I wanted to share my Great-Grandma’s Homemade Spaghetti Sauce with you today. It’s my favorite & I hope it is your new favorite, too. Serve it over noodles (or even zucchini noodles), and add a side of garlic bread. YUM! Don’t forget to complete your meal with a sweet peach cobbler or cherry dump Cake!
This homemade spaghetti sauce recipe uses ingredients you probably already have at home. Plus, your house will smell fantastic when the sauce is simmering on your stove. 🍝 Enjoy!
Great-Grandma’s Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
When I was a little girl, living in Pennsylvania with my mom, dad, and my brother, I remember many dinners at my Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpap’s house. We always had spaghetti with homemade sauce.
We would get into the car and drive 45 minutes to my great grandparent’s house. They lived in the same brick row house their entire lives. It was the first house that they bought together and the last house that they lived in together.
I can remember walking up the stairs to the front door and seeing them rocking away in their chairs on their front porch, waiting for us. On colder days, I’d look through the front door to see my great-grandfather sitting in his chair by the door, watching TV with the closed-captioning on, while my great-grandma was in her tiny white kitchen, cooking dinner.
Through the kitchen, there was a door that led to the backyard. Her backyard gave way to a hill that led to what seemed like hundreds of stone stairs (see them on the far right in the picture below).
Those stone stairs led to the train tracks. I always loved that “adventure” of running up those stairs with my brother, excited to see what would be at the top.
(Her house is pictured below: far right).
My grandmother wasn’t Italian, in fact, she was 100% Irish, but she married an Italian man. They lived with my great-grandfather’s Italian-speaking family for several years after they were married, as they were both young. My great-grandma was just 15 years old when she married him.
While my great-grandpap would go to work with his father during the day, my great-grandma would stay home with his mother and sisters to learn how to take care of the house, cook, and clean. Her Italian mother-in-law taught her how to prepare and cook the most delicious Italian dishes that she was taught by her family in Italy, before moving to America.
My great-grandma caught onto cooking quickly and was proud to tell everyone that she could “Cook better than any Italian woman” and she was right… her dinners were fantastic.
Her sauce was the best, and I still make it today.
As a busy mom, I often make quick meals, but sometimes I want to create those meals that “feel” like home. I want our kids to walk inside and smell the smells that remind them that Mom is cooking dinner because she loves them.
I want to have those recipes that I can pass onto them when they start cooking their meals. I want to create those recipes where the kids help and learn how to make them, too.
While these kinds of meals might take a little longer to make, I still have a few tricks up my sleeve to save time. 🙂
Time-Saving Tip 1: If you don’t have fresh garlic on hand, or you don’t like to mince it, you can use jarred minced garlic.
Time-Saving Tip 2: If you’d rather use canned diced tomatoes instead of fresh tomatoes, it still turns out well. That’s what I will do for today’s recipe.
I haven’t found a great ‘canned’ or frozen onion alternative, so I just chop fresh onions up as usual. 🙂
This recipe will only take you an hour. While an hour might be a little longer than the time that it takes to prepare everyday dishes, it’s worth it for this one. Trust me!
Great Grandma’s Sauce INGREDIENTS:
- 1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 chopped small onion
- 3 crushed cloves of garlic
- 1 (12 ounces) can of Tomato Paste.
- 2 (28 ounces) can diced tomatoes (one can is petite diced, one can is regular diced) Or you can use fresh tomatoes.
- 2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
- 2 cups of water
- 3 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil (for browning the meat)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup red wine
- salt & pepper to taste
- Optional: If you want it to be spicy, add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Optional: grated parmesan to be sprinkled on as a topping
FAQ: How to make homemade spaghetti sauce with fresh tomatoes:
If you would rather use fresh tomatoes instead of canned tomatoes, remember that one 28-ounce can of tomatoes equals about 10 to 12 whole tomatoes, peeled. For this recipe, you will need 20-24 whole tomatoes, peeled, if you want to replace the canned tomatoes with fresh tomatoes.
To avoid spending 20 minutes cutting up tomatoes, just toss them into a food processor (after washing them). Oh- You can chop up your onion and garlic in the food processor, as well. It will save you some time!
How to make homemade spaghetti sauce:
How do you make homemade spaghetti sauce? It’s so easy! Just follow these steps!
- In aa large pot or dutch oven, heat 2 T. olive oil over medium heat.
- Add the meat & Italian sausage and cook until browned.
