Easy Hearty Italian Meat sauce – simple, easy Italian American meat sauce that is meaty with tons of flavor. It is perfect for a weeknight meal and can be ready in thirty minutes. Use this sauce with your family’s favorite noodle or whatever you are in the mood for. Your house will smell amazing & the whole family will be happy. I call this a hearty meat sauce because it makes a TON and I use two whole pounds of ground beef.
The sauce itself feels like a meal & honestly, feel free to skip the pasta! Eat it with spaghetti squash, zucchini noodles, or right out of the container with a fork. This is a happy, comforting, warm, family meal that I truly, truly love and am excited to share with you.
Italian American Meat Sauce
This blog used to be titled “bolognese” sauce, but since I have learned SO much about Italian cooking. I have kind of become obsessed with it. This is not a true bolognese, in fact it’s totally different, but it is hearty, delicious and a main staple in my house so I want it to be a kitchen staple of yours too. There is nothing like an EASY pasta dish.
An authentic Italian ragu is made with meat pieces (not ground beef) & bolognese has many veggies and almost no tomatoes believe it or not. Using ground beef is a short cut that I absolutely love. We try to stick with a good, fatty, grass-fed & finished ground beef but this recipe can be made with ground turkey, bison, really any type of ground meat.
Ingredients
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: this is a good time to use the good EVOO you have lying around. It adds a real depth of flavor and base to the onions & they are cooked on a lower heat, so it doesn’t burn off (you can also use avocado oil or any other neutral oil)
- 1 lg yellow onion chopped
- 3 lg garlic cloves sliced thin
- 2 lbs ground beef: I prefer grass-fed beef and I use 85%, but any ground meat and any fat % will work! Consider bison, turkey or chicken for leaner meats
- 3 tbs tomato paste
- 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes: san marzano preferred
- 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
- dried oregano
- garlic powder
- fresh oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- kosher salt: I always use Diamond Kosher Salt which is less salty than Morton Kosher salt. Consider this when salting at each step!
Home Cook’s Notes – Comfort Food & Seasoning
This is the perfect dish to make or freeze for friends when they are going through something tough, just had a baby, etc. It is a sauce meant to be a big Italian hug. I love grabbing a big bowl of pasta and eating it in front of the TV with Nick or knowing my parents have dinner made for them when they have a lot going on! And cooking it is just as comforting. Just wait until your house smells like sauce – you’ll will know exactly what I mean.
As for seasoning …
The steps for this sauce are very simple. But I want to stress seasoning at each layer. My directions say “add salt” a few different times. That may seem crazy, but I really want to stress the importance of seasoning your sauces this way. We want to build the sauce layer by layer so each part of the sauce works together. One pinch of salt at the very end into an entire pot of ingredients is just not going to be enough.
Simmer the sauce as long as possible, the longer the better. But minimum 30 minutes. It’s amazing right after cooking, but like many stews and sauces it’s even BETTER the next day.
Connect with Me
When you make this Easy Hearty Italian Meat sauce please let me know your thoughts! This one holds a lot of memories for me. Comment below or tag me on Instagram @quartersoulcrisis
Easy Hearty Italian Meat sauce
Equipment
- 1 large pot or dutch oven
Ingredients
- 3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 1 lg yellow onion chopped
- 3 lg garlic cloves sliced thin
- 2 lbs ground beef
- 3 tbs tomato paste
- 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes
- 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 tbs dried oregano
- 1/2 tbs garlic powder
- 3 stems fresh oregano
- 1 bay leaf
- kosher salt
- optional parmesan rind for sauce*, fresh basil & grated parmesan for serving
Instructions
- Cook Veggies: In your dutch oven, heat 2tbs olive oil on medium 5 minutes. Add onion and thinly sliced garlic with a light pinch of salt. Toss & cook onions until softened and lightly browning, tossing often.
- Add Ground Beef: Add ground beef & break up with spatula. Cook about 3/4 of the way through (a light bit of pink left). Add tomato paste and toss until combined. Finish cooking ground beef.
- Create Sauce: Next, add whole peeled tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, dried seasonings & a little more salt & stems of fresh oregano. Add parm rind if using*. Bring to bubble at medium-high heat and then turn heat to low. Turn heat to low (**check notes for cook times). Let simmer as long as you can, at least 30 minutes, tossing occasionally to be sure nothing sticks to the bottom.
- When sauce is ready to eat, taste to adjust seasonings accordingly. Remove parm rind & oregano stems. Add more salt if it is a little bland. If tomatoes are tasting a little acidic or tin-y, add a small pinch of sugar.
- To Serve: Serve sauce over cooked pasta of choice & serve with parmesan cheese and fresh basil if desired.
Home Cook’s Notes
- Canned Tomatoes: Cento San Marzano tomatoes, they are my favorite, and I feel I rarely need to use sugar to balance
- Parmesan Rind: Whole foods and some grocery stores sell a package of just parmesan rinds in a container, usually in the speciality cheese section. You can also use any parmesan cheese & slice off the back, hard rind and use for your sauces. They keep amazing in the freezer – do this and save them for your next sauce!
Danielle says
I make this for myself pretty regularly and am now making it for my sister who’s about to have a baby so she has something prepped in the freezer when she doesn’t want to make dinner. This recipe is easy and unbelievably good! I’ve gotten the seasoning down and it’s totally true about needing to season every layer; it makes a huge difference!
Love this recipe!!
Quarter Soul Crisis says
Danielle! Thank you so much what a lovely comment. It makes me so happy. I totally agree seasoning each layer and always making sure your salt & seasonings are how YOU like them are so important. So appreciate you and this comment <3
Jenna says
The most delicious and simple bolognese recipe! This is always our go-to when we want a comforting pasta dish, that’s hearty, tasty and can be made in no time – so perfect for those weeknight dinners. Always tastes like it’s been slow cooking for hours. The fresh oregano and parm add so much depth and flavor! Couldn’t recommend it enough!
Sam says
thank you, Jenna <3
Nick says
This is BANGING!!!!!