The Easiest Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
This homemade spaghetti sauce is surprisingly easy to make with canned crushed tomatoes. It’s so thick and delicious. Enjoy right away or use for meal prep!
Update: This recipe was originally published in 2020 and has been republished with all new photos.
I set out to make my own spaghetti sauce a few years ago and was pleasantly surprised by how simple it was. I’ve been making it this way ever since.
It’s truly almost as easy as using the store-bought kind. Especially because even when I was purchasing a ready made sauce I found myself adding extra herbs and seasonings to make it even better.
The ingredients are simple. I don’t even include sautéed onion (gasp!) or bell peppers because I want even the small children to love it. I assure you this sauce has tons of big flavor without them.
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Ingredients
- Olive or avocado oil: Because we’re using a lean ground meat a little oil helps to brown our meat.
- Lean ground turkey or beef: Turkey or beef are both great options in this spaghetti sauce. I usually use 93% lean ground turkey.
- Canned crushed tomatoes: Canned crushed tomatoes quickly help us achieve the texture and flavor we want for the perfect spaghetti sauce. I recommend fire-roasted if it’s available in your grocery store.
- Tomato paste: Tomato paste packs a lot of concentrated tomato flavor.
- Minced garlic: Garlic is a must in spaghetti sauce. You can mince your own garlic or use a jarred variety.
- Seasonings: I believe in a really well seasoned spaghetti sauce so I don’t skimp on the spices. (The sauce isn’t spicy, don’t worry!)
How to Make Spaghetti Sauce
To make this sauce you’ll brown your ground turkey or beef. Then add in canned crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water, garlic, and seasonings. (The specifics are in the recipe card below.) Let it all simmer together for about 10 to 15 minutes or until it’s all heated through and your flavors have had time to marry together. That’s it!
Can you double this spaghetti sauce?
This is a very easy recipe to double so before you start cooking consider how much sauce you think you’ll really need.
A single batch of this recipe is enough for 4 people if you don’t want any leftovers and you don’t anticipate anyone wanting extra helpings. When I’m just making this for my family this is plenty because I’m feeding two adults and two children. My daughter eats a small serving so my husband and son can still go back for seconds with no problem.
A double batch can serve 8 people or 4 to 6 people who may want extra helpings. I often choose to double this recipe so that my family of 4 will have leftovers. Because who doesn’t want leftovers?
How to Store Leftover Spaghetti Sauce
Leftovers can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
How to Freeze Spaghetti Sauce
Let the sauce cool completely. Pour into a freezer safe container and seal. Sauce will keep for 3 to 4 months in the freezer.
To thaw, let the sauce thaw (sealed in the container you froze it in) in a sink of cool water. Once thawed, pour sauce into a pot on the stovetop to reheat or in a large microwave safe bowl for the microwave. You can also reheat it from frozen (no thawing required) by adding it to your slow cooker and letting it cook for 5 to 6 hours on low.
How to Serve Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Serve over your favorite pasta, spaghetti squash (see my recipe for Roasted Spaghetti Squash), or zoodles. You can even add it to the top of roasted veggies for a satisfying low carb meal.
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The Easiest Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive or avocado oil
- 1 pound lean ground turkey or beef, I use 93% lean ground turkey
- 28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes, I prefer fire-roasted
- ¼ cup water
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1½ teaspoon dried oregano
- 1½ teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Add oil to a skillet on the stove top. Heat to medium-high heat. Once pan is hot, add the ground meat. Saute the meat, stirring occasionally, until browned. If your turkey or beef isn’t very lean you may want to drain the grease. (I find that isn't necessary when using 93% lean.)
- Reduce heat to medium low. Add canned crushed tomatoes, water, tomato paste, garlic, oregano, basil, parsley, salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and pepper to skillet with the meat. Stir to combine. Cover and gently simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until everything is heated through and flavors have married.
- Serve over your favorite pasta, spaghetti squash (see my recipe for Roasted Spaghetti Squash), or zoodles. You can even add it to the top of roasted veggies for a satisfying low carb meal!
38 Comments on “The Easiest Homemade Spaghetti Sauce”
This recipe is the reason why I can’t bring myself to buy jarred marinara from the store anymore for spaghetti sauce. We love it!!
Happy to hear that!! It’s really so easy!
Can this be done in crock pot on low??
Hi, Pat! I do not recommend adding uncooked ground meat to the crockpot because it can end up with a strange texture. If you want to brown the meat on the stovetop first and then add everything to the crockpot it will work great. I just personally don’t like the extra step so I’d rather make the whole thing on the stovetop.
I’ve been working late a lot and finding the motivation to cook dinner can be tough. Knowing that I had everything I needed to make this tonight, and I could do it all in one pan made the idea far more bearable. And it was SO good! Thank you!
Oh. My. Goodness!!!
Just made this today for our lunch, and it was superb. Fast, easy, and no crazy or unusual ingredients to chase or stress over. Thank you so much!!!
