats, etc) listed reflect that quantity
Sweet Basil
Thank you so much Kenna! We are in the process of getting all serving sizes corrected on our recipe cards and we hadn’t gotten to this one yet. Everything has been updated.
Cheryl
This is by far the best sauce I have ever made. Completely worth the effort and time in the kitchen. I use this sauce for both spaghetti and my lasagna. Thank you so much for sharing your talents!
Sweet Basil
Yay! Thank you so much for the feedback Cheryl!
Barbara Bonk
Home made spaghetti sauce sounds delicious!
What brand tomato sauce do you recommend? I usually use Hunts tomato sauce and Hunts tomato paste.
Sincerely
Sweet Basil
Hi Barbara! I really love Cento brand, but it can be a little pricey. Hunts is great! I also grab tomato sauce at Costco sometimes which is Kirkland brand.
Gary
I’ve made this for the last 3 years and it is fantastic. Couple questions since I’m sitting on 7 lbs of fresh tomatoes.
First, can you can it with the meat in it, or omit the mushrooms and meat?
Secondly, can I add more fresh tomatoes and omit the canned?
Third, I’ve read when canning you should avoid fresh herbs due to it affects the acidity so, can I use fresh herbs?
Lastly, I should omit the parmesan wedge or just remove it prior to canning?
I’ve always tripled your recipe and foodsaver sealed and freeze it and give to the children so I know they can eat well. Would like to can it this year to save on freezer space.
Awesome recipes and I appreciate you taking the time to share them, thank you.
Sweet Basil
Hi Gary! Great questions!
1. You shouldn’t can it with meat or any dairy, but the mushroom will be fine.
2. Yes you can add fresh instead of canned but their water and salt content is different so you’ll want to watch that.
3. I didn’t know that about herbs so I don’t know for sure, but we’ve never had a problem with them.
4. Yes, again avoid dairy and don’t use the wedge.
Enjoy!!
Sonja
Hello what do you do with the whole tomato? Do you blend, puree or leave them chunky?
Sweet Basil
Hi Sonja! After they roast in the oven and then simmer with all the other ingredients, they break down pretty well on their own but still leave some texture and chunk to the sauce.
Emily
Do you drain the sausage at all? I’m wondering if the grease pools on top. Thanks!
Sweet Basil
Yes, if there is a lot of grease that comes off the sausage, drain it for sure!
Jesse Curvin
Another five star rating here, thanks for sharing this amazing recipe and for all the tips you included. Bookmarking this page!
Sweet Basil
Thank you so much Jesse!
Kara Booth
This is our FAVORITE sauce now. Store bought just doesnt cut it anymore. Our children always picked pizza for their birthday dinner, but now its this sauce with noodles. I make it in my instant pot with homemade meatballs though. Its amazing. Thank you!
Sweet Basil
We love to hear that Kara! Thank you so much for the feedback!
Kim
Just two cloves of garlic? Not two heads?
Sweet Basil
Just cloves! It should be about 1 tsp of minced garlic.
Gabriella Paschall
I’m making this spaghetti sauce right now. It is just now starting to simmer. Mine looks very saucy whereas yours in the photos looks meatier. After the 3 hours of simmering will the sauce thicken up and look more meaty? Also, what type of fresh tomatoes do you use? I don’t see anywhere you telling what specific type of fresh tomatoes? And how large is large? I am using regular pretty large tomatoes like what you would slice for hamburgers. My grocery only had these or Roma tomatoes.
Thanks, Gabriella
Sweet Basil
Hi Gabriella! How did it turn out? It should have definitely thickened up with the simmering. I like to use romas. Really anything except beefsteak should work just fine.
Julie
Our family loves this sauce! So much better than the jars from the store. Once its done simmering, I use my immersion blender to make it smooth so picky eaters don’t notice the mushrooms;)
Sweet Basil
Genius!! So glad you enjoy it!
Tabatha
First time I’ve ever made my sauce from scratch, was a HUGE hit!! husband may never let me go back to jar stuff lol
Sweet Basil
Haha…we haven’t been able to go back to the jar stuff either. Totally spoiled! So glad your family enjoyed it!
Julie
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I was able to use lots of produce from my garden: Early Girls/San Marzano/Roma’s, onion, bell pepper, basil, parsley and oregano. Used 1/2 lb ground beef, 1/2 lb mild Italian sausage. I cooked my meat, onion/pepper/mushrooms, herbs, roasted tomatoes/garlic the night before and cut up my tomatoes. Put all that in a bowl in the fridge overnight. Added all other ingredients to slow cooker with the pre-cooked mix the next day. Did high for about four hours. One of the best homemade sauces I’ve ever made. Thank you for making me look good! 😀
Sweet Basil
What great tips! Thank you for the feedback Julie! So happy you love it as much as we do!!