Tip: Break the meat up as you stir it. Once the meat is cooked, remove it from the heat to drain the grease, then return to heat & continue… - Add chopped onions to the meat mixture and continue cooking. Stir occasionally until onions are softened.
- Add your diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce.
- Mix in the spices, brown sugar, and garlic. (My husband likes to add in a teaspoon or so of garlic powder & italian seasoning when he makes it.)
- Once your sauce is cooking (bring to a boil), add your wine and water.
- Simmer on low (stir often) for an hour.
- Optional: Let it simmer an additonal 3-4 hours, just to let the flavors combine even more.
Time Saving Tip #3: If you don’t want to continue stirring and checking on your sauce, you can move the entire recipe into the slow cooker if you aren’t going to be home to watch the sauce. 🙂
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Step by Step Instructions
First, you will heat up the olive oil over medium heat. Once it’s hot, brown the meat and the Italian sausage together (break it up as you stir it). You can even use plant-based meat.
Add onions to the meat mixture and continue cooking. Stir occasionally until onions are softened.
Next, pour in the tomato cans (two cans of diced tomatoes), the tomato paste, and the tomato sauce.
Once it is mixed, stir in your spices, sugar, and garlic.
When the sauce has started boiling, add your wine and water. Simmer on low (stir often) for an hour.
If you want to cook the sauce a little longer, that works, too!
Sometimes I’ll let it simmer for 3 hours or so.
How to thicken homemade spaghetti sauce
The easiest way to thicken your sauce is to continue to let it simmer. The sauce will naturally thicken as it cooks. Simmer the sauce, on low heat, for an extra 5-20 minutes. Continue to stir the sauce & check on it often to prevent burning.
If you DO NOT WANT it to be too thick, just add another 1/2 cup of water. This will prevent it from becoming too thick. Again, keep an eye on it while it’s cooking to prevent it from burning.
You can use this sauce on pasta, in lasagna, and in so many other Italian recipes! No matter how you eat it, it’s delicious.
Tip: For a little extra color (and flavor), I like to add a little fresh basil to the sauce.
You can also use it as a dipping sauce for your favorite kind of bread. That’s what my mom and her siblings used to do when they were children – they’d take a slice of bread & dip it into the marinara sauce while it was cooking. I’ve even used it as pizza sauce instead of the store-bought kind!
You can even jar or can the sauce for later!
How to can homemade spaghetti sauce
- Pour the homemade spaghetti sauce, while hot, into hot pint or quart jars, leaving about 1 inch of headspace (this is important!)
- Adjust the bands & lids to fit.
- Process in a pressure canner at 10 pounds pressure (1 hour for Pints, 1 hour, 15 minutes for Quarts)
It’s really the best sauce… even our picky eaters love it! 🙂
For dessert, try serving up our favorite easy peach cobbler. You’ll have a meal that everyone will love!
Great Grandma's Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
My great-grandma's recipe for homemade spaghetti sauce is the best! It uses ingredients you probably already have at home! Plus- your house will smell fantastic when the sauce is simmering on your stove!
Ingredients
- 1 pound Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 chopped small onion
- 3 crushed cloves of garlic
- 1 (12 ounces) can of Hunt's Tomato Paste.
- 2 (28 ounces) can Hunt's diced tomatoes (one can is petite diced, one can is regular diced) Or you can use fresh tomatoes.
- 2 (15 ounce) cans Hunt's tomato sauce
- 2 cups of water
- 3 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 cup red wine
- 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- salt & pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat Olive Oil in large pot or Dutch oven, over medium heat.
- Brown meat and Italian sausage in the hot oil (break it up as you stir it. Once browned, remove from heat, drain the grease, and then return to the heat.
- Add chopped onions to the meat mixture and continue cooking. Stir occasionally until onions are softened.
- Next, add your diced tomatoes, tomato paste, and tomato sauce.
- Next, mix in the spices, sugar, and garlic.
- Once your sauce is cooking (bring to a boil), add your wine and water.
- Simmer on low (stir often) for an hour.
- Optional: Let it simmer for an additional 3-4 hours, just to let the flavors combine even more.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size: 8Amount Per Serving: Calories: 340Total Fat: 22ggCholesterol: 55mgSodium: 1495mgProtein: 20g
Debbie Pearson says
I will definitely be trying this sauce
Donna says
Is there a printable recipe for this?
Carol says
No. Just copy and past into your word program.
Becky Mansfield says
I just buy anything (usually just an inexpensive red wine from the grocery store).
