What Else Can You Add To Pasta Sauce
- Spice it up with 2x the crushed red pepper flakes
- Cheese such as asiago or parmesan
- Cooked ground beef seasoned with Italian herbs
- Salty ingredients, like anchovies and capers
- Italian sausage
- A splash of red wine start with two tablespoons
- Greek yogurt add one cup right before serving to make a creamy homemade pasta sauce
What To Serve With Spaghetti
There are so many easy side dishes to serve with spaghetti with homemade spaghetti sauce. I like to stick with a salad and bread most of the time because it is quick and easy. But even on nights when I want to get fancier we always have a bread and a veggie with it. Check out some of the great sides that make spaghetti a whole meal.
Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
My family’s secret homemade spaghetti sauce is easy to make using a few staple ingredients you may already have on hand! Perfectly thick and packed with flavor, you’ll be ditching that store bought pasta sauce!
You can make this quick vegetarian pasta sauce ahead and freeze it for later use! And I’ve included a spaghetti meat sauce option for meat-lovers. Be sure to watch the video and grab all my tips below.
I call this my any-time spaghetti sauce. It’s easy. Unfussy. You can make it any night of the week.
And it takes just a few staple ingredients most of us have on hand: canned tomatoes, onions, garlic, and carrots, plus a couple spices and fresh herbs for flavor.
Savvy Italian nonnas don’t necessarily wait for tomato season to conjure up the perfect homemade spaghetti sauce or marinara sauce, and neither should we. Quality canned tomatoes from the pantry will do the trick just fine.
While many pasta sauce recipes call for 3 to 4 different kinds of canned tomatoes, I found that crushed canned tomatoes provide the perfect consistency for this tomato sauce. Simpler the better!
You’ll love this homemade spaghetti sauce recipe. Just the right thickness and so much flavor. So let’s get to it!
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Pasta Sauce Serving Suggestions:
This sauce is delicious anywhere you would usually serve marinara sauce. Serve it on pasta or in a pasta bake as a dipping sauce for breadsticks or calzones as a meat sauce or even on polenta.
You can also use this pasta sauce on pizza. I recommend simmering the sauce down an extra 5-10 minutes, however, as thicker tomato sauce tends to work better on pizza.
What To Serve With Spaghetti And Meat Sauce
We always serve this with a super crunchy iceberg salad tossed with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes and dressed in my favorite red wine vinaigrette and a few slices of buttery garlic bread. If youre looking for a little bit more, here are a few recipe ideas to make your meal.
- 1teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
- 1pounddried spaghetti noodles
- grated Parmesan cheese
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Key Ingredients For Pasta Sauce
- Tomatoes. You cant make a traditional red sauce without tomatoes! Whether theyre fresh or canned tomatoes, this ingredient is an absolute must.
- Garlic and onions. You could technically leave these ingredients out. But without them, your pasta sauce would have little depth. Garlic and onions give your sauce a rich, fragrant quality thats hard to replace.
- Flavor boosters. When youre learning how to make pasta sauce, youll quickly see that its very receptive to herbs, seasonings and spices. Without these flavor boosters, youd have a bland recipe.
What Are The Best Tomatoes To Use
The best spaghetti sauce is made using San Marzano tomatoes. San Marzano is a variety of plum tomatoes. These tomatoes have a stronger flavor and are sweeter and less acidic. You can find canned San Marzano tomatoes at your grocery store. The label should make it very obvious that the tomatoes are this variety.
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How To Make Pasta
Ready to learn how to make pasta? Check out this step-by-step guide first, and then find the full recipe at the bottom of this post!
First, make a nest with the flour on a clean work surface. Add the remaining ingredients to the center and use a fork to gently break up the eggs. Try to keep the flour walls intact as best as you can!
Next, use your hands to gently mix in the flour. Continue working the dough to bring it together into a shaggy ball.
Then, knead! At the beginning, the dough should feel pretty dry, but stick with it! It might not feel like its going to come together, but after 8-10 minutes of kneading, it should become cohesive and smooth:
If the dough still seems too dry, sprinkle your fingers with water and continue kneading to incorporate it into the dough. If the dough becomes too sticky, dust more flour onto your work surface.
When the dough comes together, shape it into a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap. Let the dough rest at room temperature for 30 minutes.
After the dough rests,slice it into 4 pieces.
Use a rolling pin or your hands to gently flatten one into an oval disk.