I am 55 and have never made homemade sauce! I’m regretting that now because this was not only easy but just absolutely delicious!Â
My family loved this sauce !! WIN!!! This is the spaghetti sauce I have been looking for !!!  So easy and sooo delicious ! This one is getting written done to never be lost 😂👌
Awesome!!  I usually don’t write reviews, but, my wife and I ran out of jarred spaghetti sauce tonight.  Desperate, and not wanting to run to the store, I googled recipes (simple ones) and found this gem.  Had everything in the pantry that was needed.  We just may be done with store bought sauces!  Thanks so much for this!  By the way, we left the meat out as we were using it over cheese ravioli.  Will try the meat version too!
I made this sauce today, It was so easy, I was looking for something easy since I have never made spaghetti sauce before…I know, go figure!! So I wanted an easy recipe for this easy lasagna recipe I found using Raviolis. I didn’t have all the spices , meaning Basil or the orageno, but I did have some Italian seasoning, so that’s what I used instead and the sauce was thick, and tasted but a bit acidic for me, so added a tablespoon of brown sugar..
OMG …I think I found my recipe for spaghetti sauce.. It is so good. The brown sugar did the trick for me. I will be making this for now on. no more jar sauce for this household
I’ve tried many homemade spaghetti sauces and I’m saving this one as my new favorite! Fast, easy, and flavorful!
Oh my goodness! This was so perfect. I was totally out of ideas for dinner and thought spaghetti would be the way to go. But I only had about 3 tablespoons of ground beef, one Italian sausage link, one 14 ounce can of diced tomatoes, no dried parsley, and no tomato paste. And it still turned out incredible. I’m still thinking about how good it was even after having made this last night.Â
I subbed tomato sauce for the paste, and a bit of marjoram for the dried parsley. I added just a bit of the pasta water to the sauce while it was cooking and simmered it about half an hour. I also tossed in almost a tablespoon of sugar to neutralize acidity from the canned tomatoes in the sauce.  So, so, good! I won’t be buying store-bought marinara again.
My husband never gves compliments on spaghetti and he said this was the best he had eaten. Thanks for sharing!
Very good sauce.  Didn’t have crushed tomatoes so pulsed 2 cans of diced tomatoes in the food processor and used those.  I did take another reviewer’s advice and added 1T of brown sugar.  This was very easy to throw together w/pantry staples.  Great flavor; the seasonings are spot on.  Thanks!
I’m so glad I saw this comment/review. I made this sauce tonight and it was great but it was missing a touch of sweetness I like in spaghetti sauce.Â
Delicious!  I made it with papardelle  pasta tonight!  So good!  Thank you!Â
This is my go to dinner when I need to pull something together last minute. Easy, delicious, and cheap, what’s not to love?
This was really good. I didn’t have crushed tomatoes so I used tomato sauce. I just omitted the water. I also added about 1 tbs. of sugar. I will probably use this instead of canned sauce from now on.
Thank you, exactly what I had, exactly what I wanted to use and not use (no onions, no peppers) thank you for the consideration. Just basic ingredients, easy. It was perfect, flavorful, I can’t thank you enough.Â
So happy you enjoyed it, Rosalee!
We just ate way too much spaghetti because of this recipe! Such a delicious flavor and it’s so easy to make. I did add 1/2 diced onion because I had it on hand and 1T sugar. This will definitely be a go to sauce recipe from now on!
Haha is there such a thing as too much spaghetti?!? Thank you, Sadie, for the kind review!
I have been trying spaghetti recipes to try to best my husband’s mothers recipe for spaghetti sauce for 50 years..I almost cried when he tried this one and said, it was the best he ever had! Yay, I can quit looking!
Loved it! So good and flavorful. Â We did cut back a little on the garlic though! And we used venison hamburger!Â
Unbelievable considering how quickly one is able to prepare this recipe! 5 deserved stars.  I’ve been making homemade pasta sauce my entire life.  I’m now 77 years old.  This recipe is amazing!
This was so good! I swapped out the meat for ground sausage (our meat of choice with spaghetti) but followed the rest of the recipe as written. It was perfect!
Delicious! 😋
Thank you, Chrissy!
Amazing!!
So happy you enjoyed it! Thank you, Michelle!
I made this tonight & it was soooooo good! I did add a little brown sugar as I like a sweeter sauce but it’s definitely a winner!!
Thank you, Kim!
Made it for the family and my 11 month old couldn’t get enough. If pictures were allowed you’d get it. She needed a bath after. Great taste and so easy. It’ll be a staple.Â
Haha you know it’s a good meal when you require a bath!! Thank you for the kind comment!
This is so easy to make and delicious! Â
Thank you, Miriam!
This will be my go to sauce recipe from now on. Super easy and so delicious. I made meatballs while the sauce simmered.
The next day we had meatball subs which were excellent with this sauce. Putting this in a meal rotation!