MIKE BEAUSOLEIL says
Thank you for sharing your story. My Sauce is pretty close to your great grandmother’s
You might want to try using 1 cup of beef broth and 1 cup of the water. Another would be just a pinch of cinnamon.
The recipe I use was handed down to my mother ( who also is 100% Irish ) from an Italian lady who ran a restaurant back in the 40’s thru the 60’s.
My mom then passed it to me which I tweak over the years.
Kaleigh says
Do you mean to just add his to her recipe?
Tiffany says
Can this be done without the meat? I’ve made this maybe 4 times now and everyone loves it. I’m just curious if the meat needs to be added?
Becky Mansfield says
I’ve never tried it, but my friend removes the meat at the end. She makes this recipe with large pieces of sausage, but then she takes the sausage out it (and throws it out) before it’s served. If you try it without any meat, let me know how it turns out. 🙂
Cristal says
Do you have to use wine?
Becky Mansfield says
I’ve made it with grape juice instead of wine & it still turned out fine. 🙂
Charlie says
There is a print box above the recipe that works.
Denise W says
That’s what I’m asking also. I don’t see that she replies to anyone
Becky Mansfield says
Hi Denise,
I’m sorry, but I don’t see your question – it is just showing that you replied to Charlie’s post that says “there is a print box above the recipe that works.” Please let me know if I can help or answer a question about the recipe.
Amy says
I will definitely try this sauce. Thanks for sharing:)
Holly says
Yes I think it must be 1/4 cup wine, at first I thought 14 cups wine? LOL
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
hahaha!
Araceli says
I read 14 cups too. 🤣
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
LOL!!
Dave Neadeau says
This recipe is very similar to my grandma’s and she was from Sicily. She would haunt me til the day I died if I shared hers.
Molly says
Making this tonight! So sick of jar sauce. I have been looking for a recipe like this! I know the brown sugar and tomato paste are going to work wonders on this 😉
Sandi showalter says
Hi Becky, loved your blog. I’m an old Polish girl who lived in a Italian neighborhood. So my Mom was one of the best Polish-Italian cooks around. I made your sauce today for my son in law Birthday lasagna tomorrow. The only thing I added was large pieces of sweet and red pepper. Then took them out after the sauce was done. And chicken stock instead of water. The recipe will go into “MUST KEEP” file box that I started for my Grands. I also, remember walking into my Moms house and smelling which we called, “a taste of Italy”. Thanks for sharing your recipe and your blog.
MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Simplysandi.
Becky Mansfield says
🙂 Thanks for sharing, Sandi!! 🙂
Bonnie says
I love this sauce, but always guess at how much sugar
Teresa Antosyn says
I have a similar recipe from my grandma but use a chuck roast cooked down in the sauce. It does take longer but very good. 🙂 My mom was also Irish and married an Italian. It was his mom who taught my mom to cook. They never used measurements though. I’ve had to perfect mine using taste tests, texture and smell….my mother cooked everything that way but her sauce always was perfection.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
LOVE that 🙂
Mary says
So excited about this recipe…it’s simmering on the stove right now😋
Rebecca Cooper says
Tried it yesterday and is very good. What was your Great Grandma’s name? I like to give credit where credit is due when I add to my recipes.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Geraldine McCarthy Abbott 🙂 .
Lynn says
I love knowing your great grandmother made this for her family. I treasure family history and stories. I can’t wait to try this recipe, for my husbands favorite meal is Spaghetti. He always wanted me to make homemade. This one sounds like a winner. I am a great grandmother too…so I know what it means to pass the love of food down to our children, grands and great grands. God bless you for sharing.
Sabrina says
This was Delicious! Thanks.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I’m glad you liked it. 🙂
Gina says
How come some of your recipes have a print button and some do not? I’d love to print this recipe out without the photos etc. Am I missing something? Where’s the button? Thanks. Looks yummy
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
It is something I’ve just started, so I just need to go back in & add it to the other ones, but it takes about 30 minutes per recipe to add them in, so I just haven’t set aside the time to do it yet. 🙂 LOL! One day… 🙂
Kim Chandler says
Question….
2- 28 oz. cans of diced tomatoes?? You are showing 15 oz. cans….just wondering If that is correct. Also, I don’t drink much wine….what kind of red wine do you suggest?
Thanks.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
I just buy the cheapest wine I can find at the grocery store (I don’t drink it either). 🙂
2 (28 ounces) can Hunt’s diced tomatoes
and
2 (15 ounce) cans Hunt’s tomato sauce
Ejane says
I was wondering the same thing as Deborah. The picture showing the ingredients shall ALL 15 oz cans, but recipe says 2 – 28 oz cans of tomatoes. Just a little confusing for me too. Maybe I’m too exacting. Recipe looks super good. I will try it for sure. Thanks for sharing!
