Dont Hate On Great Grandmas Pasta Sauce
As you can see in the comments section below, there was some haterade on this pasta sauce.
There is a multitude of ways to make pasta sauce. I am not claiming this is THE right and ONLY way to make it.
This is how his family makes it.
If this isnt the way your Italian grandmother or mother or whatever makes itplease dont yell at me and tell me so.
Recipes are passed down from generations for a reason.
Every recipe is different. Every recipe is modified for each family.
There noright way to make something. That is why recipes bring such joy in the kitchen they can be changed up.
Im bringing this up because of comments Ive gotten about this recipe and thus have turned off commenting for that very reason.
How Do You Make Spaghetti Sauce From Scratch
Its so easy, youll never look back. Follow the step by step directions below and youll be a pro in no time. After a couple of times, you wont even need to refer to my recipe, its that easy! Do you need to simmer it all day? NO! This is another myth that needs to be dispelled. If you simmer sauce all day, youll end up with tomato paste.
Italian Sausage Bow Tie Pasta Ingredients
It only takes a few simple ingredients to make this recipe. Its all about simplicity.
- Farfalle Bowtie Pasta
- Mozzarella cheese, freshly shredded
- Large onion, chopped
- Petite diced tomatoes, do not drain
- Oregano
- Remove sausage from casing and add to a large skillet.
- Cook over medium heat, crumble sausage and cook until no longer pink.
- Drain grease, reserving 2 tablespoons. Set sausage aside.
- Add reserved grease to pan, add chopped onions and garlic. Sauté until translucent.
- Pour diced tomatoes into the skillet with onions and garlic.
- Sprinkle oregano and basil, salt and pepper into the tomato mixture. Cook for 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Add sausage back to the skillet and bring to a boil.
- Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- In a large pot over medium high heat, bring water to a boil and cook pasta to al dente. Drain and add back pot.
- Add sausage and tomato mixture into pot with pasta, stir.
- Add shredded mozzarella cheese and stir until combined.
- Serve with side salad, garlic bread, or just by itself.
Here are a few pics that are perfect to save to your favorite Pinterest boards on Pinterest. Also, you can follow us on , and . Remember to like or follow us on all social media.
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Make The Spaghetti Sauce
Crush the garlic with the flat side of a knife.
Bring the extra virgin olive oil to medium high heat, then add the garlic and chopped parsley.
After a minute, add the ground beef and break up with a wooden spoon. Add some salt, and cook until it begins to dry up, then add the tomato passata/purèe/chopped tomatoes of your choice.
If using Mutti, they tend to be thick, so add about ¾ cup of water or until the bottom line of the jar then add to the pot. If youre using another brand, rinse the can/jar with a little less water, unless its very thick.
Put the burner on high to bring the sauce to a simmer, and add more salt. Dont be afraid to add Kosher/sea salt as I can guarantee you will have much less sodium in this sauce than a jar of store-bought. This may look like a lot of salt, but its only one teaspoonful.
Lower the heat so that the sauce simmers gently for about an hour, stirring occassionally . Taste for seasoning after about 30 minutes, and add salt if needed.
When the sauce is ready, check once again for seasoning. Add salt and pepper as desired, and a generous amount of fresh basil, torn into pieces. Thats it. I told you it was easy!
Tagliolini Au Gratin With Ham And Cream
Another tasty baked tagliolini recipe is this tagliolini au gratin from Venice. This recipe is based on a dish created at the very famous Ciprianis Harrys bar in Venice, in the 60s. Apparently, a favourites of opera singer Maria Callas, it is still on the menu in Cipriani restaurants around the world. All you need is pasta, eggs, ham, grated Parmigiano and cream and 30 minutes of your time to have this family favourite on the table. Also, a great way to use up leftover holiday ham.
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How To Freeze Italian Tomato Sauce
This will answer any question you may have about freezing this sauce. It freezes beautifully, and all you have to do is cool it to room temperature, place in a freezer-proof container and refrigerate until cold. Then you can label and transfer it to the freezer. It will keep for at least 6 weeks, but I dont know who can go 6 weeks with this wonderful sauce in their freezer and not use it before then!
The Best Method For Cooking Tomato Sauce
Serious Eats
As my colleague Max Falkowitz pointed out, an all-day red sauce is quite a different beast from a quick, fresh pomodoro sauce, and the very best red sauce joints have sauces that taste rich and deep andwait for itcaramelized. Pete Wells, in his New York Times review of the classic red sauce seafood house Randazzo’s down in Sheepshead Bay described their sauce like this:
“The tomatoes cook down for an eternity and then some, until they are as deeply caramelized as a pan of fried sausage.”
