Basic Meat Sauce, Dependable Style

I’m taking a break from all things Thanksgiving to share with you my regular go-to meat sauce recipe. Whether it’s for spaghetti, casseroles, sandwiches and most baked pasta recipes – this is it! It’s satisfying, smells memorable and tastes infinitely better and is simply as unfussy to make as it is twisting the cap off of a jar of store-bought sauce.

For this Go-to Basic Meat Sauce Gather:

• olive oil
• yellow onion, diced (about 1 heaping cup)
• fresh garlic, minced
• ground beef chuck, sirloin or round (your choice)
• italian seasoning
• basil
• tomato sauce
• tomato sauce
• kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Simple ingredients that yield a satisfying yet old-style meat sauce. Sautéed onions, garlic and cooked ground beef mixed with tomato sauce, herbs and seasonings and simmered until dependable.

Start by sautéing 1 medium [diced] yellow onion in 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium-low heat.

Season with a pinch or two of kosher salt, stir occasionally and sauté. Once the onion is soft and translucent, add in the 4 cloves of minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Then increase the heat to medium and then add in the raw ground beef (using your regular: chuck, round or sirloin). Use a wooden spoon to break up the ground beef, cooking it until browned and no longer pink.

Drain the fat from the pan before seasoning the ground beef with 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning, 1/4 teaspoon of dried basil and pour in all 4 cups or so of tomato sauce.

[If you’re interested in making your own Italian seasoning, you can find the recipe in my book.]

Stir to combine and then season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Simmer on low heat for 2o minutes.

Perfection!

I especially love this over roasted spaghetti squash “noodles” with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and parsley.

FYI to make spaghetti squash noodles; I cut a medium spaghetti squash in half, scoop out the seeds, place it cut-side down in a roasting pan and pour about a cup of water. Then I roast it for 40 minutes in a preheated 400° oven. Once roasted [fork tender] and safe to handle, I use a fork and scrape the flesh. This basic meat sauce on spaghetti squash is a great way to have a light yet satisfying dinner that’s light on the carbs.

Now, wait until you see what I did with the leftovers [tomorrow].

For More Dependable Basic Recipes Click Here!

Enjoy! And if you give this DEPENDABLE Basic Meat Sauce recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!