Southern-Style Meat Sauce

Recipe By Noelle C
Rating
Published Jun 19th
Prep 40m Cook 2h Additional - Ready In 2h 40m
Servings 9 servings Calories 335.6

This is my Mom’s spaghetti recipe that has been my favorite since the age of three! Great for dinner parties! Serve over spaghetti and with a salad and garlic bread.

Recipe Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
  • 2 (15 ounce) cans tomato sauce
  • 4 tablespoons dried oregano
  • 4 tablespoons dried basil leaves
  • 3 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 tablespoons red pepper flakes
  • 2 (4.5 ounce) cans mushrooms, drained
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons salt

Cooking Directions

  1. 1 In a large pot heat olive oil. Add onions and simmer on medium heat until semi soft; stir in garlic. Be careful not to burn. Add ground beef and cook until all pink is gone; drain.
  2. 2 In pot with drained beef, gently stir in tomato paste and tomato sauce. Mix in oregano, basil, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, red pepper flakes, mushrooms, bay leaves and salt; bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low and simmer for about 2 hours.

Nutrition Facts

  • Calories 335.6
  • Carbohydrate 21.4 g
  • Cholesterol 61 mg
  • Fat 19.4 g
  • Fiber 5.6 g
  • Protein 22 g
  • Saturated Fat 6.3 g
  • Sodium 2562.2 mg
  • Sugar 12.7 g

Reviews

  1. Sarah Jo Apr 30, 2013 07:38 PM
    I am trying really hard to cook out of my freezer/pantry for the next two weeks to save money. I did make a one substitution in this recipe to reflect that--I used half ground beef/half ground sausage as that was the meat I had in my deep freeze. I used brown sugar (the recipe did - Read more ...
  2. Driver399 Jun 7, 2010 04:02 PM
    Followed recipe to the letter. Was OK but alittle to salty. Also to thick for my taste. Will be better with some minor changes
  3. Cacki Nov 8, 2009 04:06 PM
    Wow! I have been searching for sauce like my Mom made. She past away in 1996, but I found her sauce with this recipe! I tripled the recipe so I could freeze some for a later date. The amount of spice is perfect, would not change one single thing! Thank you for bringing my Mom - Read more ...
  4. Amanda B Jul 21, 2009 02:53 PM
    My family and I love this sauce. I take a small amount out of the pot and transfer it to another pot before I add the red pepper flakes for my kids. I dont use as much salt as called for and I use onion powder to please the family. It is a huge hit - Read more ...
  5. Mimi B. Nov 12, 2007 11:32 PM
    WOW this was good!!! I would give it 6 stars if I could. If your a lover of spicey things than this sauce will be your favorite of all time!! I made this last night for dinner, it was incredible! Here's the only things I changed up...I used 1 lb grass fed ground beef and - Read more ...
  6. TRINITY991 Nov 29, 2006 01:36 AM
    I thought it was really good. I followed other people's suggestions on not adding salt and cutting back on spice. I added 1 can of beef broth to get a better consistancy. Also it didn't take me as long to make it as stated in the cooking time. It took me under an hour for - Read more ...
  7. HAHAINLALA Aug 8, 2006 05:11 PM
    I am glad that I read the reviews before I made this sauce. I did not add any salt I cut way back on the chili powder (I didn't have flakes) and I add some balsamic. oh and I also only used enough olive oil to lightly coat the pan before adding the onions...I would - Read more ...
  8. DTSCEP Dec 2, 2005 05:24 AM
    This is a definite 5 star recipe with the changes in the amount of salt and chili flakes that others have recommended. I didn't have chili flakes (not sure what they are actually) so I used a mixture of ancho chili powder and crushed red pepper. I actually didn't add any salt at all. I - Read more ...
  9. Butterfly Flutterby May 9, 2005 10:48 PM
    Very good with a few modifications. I do not brown the meat in oil the meat has enough fat in it to brown. I added two cans of diced tomatoes drained omitted Worc. sauce mushrooms and red pepper flakes. Added ground pepper some garlic powder and a dash of parsley. I thought that 2 TBS - Read more ...
  10. MADISONLIBERTY Jan 18, 2005 11:30 PM
    This is the best sauce I have ever had...AFTER a few modifications. Other reviewers were right about too much salt and also it was VERY spicy! I too will cut the salt at least in half next time and will leave out the red pepper. My 6 year old loved the flavor but after about - Read more ...
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