It all makes sense. When you slowly cook a liquid packed with proteins, sugars, and other aromatic compounds , a couple things happen. First and foremost, there’s reduction. Water steams away along with a few flavorful molecules that hitch along for the ride, leaving behind a more concentrated base of those proteins, sugars, and aromas. Meanwhile, if the temperature manages to get hot enough, those same proteins and sugars will break down into smaller pieces and recombine, forming hundreds of new flavorful compoundsthis process is a combination of both caramelization , and the Maillard reaction . It creates an end result that is both sweeter and more complex than the starting ingredients.
Too much browning and caramelization and you’d end up with a sauce that tastes too caramelized or worse, burnt. But could some controlled browning help my sauce along?
What about browning the aromatics? I made a batch slow-cooking the garlic until golden brown.
Serious Eats
Serious Eats
Also Check: How To Make A Good Tomato Sauce
Authentic Homemade Italian Tomato Sauce +video
Thanks for sharing! You rock!
Learn how to make delicious AUTHENTIC homemade Italian Tomato Sauce with canned tomatoes with just 5 ingredients! This simple recipe makes a big pot for freezing. Vegan and gluten-free.
I have fond memories of my late Italian immigrant mother standing at the stove on Sundays stirring her Sunday sauce.
She made the best tomato sauce! I am so lucky to have grown up with fine Italian cuisine to eat everyday.
Im also lucky to have all of her delicious and authentic Italian recipes to make for my own family!
I make this spaghetti sauce recipe about every 2-3 months. I freeze the leftovers and pull out just the right amount for certain recipes or just to put on pasta.
I use it to make my popular Baked Ziti with ricotta cheese.
Using homemade tomato sauce makes any dish so much better! When you see how easy it is to make, youll never buy jarred again.
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon affiliate links which means, if you make a purchase, Ill receive a small commission but, the price you pay is the same.
As a matter of fact, I NEVER buy jarred spaghettis sauce ever! Why would I when I can make fresh, delicious homemade sauce easily at home that tastes 10 times better without additives and preservatives?
This recipe is similar to my Italian Tomato Sauce with Fresh Tomatoes except its EASIER!
Spaghetti Sauce Marinara Sauce And Pizza Sauce Whats The Difference
The main difference between the 3 of these sauces is the spices used and the cooking method.
Spaghetti/Pasta sauce is a slow simmer sauce that has a few herbs like basil involved. This is usually a thicker sauce, and you usually add meats and peppers to it. This would never go over a pizza.
The marinara sauce is usually a quick-cooking sauce that only cooks for an hour or less. has a sweeter, deeper flavor. This can be used over pasta or even over pizza.
Pizza sauce is an uncooked tomato sauce. Pizza sauce is typically made with tomato pasta or thicker tomato sauce. It uses different spices from spaghetti sauce, featuring oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic salt, onion powder, and sugar.
Other Italian Recipes
If you love this homemade spaghetti sauce recipe, you will love some of our other Italian recipes:
- Heat the olive oil in a 5+ qt. pot over medium heat, and add the onion.
- Saute for 10 minutes or so, stirring often and being careful not to burn it.
- Add the chopped or pressed garlic.
- Heat for another one to two minutes, making sure not to burn the garlic, then add all the tomatoes, salt, black pepper, basil, and sugar. Stirring often, bring to a low boil.
- Reduce heat to low and simmer for 2-3 hours stirring often.
- For the first half of the simmer time, do so with the pot uncovered, then cover.
- Add the cheese, stir in and simmer for an additional 5 minutes or so.
- This will make the equivalent of 4-5 jars of sauce, and the cost is probably about half .
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What Makes Great Grandmas Pasta Sauce So Special
My friend told me that for every Christmas and get together, his grandmother used to make her famous pasta dish.
Its made with this homemade pasta sauce that simmers on the stove for hours.
This pasta sauce is like liquid gold.
Its the most delicious, rich, flavorful, pasta sauce Ive ever had in my entire life.
This pasta sauce was actually from his great grandmother who came over from Italy. YOU KNOW its good when its from a legit Italian. Not some Chef Boyardee character.
The secret to this sauce is the simmering process.
Low and slow, baby. Thats how all the flavors develop and marry one another in a sweet, luscious concoction.
If you want to taste what the Italians are so blessed with over in Italy, I suggest you give this pasta sauce a try. You wont ever go back to your plain ol marinara that you thought was good. This sauce here is genius.
And genuine.
How To Can Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
- Pour the homemade speghetti sauce, while hot, into hot pint or quart jars, leaving about 1 inch of headspace
- Adjust the bands & lids to fit.
- Process in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure
Its really the best sauce even our picky eaters love it! For dessert, try serving up our favorite easy peach cobbler. Youll have a meal that everyone will love!
Also Check: Papa John’s Alfredo Sauce
Simple Steps To Avoid An Acidic Sauce
Use quality tomatoes: as stated above, this is the first step to ensure your sauce is less acidic. Use quality San Marzano Italian tomatoes for your sauce to be rich and sweet in flavor!
