Homemade Meat Sauce is perfect in zucchini noodles, zucchini lasagne, and traditional Italian dishes. It is thick, hearty, flavorful, and low-carb/paleo/whole30 friendly.
This homemade meat sauce is one of our favorite meals because let’s face it, who doesn’t love a great bowl of homemade meat sauce with spaghetti or zucchini noodles?
My husband’s father’s family is Italian, and they love to make sauces like this homemade tomato sauce. They eat basically bolognese sauce or meat sauce every weekend. You should check out this Italian Sausage Tomato Sauce Recipe that I learned from them. So, anyway, every time I say to my husband that we’re having homemade meat sauce with spaghetti or zucchini noodles for dinner, he gets so excited. My son also loves this dish and always asks for more. So cute!
This sauce is absolutely amazing, and I’m pretty sure your family will love it too. It’s rich, hearty, and flavourful. It’s as good as the traditional recipe, but it’s lighter, like my Leftover Shredded Roast Beef Pasta!
How to eat zucchini noodles with meat sauce?
For me, the best way to eat zucchini noodles (zoodles) is with meat sauce. I use my spiralizer to make my zucchini noodles, but I don’t cook them. In fact, I just leave the zucchini noodles raw, place them on my plate, and top with homemade meat sauce. The meat sauce needs to be hot because it’ll soften the zoodles.
Want more recipes to make with this spiralizer? Try these 50 Low-Carb Veggie Noodle Recipes!
How long does meat sauce last in the fridge?
It stays fresh and delicious in the fridge for about 4 days.
How long can you freeze this sauce?
I place the leftover in glass containers (serving size portions) and freeze for up to 3 months.
What to do with leftover meat sauce?
There are lots of recipes that you can make with this sauce, and here are some ideas for you:
- Make delicious lasagna with it. (This zucchini lasagna or this eggplant lasagna doesn’t call for meat sauce, but you can certainly add it. Got extra zucchini? Try my Zucchini Noodle Soup Recipe).
- Stuffed sweet potato, spaghetti squash, or acorn (These recipes are made with taco sauce, but you can replace it with meat sauce)
- Mm… It’s great in a moussaka
- Whole30/low-cab Chili and soups
Hope you enjoy this recipe and give it a try 😉
Homemade Meat Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 pounds grass-fed ground beef
- ½ tablespoon clove garlic minced
- 1 ½ cup onions diced
- 28 oz 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups any tomato sauce you prefer
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon natural sweetener or sugar skip it for Whole30
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 ½ teaspoons Italian Seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon red crushed pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon salt
- black pepper to taste
Instructions
Stove method
- In a large Dutch oven pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.
- Add ground beef and cook, breaking into small pieces using a wood spatula. Don’t forget to stir occasional.
- Then, add garlic and onions. Cook for 3-5 minutes.
- Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, sweetener, dried basil, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, salt, and black pepper.
- Simmer partially uncovered for 30-45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve hot over pasta, zucchini noodles, lasagne or zucchini lasagne.
Slow cooker method
- Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Add garlic and onion, and cook until for 3-5 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.
- In the same skillet, add another tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook, breaking into small pieces using a wood spatula. Don’t forget to stir occasional. It’s about 7 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.
- Add remaining ingredients into the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours.
Notes
- Make sure to break down the beef as you cook it so it's not lumpy.
- If you don't want to dice the onions into small pieces, you can dice them in a food processor.
- If you have fresh basil, you can add it to the sauce at the end to add more flavour. Remove it before serving.
- To store: Store the meat sauce in an airtight container for 4 days in the fridge.
- To reheat: Reheat the sauce in the microwave or stovetop until hot.
- To freeze: Once cooled, you can freeze the meat sauce for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe bag.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?
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What would the carb count be without sugar?
Probably it’s about 9 grams of carbs.
Do you prefer the slow cooker or Dutch oven method better?
Both it doesn’t really matter much 😉
the cooking time is confusing? 40 minutes or 4 hours
It’s 40 mins for stove top cooking method and 4 hours for slow cooker.