Then, run it through the widest setting of your pasta maker . I run the dough through the pasta maker 3 times on this setting before proceeding to the next step. If you dont have the KitchenAid attachment, roll out the dough according to your pasta makers instructions.
Then, fold it in half lengthwise to form a rectangle.
Easy Homemade Pasta Sauce Recipe
Do you ever feel like youâre lagging behind, like itâs hard to keep up? It reminds me of being a kid, and having to clean house. My mom taught us well, and eventually I could take the lead and move quickly. Sometimes we feel that way with cooking, too. Right?
Thatâs why Iâm sharing an easy 5-Ingredient Pasta Sauce that anyone can make!
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Quick Tomato Basil Sauce
Need a great homemade tomato sauce for pasta? Try this Tomato Basil Sauce, a rustic sauce thats bold on tomato flavor: in 20 minutes! Some tomato sauce recipes bubble for an hour or more, but this ones quick to whip up. It works with 8 ounces pasta, so its great for a fast weeknight dinner with a few easy sides: or double for a crowd!
Total time: 20 minutes
How To Store Pasta Sauce
This recipe isnt approved for canning, but it will last in the refrigerator for five to seven days. Its best to store the sauce in glass jars or containers, because the tomatoes are very acidic and could stain your plastic containers. Keep the sauce covered with plastic wrap or close it tightly with a lid.
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Suggestions For Spaghetti Sauce With Fresh Tomatoes
- Fresh tomatoes are obviously best, but what if you dont have fresh tomatoes on hand? What if tomatoes are out of season? Dont worry! You can use a couple of 28 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes.
- If you want to add some extra flavor from your garden, you can add diced red bell pepper, diced green bell pepper, and/or fresh chopped carrots. If you like a chunky homemade garden spaghetti sauce, just chop up any veggies you like and add them while sautéing the onions.
- This sauce is thick, hearty and rich on its own, but you can for you meat lovers, you can add ground beef or chopped smoked sausage to the sauce.
- To thicken your sauce, slow and steady is your ticket. Last time I made this I had it simmering for 8 hours . Trust me, the longer you can let it simmer, the better! If you are finding that the water isnt evaporating as quickly as you would like or it isnt thickening up how you want it to there is an easy fix. Just add some tomato paste, about a tablespoon at a time, until you reach the consistency you are looking for.
- Make a double batch of this glorious sauce and freeze it in a freezer safe Tupperware-type container, a large freezer-safe Ziploc bag or a glass jar. If you do go the glass jar route, make sure to leave an inch or two of space at the top of the jar so the sauce doesnt expand and break. When freezing, make sure to cool the sauce completely in the fridge before freezing.The sauce will stay nice and fresh in the freezer for up to six months.
About This Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
I use four different forms of canned tomatoes to make this homemade spaghetti sauce: tomato paste, crushed tomatoes with their juice, tomato sauce, and diced tomatoes with their juice.
Although homemade spaghetti sauce requires a nice long simmer on the stove, most of that time is hands-off. You could also use a slow cooker to simmer the spaghetti sauce on low for 8 hours.
Why bother making homemade when you can buy a jar of sauce at the grocery store? Once you taste this sauce, youll know the answer to that question! Anything thats freshly made beats canned by a long shot. Plus you can be confident in knowing that the sauce you make is preservative and additive free, and made with love.
Listen for the Grazie thats sure to come your way. The correct response to that is Prego!.
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Homemade Pasta Recipe Ingredients
You only need 4 ingredients to make delicious fresh pasta at home, and theres a good chance you have all of them on hand already:
- All-purpose flour In the past, I thought you needed 00 flour or semolina flour to make great fresh pasta, but this homemade pasta recipe proved me wrong. In it, regular all-purpose flour yields chewy, bouncy noodles every time.
- Eggs The key ingredient for adding richness and moisture to the dough!
- Olive oil Along with the eggs, a splash of olive oil moistens the dough and helps it come together.
- Salt Add it to the dough and the pasta water for the best flavor.
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
How To Thicken Pasta Sauce
Tomatoes are so juicy, they often release water while cooking, which can thin down your sauce. If your pasta sauce is just not sticking on to your noodles in the right way, it might be too watery.
To thicken your sauce without losing flavor, there are 3 main things you can do: add tomato sauce, reduce the liquid, or add more starch.
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Why This Is The Best Pasta Sauce Recipe
- Practical shortcuts!Learn how to make pasta sauce from crushed tomatoes.
