This recipe has been passed down to my mom from my paternal grandmother. We come from an irish heritage but this sauce is as good as any sauce I’ve had from my husband’s hugely italian family. Don’t get me wrong, his family’s food is amazing, like nothing you would get in a local restaurant. I thought I knew what good italian food was until I met my husband and started going to his family’s cookouts and holiday parties. OMG! His Aunt Barbara’s lasagna blew me away. I’m like ‘this is what lasagna is!’. And his mom’s ‘mani-GOT’ was out of this world. She makes her own ‘pancakes’ and then fills them with her blend of ricotta and spices (possible future post!). My husband does a great job of replicating her recipe in our kitchen. So back to the sauce, it is something I have stocked in my freezer AT ALL TIMES. I think the last time I bought jar sauce was back in college, when I really was just learning how to cook for myself. My husband makes his family recipe which includes DEEE-LICIOUS meatballs with a marinara sauce, so we alternate making the sauce or ‘gravy’ and have it on hand for a quick weeknight dinner, to use in a lasagna, or when we feel like whipping up a homemade pizza at the last minute. This sauce will not let you down. I used to use one can each of crushed tomatoes and tomato puree in this recipe but now I prefer to use a can of whole tomatoes and a can of crushed tomatoes for a more chunky style sauce. You can customize this to your tastes, it will still be AMAZING!
Prepare all herbs/spices in a bowl.
Brown ground meat in 8 qt sauce pan. You may use a separate pan for this, I just try to make this a one pot sauce to save on dishes. Drain in colander to remove any undesired fat that cooked out. You may reserve excess liquid if wanting to add this back into the sauce.
Add olive oil to same 8 qt sauce pan on low/med heat. Add diced onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic and stir, cooking for 30 sec to avoid over browning or burning the garlic.
Add 2 cans of tomatoes, crushing the whole tomatoes with your hands or with a potato masher, to your level of chunkiness. You will add one 28 oz. can of water at this point, using each can to rinse the next one, using both cans, to capture any remaining sauce left behind that you would scrape with a spatula. Add this tomato goodness to the pot.
Now, add the reserved ground meat and spices to the pot and give it a nice stir.
Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally and then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 30-60 min., stirring occasionally. The longer it simmers, the thicker and richer this sauce becomes.
This sauce can be used same day, but is better when used at a later time. I will freeze alot of this sauce in different size containers to be used for different purposes. For homemade pizzas, a small 2 cup size works well, for a pasta dinner for two, a 3 qt container is perfect.
Variations:
I had leftover red wine in the refrigerator so I added this to the sauce after sauteing the onions and garlic to deglaze the pan and pick up those little yummy brown bits off the side of the pan.
Meat can be omitted for an amazing marinara sauce.
Herb/spices can be adjusted to your preferences but this is one recipe I don’t fool with too much as it comes out perfectly every time!
And……I always, always, always DOUBLE this recipe as it freezes so well and you always have a dinner option waiting for you when there is nothing else in your frig and you don’t feel like cooking.
See my pizza dough recipe that you can also prepare ahead, which also freezes so well for another quick week night dinner.
delicious, easy, and reliable recipe so you will never buy jar sauce again!
- 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 2 med/lg yellow onions, small dice
- 4 garlic cloves, minced +/- to taste
- 1 can 28 oz whole, peeled tomatoes
- 1 can 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 1 TBSP oregano, dried
- 2 tsp basil, dried
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp black pepper
- hot pepper flakes, a few dashes according to spice level desired
- 1 lb ground beef, pork, veal, optional or other preferred meat of choice
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Prepare all herbs/spices in a bowl.
-
Brown ground meat in 8 qt sauce pan. You may use a separate pan for this, I just try to make this a one pot sauce to save on dishes. Drain in colander to remove any undesired fat that cooked out. You may reserve excess liquid if wanting to add this back into the sauce.
-
Add olive oil to same 8 qt sauce pan on low/med heat. Add diced onions and saute until translucent. Add garlic and stir, cooking for 30 sec to avoid over browning or burning the garlic.
-
Add 2 cans of tomatoes, crushing the whole tomatoes with your hands or with a potato masher, to your level of chunkiness. You will add one 28 oz. can of water at this point, using each can to rinse the next one, using both cans, to capture any remaining sauce left behind that you would scrape with a spatula. Add this tomato goodness to the pot.
-
Now, add the reserved ground meat and spices to the pot and give it a nice stir.
-
Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally and then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 30-60 min., stirring occasionally. The longer it simmers, the thicker and richer this sauce becomes.
-
This sauce can be used same day, but is better when used at a later time. I will freeze alot of this sauce in different size containers to be used for different purposes. For homemade pizzas, a small 2 cup size works well, for a pasta dinner for two, a 3 qt container is perfect.
Variations:
I had leftover red wine in the refrigerator so I added this to the sauce after sauteing the onions and garlic to deglaze the pan and pick up those little yummy brown bits off the side of the pan.
Meat can be omitted for an amazing marinara sauce.
Herb/spices can be adjusted to your preferences but this is one recipe I don't fool with too much as it comes out perfectly every time!
And......I always, always, always DOUBLE this recipe as it freezes so well and you always have a dinner option waiting for you when there is nothing else in your frig and you don't feel like cooking.
See my pizza dough recipe that you can also prepare ahead, which also freezes so well for another quick week night dinner.