Christopher says
My uncle was Portuguese, and he always said “cheaper the better” on the wine. That’s why there’s always a handle of Carlo Rossi Rhine or Two Buck Chuck handy for all my cooking 👍🏻
Rheena says
Just to let you know that this was a hit with my two boys. It was delicious. Even my picky eater couldn’t resist it. Thanks Becky for sharing this.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
YAY!
Teresa Lam says
Hello. You mention adding the onions twice. May I ask why? Is it confusing to me. Thank you.
rebecca grayeb says
Oops! Just a mistake… thanks for catching it! 🙂
Lesley says
Can I substitute ground beef for the Italian sausage, without taking away too much flavor? Also I think this could easily convert to the slow cooker? I’ve been searching for a recipe like this, can’t wait to try it!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Yes 🙂
Teng Lee says
Hi! How many serving will this recipe make and how long can I store them in the fridge?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Our family of 6 uses it and we have some leftover for another day. 🙂 . I keep it in the fridge for several days.
Carol Massie says
I made this recipe just as printed and it turned out wonderful!!! Am throwing out all my other spaghetti recipes and only using this one from now on. Thank you so much for sharing your grandma’s recipe.
Taylor says
How much does this recipe make?
Cindy says
Do I add the 2 cups of water when I add the cans of diced tomatoes, tomato paste and tomato sauce?
Jrnnifer says
I’m definitely going to try this… Looks delicious. Is there anything I can substitute the wine for? Or just omit it?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
White grape juice should work well. 🙂
Kay says
I omitted the red wine and it was still delicious. My picky daughter loves it!
Becky Mansfield says
Great! 🙂
Tina says
Absolutely delicious!
Nancy White says
Great-Grandma knew what she was doing when she created this sauce. I made it and just loved it. It was delicious. Thank you. I will keep this recipe at the top of my list.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
YAY!!
Jessie Marie Hansen says
How well will this recipe work with non-boil lasagna plates?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Did you get a chance to try it? 🙂
Nancy says
My grandma married a Sicilian man too! They made magical Italian meals! This is almost their exact recipe. One of the differences was they cooked the ground beef and Italian sausage separately and used a tablespoon (ish) (never any measuring spoons or cups) of the grease from sausage to the sauce. The onion and garlic were cooked with the ground beef. The only other difference is they used sugar instead of grown sugar. My mouth is watering just writing this!
Also…they would use this same recipe but omit the meat and sear a roast, add a few whole garlic cloves to meatless sauce, and put a in Dutch oven and pop it in the oven. Heavenly!!
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
Those sound like great alterations! Thanks for the ideas 🙂
Meg says
Thanks for sharing! Could this be cooked in the slow cooker (or is it blasphemy to even mention such a thing!)?
Can’t wait to try it.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
LOL- I am never above using a crockpot 🙂 . Let me know how it turns out!
Corey says
What fat percentage do you use for the ground beef?
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
85/15
Pam says
Could you put this recipe into a crockpot? It sounds awesome. I use jar sauce and spruce it up lol
Becky Mansfield says
Yes 🙂 I would just brown the meat first.
Debby says
How would u cook this in a pressure pot. My granmaw cooked all her red sauces in pressure pot. It changed the flavor of it even more amazing.
diane says
Do you have any suggestions to substitute for the wine? Thank you! It sounds so good!
Becky Mansfield says
No, but I just buy cheap wine & use what I need, then freeze the rest of the wine in an ice cube tray (then I toss the rest of the bottle.) I’m not a wine-drinker, so it’s waste for me, too, but if I can have enough for future recipes, it works out. 🙂
Phil says
This sauce is so good. Thanks for sharing.
Becky (Your Modern Family) says
So glad you liked it!!!
PlainSandy says
Cannot wait to try this. I have been looking for a good spaghetti sauce recipe for a long time.
Thank you for sharing
Debra A says
The best I’ve ever made! Thanks for the recipe.
Cheryll says
When ever I try to use the email link to send your recipes to my email it never works. I’ve tried it so many times and nothing happens. I end up just copying and pasting the web address and using my email to send it to myself. Just thought you’d want to know that. Can’t wait to try this recipe!