- Make ahead. And use it on everything from pasta dishes like spaghetti and stuffed shells, to homemade pizza.
- Better than store-bought sauce.
- Options for both a chunky pasta sauce and smooth pasta sauce.
- Quick recipe. Dump things in a pot, give a stir once in a while, let it simmer, then youre done!
- Kids love it. My toddler sticks his hand in a bowl of this tomato sauce and licks his fingers clean. Sure, Id rather he use a spoon, but you get the point its delicious to kids!
Can I Freeze Or Can This For Long
If you want to make larger batches of this sauce and freeze or pressure can for later use, you can definitely do so. As I am not well-versed in canning, I would defer to the experts at the National Center for Home Food Preservation for directions.
When freezing the sauce, allow it to cool completely then refrigerate until chill. Spoon into storage containers or freezer storage bags. When using containers, leave at least 1″ of space at the top for expansion when freezing. I also recommend storing in 1 cup portions so it is easier to thaw for smaller dishes as needed.
Just make sure you label and date all stored tomato sauce so you know how long it has been in the freezer or storage. In the freezer, this would be good for up to six months, and when pressure canned it is usually good for 12 to 18 months.
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Why This Recipe Works
One of the easiest meals on the planet to make is a comforting batch of spaghetti. It is super easy to make, it is affordable and its off-the-charts comforting and delicious!
If you ever find yourself in a situation where you either dont have the energy to make a batch of homemade pasta sauce or you do not want to take a trip to the grocery store to grab a jar of sauce, Ive got your back!
All you need is a can of tomato paste and a few other ingredients that are already likely sitting in your kitchen. Dinner has never been easier!
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
- Heat the oil over medium heat in a large pot.
- Add diced onions and saute until they’re translucent.
- Stir in tomatoes, garlic, basil, oregano, parsley, salt and any additional add-ins.
- Cover and simmer for at least 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve over your favorite pasta, in a casserole, or as a dipping sauce.
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Super Simple Marinara Sauce
Meet the marinara sauce recipe of my dreams! Ive always been intimidated by marinara, maybe because I love it so much that I was afraid of messing it up. I finally faced my fears and tried making marinara every which way. This version is my favorite, no contest.
This homemade marinara sauce offers rich and lively tomato flavor. Youll need only five basic pantry ingredients to make this delicious marinara sauce: good canned tomatoes, onion, garlic, dried oregano and olive oil. Thats it!
This marinara is exceptionally easy to make, too, so its perfect for busy weeknights. You dont even have to chop the onion and garlic. Yep, thats rightjust crank open a can of tomatoes, halve an onion and peel some garlic. Youre ready to go!
This sauce offers lovely, authentic Italian flavor after a 45-minute simmer. I tried to take shortcuts to make it even faster, but no amount of tomato paste, spices, salt or sugar will make up for lost time.
Bottom line: Its impossible to achieve enchanting, long-simmered marinara flavor in under 45 minutes. So throw those ingredients in a pot, pour yourself a glass of wine and boil water for pasta. Dinner is almost ready.
After trying many variations on marinara sauce, I adapted this recipe from Debs tomato sauce with onion and butter, which was originally sourced from Marcella Hazans 1992 cookbook, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.
Reheating And Storage Tips
Leftover spaghetti sauce will keep in the fridge for up to 4 days. Store in a resealable container. Reheat gently in a saucepan on the stove when ready to serve.
Homemade spaghetti sauce is a meal preppers dream. You can make a big batch of this sauce when you have extra time and freeze it in freezer containers indefinitely. Preferably, you should allow time for it to thaw overnight in the fridge before using.
Or, make a big batch of sauce on Saturday or Sunday, and plan meals around it for the rest of the week. Its perfect for more than spaghetti and meatballs. Use it for this easy skillet lasagna, pizza stuffed spaghetti squash, rustic polenta stack, or pizza quesadillas, or as a dipping sauce for air fryer mozzarella sticks or chicken strips.
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Spaghetti Sauce With Fresh Tomatoes
Spaghetti Sauce takes on a fresher, more vibrant flavor when you make it with juicy garden tomatoes. I am so excited to share this recipe with you! I promise, you will never go back to store-bought sauce again . We always have dozens of plump, ripe, red tomatoes in our garden and I love finding a scrumptious way to use them all up. This recipe makes me think of early summer suppers on our patio overlooking the garden. Its such a joy to eat the fruits of your labor!
Classic Spaghetti Sauce With Meat
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