Pasta with meat sauce is quick and easy to make from scratch.

Tasty Tuesday – Pasta with Meat Sauce

Pasta with meat sauce is quick and easy to make from scratch.
Pasta with meat sauce is quick and easy to make from scratch.

We eat a lot of pasta at our house, and I’ve opened a lot of jars of Prego—more than I’d like to admit. I’m not throwing shade on canned sauces; they’re definitely quick and easy in a pinch and some of them are pretty tasty. But lately I’ve been rediscovering how easy it is to make a hearty tomato and meat sauce (pretty much) from scratch.

There’s no special secret—this is one of my classic “dump and taste” recipes. Use the following ingredients as a guide, then add or subtract whatever you’d like based on your family’s unique tastes. From start to finish, I’d say this sauce takes maybe 20 minutes. Not bad for a busy night!

Sara’s Easy Meat Sauce for Pasta

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (or Italian sausage, whichever you like best)

½ large onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can diced tomatoes

1 large can tomato sauce (not pasta sauce, just regular tomato sauce)

½ can tomato paste (or more, if you like)

Basil, oregano and other seasonings, to taste (Can be fresh or dried)

Sugar, to taste

 

Instructions

  1. In a sauce pot, cook beef or sausage with onions until meat is brown and onions are softened.
  2. Drain fat from meat and return to pot.
  3. Add garlic.
  4. Dump in diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.
  5. Add tomato paste to thicken sauce to your liking.
  6. Add basil, oregano and other seasonings to taste.
  7. Add sugar, a bit at a time, to lend sweetness if you feel the sauce is too tart
  8. For a bit of extra flavor, add a squirt of ketchup (shh… don’t tell anyone!)
  9. Simmer as long as needed, while you boil spaghetti.
  10. Serve with fresh veggies and some crusty bread.

 

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