Julie
With my abundance of tomatoes, I thought about canning without the meat. Then when I use it, I can simmer it with meat before serving. Have you done this before? If so, do I need to add an acid (citric or lemon juice)? Thank you!
Sweet Basil
Hi Julie! Sorry for the slow response! Add a dash of lemon juice and skip adding any cheese. And yes it works great to later simmer with the sauce!
Alex
Hello, I haven’t made this sauce yet, but can I use a regular stock pot instead? Or is the Dutch Oven a must have? I’m 21 and haven’t been able to afford one yet or find one at the thrift store but want to do something special for my partner. Id appreciate any tips you have in adjusting the instructions for such a situation. Thank you.
Sweet Basil
Hi Alex! A stock pot should work fine. We just like how evenly the Dutch oven cooks the sauce and the flavor it gives. Just keep an eye on it and stir it every now and then. Enjoy!
Sandra K Neville
OMG! I’m on heaven, this meat sauce is to die for. I made a batch last fall and was smitten. Mail ordered San Marzano tomato plants this spring and they are ready to start harvesting. The flavors are complex, tomato then basil and the parm rind adds a slight oil to this sauce. Freezes well and will make great gifts for the holidays.
Thanks you
Sweet Basil
Wow! Thanks Sandra! We can’t do any other spaghetti sauce in our house! So glad you love it as much as we do!
Todd Baum
I made this recipe almost exactly as noted with the exception of the parmesan cheese wedge. I was not able to find that at my local grocery store. What I used in it’s place was about a half cup of shaved aged parmesan cheese. This was the most amazingly delicious spaghetti sauce I have ever tasted. Was absolutely outstanding!
Todd Baum
Oops, I lied a bit. I forgot to mention I did add ground beef and sliced kielbasa in addition to the Italian sausage as the meat.
Sweet Basil
Yes please! Sounds delicious!
Sweet Basil
Thank you Todd!! So glad you enjoyed it!
Kara
I make this sauce in my instant, but with meatballs that we love. My whole family eats up ALL of it. This is a fantastic recipe! Thank you!
Kara
I make it in my instant pot on manual for 23 min and its AMAZING.
Sweet Basil
Amazing!! Thanks for the feedback Kara!
Joanne Dewis
I’m excited about trying this recipe,soon. I’m tired of bottle spaghetti sauce and think this would do the trick.
Sweet Basil
You’ll never go back to bottled again! I can’t wait for you to try it!
Michael J Bonavita
Just a suggestion, you don’t need to simmer the sauce all day, you have to watch it, three or four hours tops
Sweet Basil
3-4 hours gets the job done just fine! But the longer it simmers, the better! Just make sure the temp is low enough so it doesn’t burn.
Kathleen Star
I’ve always made my Mom’s recipe for spaghetti and recently have been trying other recipes for a change of pace. I’m looking forward to trying your recipe! Sounds delicious and I know the rosemary and the parmesan rind will make a wonderful addition! I do have a question: I’m curious about the balsamic vinegar. This is the first I’ve seen it as an ingredient in spaghetti sauce. Can you tell me how it influences the flavor of the sauce?
Sweet Basil
Hi Kathleen! That is a great question! It just adds the tiniest bit of sweetness and tanginess. You will love it!
Meredeth
Should I chop the tomato halves before adding them to the pan?
Sweet Basil
You can if you want, but they break down pretty well as it simmers. Enjoy!
Samantha Morris
This looks delicious! I’ve never made homemade sauce before so this might be a dumb question, but do you remove the seeds from the tomatoes before you cook them?
Sweet Basil
Hi Samantha! That’s not a dumb question at all! We don’t take them out because they don’t bother me being in there, but you definitely could remove them. Enjoy!!
Kathy D Reece
Oh my goodness! I made this spaghetti sauce recipe for dinner, and it was a hit. My youngest grandson, couldn’t stop licking his spoon! My husband said this was the best sauce he ever had.
I followed the recipe exactly, my kitchen smelled wonderful. Your site is so well written and gives such clear directions and tons of necessary information.
Thank you!
Sweet Basil
Thank you so much Kathy! We appreciate your support and feedback so much!
Ingrid
Do you recommend simmering for 3+ hrs. with lid on or off?
Sweet Basil
Lid off…great question!
Hunter
When you call for a can of san marzano tomatoes, are you referring to whole peeled tomatoes or crushed? I don’t see anywhere that states which. I also notice you have an asterisk by the tomato sauce saying to see notes, which I also dont see. I’d love to try this today but would love these answers. Thanks!
