Homemade Meat Sauce Recipe

close up of ladder containing meat sauce

Homemade Meat Sauce is perfect in zucchini noodles, zucchini lasagne and traditional Italian dishes. It is thick, hearty, flavourful and low-carb/paleo/whoel30 friendly.

Course dinner, Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword ground beef, homemade sauce, meat sauce, sauce, tomato sauce

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 4

Total Time 4 10

Servings people

Calories 328kcal

Author Olivia Ribas

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

US Customary - Metric

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