Authentic Sauce – Italian Spaghetti Sauce From Scratch

Spaghetti sauce made from scratch is much nicer than anything you can get in a can or jar. Canned tomatoes feature in many authentic Italian recipes because they have such a strong and robust flavor. Combined with fresh tomatoes, as well as onions, garlic, herbs, beef, mushrooms and more, these result in a really great-flavored dish.

The best sauces need to simmer for a few hours, so the flavors can combine and blend properly so you will need to start cooking it long before you start cooking the pasta. Once you have tasted the following recipe, you will never want to use anything out of a can or jar again.

Step-By-Step Recipe

Peel two heads of garlic and chop and finally press each clove of garlic. Add these to a big pot, as well as a couple of chopped onions, a couple of chopped green bell peppers and a chopped bunch of celery. Throw in a pinch each of cayenne pepper, ground sage, oregano, basil, turmeric, garlic powder, white pepper, rosemary, thyme, red pepper flakes, and celery seed.

Add two tablespoons of olive oil and simmer the mixture over a moderate heat until everything is fragrant and tender. Drain the excess liquid away. Add a big can of whole tomatoes, two big cans of diced tomatoes, a can of tomato paste, five chopped fresh tomatoes, a big can of crushed tomatoes and two big cans of tomato sauce. Brown four pounds of lean ground beef and drain off the fat. Add this to the mixture in the pot.

Turn the heat up and simmer the mixture for an hour. Turn the heat down to low and simmer it for two or three more hours. Add some sliced mushrooms half an hour before the end of the cooking time and serve it hot.

How To Serve It

The traditional way to serve this recipe is, of course, with spaghetti, but it is also good with penne, linguine, macaroni, or any other kind of pasta you like. You can either combine it with the pasta or serve it on top of a pile of hot spaghetti.

If you are not fond of pasta, why not serve it over a baked potato or mashed potatoes instead? Polenta, bulgur wheat, couscous, and rice are other options.

How To Store It

Make plenty because it keeps for a few days in the refrigerator. You can also freeze leftover sauce for a few months. The best way to do this is to use Ziploc bags and put two ladlefuls of sauce into each bag. This is one serving so thaw one bag of sauce for every person you want to feed.

The thawed sauce will taste as good as it did when it was freshly made and some people say it tastes nicer when you heat it back up after freezing it because the flavors will have intensified. Just warm it back up in a pan before serving it but do not let it boil.