Sweet Basil
Hi Hunter! Sorry to get back to you late. We don’t work on Sundays, so I’m just getting to this! We like the crushed San Marzano tomatoes. They are much easier to work with in the sauce. The note for the tomatoes is down at the bottom below the instructions: “We love to roast tomatoes, puree them, strain out the seeds and freeze in ziploc bags, but canned will work just fine.”
Kim G
This sauce is amazing! Very tasty. We don’t eat pork so I used ground beef; also, my kids don’t like mushrooms so I left them out. It still came out great. I don’t think I can go back to spaghetti sauce in a jar! I took your advice from another recipe and bought myself a meat chopper, I’m very glad did, it made a significant difference in the texture of the sauce.
Sweet Basil
Isn’t that meat chopper amazing?! I can’t believe I ever lived without it! So glad you enjoyed the spaghetti sauce, Kim! Thanks for the feedback!
Julia
Hi Guys,
This recipe sounds great but I live In Australia can you tell me what mild Italian sausage is and are the tomatoes just regular diced tinned tomatoes. Another question is the tomato sauce is this like ketchup which is what we call tomato sauce.
Thanks
Julia
Sweet Basil
Hi Julia! Mild Italian sausage is ground pork sausage that you can buy packages like ground beef. Yes, the tomatoes are the canned diced tomatoes you buy that are buy the canned vegetables. The tomato sauce is also canned. It is basically just pureed tomatoes, no extra sugar added. Hope this helps!
Patrick Howaniec
Best sauce I’ve ever made !!! All those ingredients that go into this take a bit of time…but it’s well worth it. I strained the sauce and used it for pizza as well. I got a lot of compliments on how wonderful the sauce tasted. This will be my Go To recipe from here on in. I give this a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating. Thanks
Sweet Basil
Thank you Patrick! It is so tasty! Thank you for taking time to leave a comment!
Fran
When you mention 4 whole tomatoes but later mentioned canned tomatoes is it both or either one? I’m confused by this.
Sweet Basil
Yes, both!
Lois Libby
Where was the “secret ingredient ” that was promised in the beginning? Hmmm
Sweet Basil
Thank you Lois! The secret ingredient is the Parmesan rind. Thank you for catching that!
Roger Howard
You never ever ever put oregano in marinara.. oregano makes it pizza sauce
BRENDAN OCONNOR
No neck bones? For shame…
George Terplan
Is it possible to can this sauce?
Sweet Basil
Yes, absolutely! We love to can this in the summer with all the tomatoes from our garden. It lasts us through the fall and winter! It can also be frozen.
Lisa
Do you peel the fresh tomatoes after you roast them, before you use them in the sauce?
Sweet Basil
We usually just leave the skins on, but you could easily remove them after roasting if you want!
Susan Green
There are no new or secret in this basic sauce. Same ones my mother and grandmother have used for more than 60 years
Sweet Basil
The best recipes always stand the test of time!
Kevin
Your recipe ingredients call for minced bell pepper. However I did not see them in the directions. Am i missing it? What color if so?
Sweet Basil
Oh shoot! Thank you! They go in at the same time as the onions and mushrooms and red bell peppers! I’ll get that fixed right now.
Kristie Swift
The sauce was so good! Because my husband and I are on a health kick, we put it on top of sweet potato noodles instead of regular pasta. I was so happy to be able to eat spaghetti again, and it was delicious! I will make this again many times over!
Sweet Basil
Yay! Did you buy or make your noodles? I haven’t found a good one to buy.
Sharon Morphew
What is the sodium content on this sauce?
bethany @ athletic avocado
Homemade spaghetti sauce is like icing on cake, it makes everything that much better! This version looks finger-lickin’ good!
Sweet Basil
Thank you so much!
Helene
My BF taught me how to make sauce from scratch & haven’t gone back to premade since.
BTW, Amway has a great stain remover for grease, tomato stains.
Sweet Basil
I’ll have to look into that!
Kris T
Do you think this recipe would work in the Instant Pot? I’ll definitely try the all day version but if it could be done faster and taste like it took all day, that would be awesome, too!
Sweet Basil
Hi Kris,
That’s something we haven’t tried so I’m not sure, but we would love to hear if you try it!
Jeannette
This sounds very good. I have wanted a homemade spaghetti sauce for quite a while. I just have one question: What does the parmesan rind look like? At the grocery store I shop, the fresh parmesan is wrapped in plastic and it looks like an elongated triangle.
Thank you again.
Sweet Basil
Hi Jeannette,
Yes, that’s the parmesan we use. The wide end that is hard is the rind. If you look at the 4th picture it’s floating in the sauce.