Becky Mansfield says
thank you 🙂
ALEX PALACIOS says
Made this sauce twice now and it is a hit with the family! I like that we can feed three for dinner and then save two 32 oz. containers to freeze for future dinners! Last night we had this with some Casarecce pasta (from Costco) So good! On my second time, I left out the water to make a richer sauce and used 1 lb. of hot sausage and 1 lb. of medium sausage to give a little more kick! So glad I found this recipe. Thank you Becky.
Laurie Sears says
I have made this twice now and didn’t change a thing and it is so fantastic!! I used it for lasagna and my grandson just loved it!! Thank you!
Cathy says
This is one of the best spaghetti sauces I have ever made. I didn’t use the pork sausage, but I would assume that would just make it even bette. We have a italian restaurant in our town and i think this sauce was as good or even better then their sauce.
Sara says
Can this sauce be canned?
Becky Mansfield says
I’ve never tried it. 🙂 Let me know what you find out!
Janie Jones says
You are able to can this recipe. You have to pressure can it & follow the guidelines for processing ground beef/ pork. I believe you can find the info on Ball canning website, or USDA website.
Mel says
If using the already minced garlic abt how much would u say u use?
Amy Shepley says
Usually, the minced garlic bottle will have an equivalency 🙂 Maybe see if it has one. But one garlic clove is usually about 1/2 a tsp of minced garlic! Hope that helps!
Rusti says
This recipe is so simple and just delicious! Perfect for a big family/friends spaghetti dinner. Makes a good size batch of sauce!
Larry Gaines says
I read 1/4 cup
Cathi says
Sauce is cooking now and it smells fantastic!! I have had a couple tastes just to check it ~ very yummy!
Silly question ~ when simmering do you put a lid on or not? Thanks for sharing!
Lindsay Ingram says
I’m so glad it worked for you! Thanks for letting me know! I leave the lid on, but that’s just me.
Marc says
The advice to put whole tomatoes into a blender is well-intentioned to save time but will harm the flavor of the sauce. Tomato seeds are tasteless when whole but bitter when cracked. Blending the seeds would add bitterness to the sauce.
One should cook the tomatoes, peel them, and process them through a food mill before making them into sauce; this will remove seeds, and any tough, fibrous parts.
Otherwise one can cook the tomatoes, peel them, and crush them by hand. The unruptured seeds will not affect the flavor of the sauce and one can remove fibrous pieces from the crushed tomatoes by hand.
Clearly buying either canned whole tomatoes or crushed tomatoes saves one much time and effort.
Becky Mansfield says
Thank you for the tip! 🙂
Becky Mansfield says
Great suggestion – thank you.
Heather says
Made this last night. Everyone loved it but the consensus was there was too much liquid. Next time I will probably drain the tomatoes and not add the water. I will definitely make again!! We do have a big container left that I will probably freeze. Thanks for sharing this great recipe
Becky Mansfield says
I’m glad you liked it!
Kerri Taylor says
This was great! Love the recipe and story. My family really likes it- said the best I’ve made. Thanks for sharing!
Becky Mansfield says
I’m so glad! 🙂
Jen says
Made this for my family tonight- loved it and had a ton left to freeze for two more meals! Thank you!
Robi Kott says
Looks like a great recipe. I think the only thing I will do differently is use crushed tomatoes instead of the diced tomatoes. I’ve got kids that don’t like chunks of tomatoes. Thanks for sharing!!
For those asking about a crockpot, I would start it on the stove and then move it to the crockpot afterwards. That browning the meat and using it as the base to the sauce is so important, you don’t want to miss it!
Chana says
Can I freeze this?
Becky Mansfield says
We have 🙂
Stephen says
I use reduced sodium beef broth instead of water, and double the wine (always Chianti!), but this one is a winner. Thanks!
Sarah says
I am curious, I see brown sugar listed twice in the ingredients list in 2 different quantities, but only listed once in the recipe instructions. I want to make this tonight but do not want to mess up the sugar content. Thanks so much!
Melissa says
Brown sugar is on the ingredients list twice with two different quantities. I assume it is a mistake. I always use brown sugar but 2TSP does not seem enough yet 2 TBSP seems too much. Which do you actually use? Also, I just noticed the ingredients list is on here twice and the first one says 1 TBSP. I’m going with that. Thank you, looks very similar to mine but I add browned bacon and it gives it a slight smoky flavor.
Becky Mansfield says
The bacon sounds great!
I updated the post. It should have only been listed once, as 1 TBSP. Thanks for catching that!
Micki says
I can’t wait to make this, it sounds so delicious. I’ve always bought jar sauce and doctored it up. Thank you fir the recipe!