Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

An easy homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is an American favorite, OK, maybe an Italian favorite.  Take simple ingredients you probably already have on hand and you’ll get an incredibly rich tasting spaghetti sauce that costs pennies to make.  Rich tomato broth flavored with the essence of beef bones and made hearty with onions, garlic and olive oil.

We make our homemade spaghetti sauce recipe in bulk and then freeze it in resealable freezer bags.  That way we have sauce on hand for spaghetti or penne, but also to top chicken or eggplant parmigiana, homemade pizza or any number of things.

This is another classic recipe from our one and only Down and Dirty Chef Dave, aka, my husband.  This spaghetti sauce started with his mother’s homemade tomato sauce recipe and morphed into the deliciousness it is today.

How To Make Our Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

Add oil to large, non-reactive saucepan over medium-low heat, add beef bones and sauté for about 10 minutes to render the fat.  Add chopped onions and mushrooms, cook for about 5 more minutes to soften.  Stir in garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.

Stir in tomato sauce and diced tomatoes along with their juice.  Add kosher salt and pepper to taste, I use 1 teaspoon kosher salt and several grinds of fresh black pepper.  Add brown sugar, Italian seasoning, fennel seed and basil leaves.

Increase heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 1-4 hours.  The longer you simmer the deeper the flavor will be.

What’s the Difference Between Spaghetti Sauce and Marinara Sauce?

Ah, that’s like asking how to boil an egg.  It seems so simple but there really are subtle nuances to different tomato sauces.

Marinara Sauce – probably the most basic tomato sauce (other than a fresh uncooked one) with just tomatoes and some seasonings

Spaghetti Sauce – builds on the marinara with additional ingredients like meat (or the use of meat bones) and vegetables

Bolognese Sauce – is really a meat sauce with some tomatoes added

Puttanesca Sauce – a tomato sauce with anchovies, olives and capers

All’Amatriciana Sauce – a nice spicy tomato sauce with a kick

Vodka Sauce – well, you guessed it, this tomato sauce has vodka added and is often a little spicy

Ingredient Substitutions

Diced tomatoes – you can use crushed tomatoes or even whole tomatoes.  If using whole tomatoes you’ll want to crush them by hand and get rid of any extra skin or tough ends.

Beef bones – you can skip all together or you can substitute with fatback or salt pork, both of which can be found in the meat department.  You will get a different flavor depending if you use beef or pork.

Fennel seeds – 1 ¼ teaspoon ground fennel can be substituted for the 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds

What To Serve With Spaghetti Sauce

Let’s start with the most obvious ingredient, pasta.  My husband prefers the nice long noodles of spaghetti that you can twirl around your fork.  Personally, I like penne because it’s easy to stab with your fork and holds the sauce well.

What can I say, I’m a simple person, so Penne for me please.

You can use any shape noodle, they are basically all made from the same ingredients, just different shapes.  Pasta with grooves or folded shapes hold a sauce better.  Long flat noodles like spaghetti, bucatini or fettucine are good for hearty sauces like Bolognese.

Spaghetti sauce is also great on chicken topped with fresh mozzarella, provolone and/or Parmesan.  Yes, that’s chicken parmigiana.  You can buy frozen breaded eggplant, cook according to directions and top with your homemade spaghetti sauce and mozzarella.  Once again, eggplant parmesan.

Our homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is a great base for homemade pizza, then add your favorite toppings.  For the base of the pizza you can use pizza dough, toasted English muffins or crisped tortillas.

Top vegetables like sautéed or roasted zucchini or other vegetables with just a little homemade spaghetti sauce.

Quesadillas or meatloaf are sparked up with a little dab of your homemade spaghetti sauce recipe too.

Make Ahead Tips

The Spaghetti sauce can be made up to 4-7 days ahead of time and refrigerated.  If you let it sit for a week make sure that there are no off odors or mold. 

I keep mine covered in the refrigerator for a week and it’s just fine.  In fact the longer it sits the deeper the flavor.  See below for USDA recommendations.

How To Store Our Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

Your homemade spaghetti sauce should be refrigerated in a covered container.  According to the USDA keep for up to 3-4 days and then freeze if you want to keep the sauce longer.  Honestly, I’ve kept my spaghetti sauce for a week and it’s just fine.

You can freeze spaghetti sauce almost indefinitely.  To keep the best flavor and texture, do not freeze over 3 months.

How To Freeze Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

We make a huge pot of homemade spaghetti sauce and once cooled bag it. 

Use any container or freezer bags and make sure to label with Spaghetti Sauce, date that it was frozen and amount in the bag.

Filling different size bags is good depending on your use.  If it’s for a pasta dish you’ll want more sauce and if it’s to top chicken parmigiana or as a side then you’ll use smaller bags. 

Once the freezer bags are labeled, turn the top over about an inch.  This helps to keep the sauce out of the zipper part so that the bags close properly.

Place the filled bags on a baking sheet.  Pile the bags on top of each other.  Place the baking sheet in the freezer until completely frozen.  Then remove the baking tray.

If you don’t lay the homemade spaghetti sauce recipe flat on its side then the bags won’t stack well in the freezer and they’ll take forever to defrost.

Freeze for up to 3 months for maximum flavor retention and texture.  As far as safety reasons, if the sauce is kept at 0 degrees or below then it will keep for over a year.

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