Add a carrot to simmer in the sauce: this is something my mother always did and is very traditional in Italian sauces. The sweetness of the carrot releases its flavor and naturally absorbs any acidic flavors from the tomatoes. How to: remove the stem, peel the carrot skin off, and place the whole carrot into the sauce to simmer. Remove carrot once the sauce is finished.
Use stainless steel: whenever making tomato sauce, its important to choose the right pot. My top recommendations for sauce are stainless steel. Any other pot like non-stick or cast iron can cause the acid in the tomatoes to mix with the metal and results in an unpleasant metallic taste.
Can I Add Meatballs
Yes, you can!! If youve just got an Italian spaghetti and meatball kind of family, you can always go with a spaghetti and meatballs recipethat will blow their minds! This Italian spaghetti is one of my long-standing favorite recipes but sometimes Ill make instant pot spaghetti and meatballs in a pinch.
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How Do You Add Flavor To Pasta Sauce
My answer to this question is contrary to what youll find on Google . Even though this recipe will give you a spaghetti sauce with fabulous flavor, you can add more flavor if you like, but dont reach for the spices! Instead, you can add any of the following:
- finely diced onion
Want to learn more about authentic Italian cuisine? You need this short book by my Italian-born friend, Alessandra Gambini, called No Ketchup on Spaghetti, How to Shop, Eat and Cook like an Italian.
Whats The Difference Between Italian Tomato Sauce And Marinara
Italian tomato sauce is just any authentic tomato sauce that youd find in a home or restaurant in Italy. However, Marinara sauce means two things depending on where you are. In the US, Marinara is used to refer to a meatless or vegetarian sauce, whereas in Italy, marinara means a seafood sauce. To add more confusion, a marinara pizza doesnt have any seafood on it, but a plain tomato sauce pizza with garlic, oil and oregano.
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Cooking Your Pizza Sauce Youre Doing It Wrong
Its how they make it in Naples, and takes less than 5 minutes to stir together!
Once, I gave a friend a recipe with instructions on which specific ingredients to use. The friend made the recipe and then told me, It didnt taste as good as yours. After a brief investigation, I realized that she had substituted inferior quality ingredients. If you want the best results, use the best ingredients!
If youd like to make a spaghetti sauce with meat, Ive just added this recipe
UPDATED July 7, 2016: eating authentic Italian pasta as part of the Mediterranean diet, can actually aid in weight loss according to a recent study.
Tips For Storing Leftovers & Freezing
Store & keep fresh: Let sauce cool to room temperature then store in an airtight container or glass jars. Chill in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days.
How to freeze: First, let the sauce cool to room temperature then store in an airtight container or freezer-friendly ziplock bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
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Serve The Sauce On The Spaghetti
If you want to use a colander, reserve some pasta water. Otherwise, use a pasta fork to take the pasta directly from the pot and place into the sauce . Just remember, the spaghetti goes into the sauce, not the other way around. You can have it over very low heat to keep the pasta super hot .
Mix well. If the pasta soaks up the sauce and seems too dry, add a little pasta water.
Add sauce until the pasta is completely coated.
There are two ways to serve spaghetti: twirled , or simply placed as is, into a bowl .
To serve restaurant style, use a large fork, or tongs to twirl the pasta inside a ladle.
Then simply place onto the bowl, or plate.
Top with a sprig of basil, and serve!
Family-style or homestyle, is easier: just place the spaghetti into a plate or bowl.
You can still add that sprig of basil.
However, either way, a good grating of Parmigiano Reggiano, or Pecorino Romano is an added bonus!
What Do I Need To Make Restaurant
Lets start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Spaghetti Sauce with Sausage. In Chef Speak this is called the Mise en Place which translates to Everything in its Place.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
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Old Italian Spaghetti Sauce
OLD ITALIAN SPAGHETTI SAUCE Growing up, we rarely used jarred tomato sauce because we always made our own homemade spaghetti sauce. Because I was young, I never thought anything of it. But when I had pasta at a friends house, and they used jarred sauce, I never liked it much. My dad was generally the one who always made our sauce it was one of his favorite things to do on Sunday afternoons.
This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe was passed down from my Sicilian grandma. It has been used for generations, and you cant mess it up! It is really easy and tastes SO much better than the store bought sauce. You can do this in a crockpot too in fact, it is one of our favorite dump recipes.
If you plan to can this sauce, omit the Parmesan cheese and add that when you warm up the sauce before eating. We often add ground beef or Italian sausage to it as well . This just makes it that much better!
If you love this homemade spaghetti sauce recipe, you will love some of our other Italian Recipes:
In fact, you can find many of these recipes in our ALDI Meal Plans, where we teach you how to make 20 meals for under $160 in under 3 hours!
NOTE: If using fresh tomatoes:
You can make this sauce with either cans of crushed tomatoes or fresh tomatoes. If using fresh tomatoes, you would need about 12-15 medium-sized tomatoes. There is definitely more work involved when using fresh tomatoes, but it is worth it!
