This homemade Italian meat sauce recipe is incredibly thick, rich, and comforting! With only ten simple ingredients you have a spaghetti sauce with ground beef recipe that's better than anything you could buy bottled in the store! Serve over zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash for a deliciously filling meal! This recipe follows the SCD, Paleo, and Whole30. It's gluten free, grain free, soy free, added sugar free, and dairy free.
I feel like having an easy spaghetti sauce recipe with ground beef is a must in every household!
This recipe is great to pull out when having company over for dinner or even as a quick meal for your family during the week.
The meat sauce is SO rich and hearty...the perfect comfort food, especially once the weather starts to cool down!
What kind of meat do you use when making the meat sauce?
That's really up to you!
I typically stick with ground beef simply because I ALWAYS have it in my freezer!
However, I've made this before using half ground beef and half ground sausage...it was just as good and added another layer of flavor to the dish.
You could even use ground chicken or ground turkey if you prefer, the sauce will turn out delicious either way!
Do you have to use fresh tomatoes when making the sauce?
The short answer...no!
Prior to having kids it would not be unusual to find me in the kitchen for hours on end making spaghetti sauce from scratch with fresh tomatoes!
It's a pretty labor intensive process and I just don't have that kind of time anymore (if anyone wants a recipe for it though, just leave me a comment below and I'll work on writing up my recipe for you)!
So, I now use canned, but that doesn't mean any tomatoes will do!
When purchasing your strained and crushed tomatoes, look at the back to make sure the ONLY ingredient listed is tomatoes!
The POMI brand is the only kind I buy and I highly recommend it!
For this dish I used their Strained Tomatoes
and Finely Chopped Tomatoes 
.
NOTE: If following the SCD diet, I suggest contacting the company to verify ingredients before using any prepackaged products.
How do you make homemade Italian meat sauce?
The spaghetti sauce recipe with ground beef is really quite simple to make.
The meat gets browned in a large saucepan or pot before adding onions, garlic, and tomatoes.
The herbs are added last and then the whole delicious pot of sauce is simmered for at least an hour.
This will help bring out all the tasty flavors of the veggies and herbs!
Easy peasy right?!
PRO TIP: Make a double batch of this Italian meat sauce and freeze it for easy mid-week dinners and lunches!
What do you serve with homemade Italian meat sauce?
I LOVE serving this sauce over sauteed zucchini noodles (zoodles) or spaghetti squash!
I also use this sauce in my Noodle-less Butternut Squash Lasagna which is seriously AMAZING!
Hope you enjoy!
Here are more Italian inspired recipes for you to try!
- Italian Braised Chicken Thighs
- Baked Chicken Bruschetta
- Zucchini Cannelloni
- Cauliflower Risotto with Scallops
- Raspberry Panna Cotta
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NOTE: If following the SCD diet, I suggest contacting the company to verify ingredients before using any prepackaged products.
Recipe
Homemade Italian Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil or coconut oil
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 1 medium onion finely chopped
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- 16 ounces crushed tomatoes (I use POMI brand)
- 1 cup strained tomatoes (I use POMI brand)
- ¼ cup chopped basil leaves
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Melt the oil in a large pot or saucepan over medium heat. Brown the ground beef, breaking it into small chunks as it cooks.
- Once the meat is browned, drain any grease from the pot.
- Stir in the onion and garlic, allowing it to took for 2 to 3 minutes before pouring in the strained tomatoes and crushed tomatoes.
- Add the basil, oregano, thyme, and salt. Stir well. Drop the heat to low and allow to simmer for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.
- Take a taste test and adjust flavors as needed. Serve hot over zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash!
- Store leftovers in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
- If you don't have fresh basil, substitute 2 Tablespoons of dried basil instead.
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