This Italian-inspired ragu spaghetti sauce recipe is a wonderful meat sauce perfect for your pasta night. Packed with hidden veggies it's a nutritious dish worthy of any family meal.
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We love pasta around here but the same old canned or jarred sauces can get old-feeling pretty quickly. That's why I'm always happy to pull out a backup like this Ragu pasta sauce.
This homemade pasta sauce here is my favorite though because I can cook it up in my cast iron skillet on the grill whenever I'm grilling spaghetti squash or camping. (It's even great during power outages too!)
Homemade sauces like this ragu, our Homemade Spaghetti Sauce, and our Cream Cheese Alfredo Sauce make awesome additions to pasta night. The only thing missing is some homemade noodles.
Perfect for summer nights. For more summer dinner ideas, check out our Walking Taco Casserole, Pizza Dough In a Bag, and Easy Dorito Taco Salad.
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💛 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It's super fast and easy to throw together. This is especially true if you have a food processor to do the work for you. (I have one of those cheap $10 food choppers from Walmart) and it cuts the prep work down to seconds.
- There are hidden veggies! My kids aren't great at eating all of their veggies (they like them, but they'd rather have meat or pasta if given the option. So, hiding them, it is! Added nutritional benefits, and they are none the wiser.
- You can cook it on the grill! Camping? Can't use a stove? This pasta sauce can be cooked on the grill. Details are included in the recipe card below.
🛒 Ingredients
Mirepoix- This is a combination of celery, carrots, and onion. It creates a flavorful base in many recipes and works well to add hidden veggies to this sauce.
Ground Beef- You can use any ground meat, but this dish is known for being a meatier sauce, so make sure there's plenty.
Parmesan Cheese- This is an optional ingredient to be used when serving the sauce on your pasta.
See the recipe card below for full ingredients and instructions.
🔀 Substitutions & Variations
Tomatoes. Swap crushed tomatoes for diced or peeled fresh tomatoes. If using fresh, add a pinch of sugar and simmer longer to mellow acidity.
Vegetables. Add more veggies like spinach, mushrooms, or zucchini, or leave out what your family won't eat. A food processor helps "hide" them for picky eaters.
Meat Options. Use ground turkey, chicken, or pork instead of beef. For richer flavor, mix half beef and half pork. Omit meat to make it vegetarian (like my Homemade Spaghetti Sauce).
💰 Budget-Friendly Tips
Use Ground Turkey: It's cheaper than beef and still works well with Italian seasoning.
Buy Frozen Mirepoix: Saves money and prep time when produce prices are high.
Stretch the Sauce: Add broth or another can of crushed tomatoes to increase servings without more meat.
Freeze for Later: Freeze leftovers in meal-size portions to prevent waste and speed up future dinners. I like to use my leftover sauce by placing it into a pot of Poor Man's Beef Stew (in place of the tomato paste). It tastes delicious!
🥄 Instructions for Ragu Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Step 1: Heat your olive oil in a large pan or skillet over medium heat. If using a grill, this is 350 degrees F.
Step 2: Add in the finely chopped onion, carrots, and celery. Cook for about 5-8 minutes until soft. I like to use a food processor to chop up the veggies really small because they cook faster and are less noticeable to the picky eaters.
Step 3: Add in your minced garlic and then stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Step 4: Add in the ground beef and cook until all of the pink is gone and the meat is browned. Remember to break it up into smaller pieces as you go. This should take about 10 minutes. Drain the grease and return to the stove.
Step 5: Stir in the Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper.
Step 6: Add in the can of crushed tomatoes and chopped parsley. Bring the mixture to a boil.
Step 7: Reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer for at least 15 minutes, preferably longer (up to an hour) for deeper flavor.
Step 8: Serve with cooked pasta and then top with parmesan cheese.
👩🏻🍳 Expert Tips
- Chop Veggies Small: They cook faster and blend into the sauce, making them unnoticeable for picky eaters.
- Simmer Ragu Spaghetti Sauce Recipe Longer: 15 minutes is fine, but 30 to 60 minutes creates deeper flavor and better texture.
- Grill-Friendly Cooking: Works in cast iron on the grill at about 350°F (medium heat).
- Season at the End: Add most of the salt after simmering because tomatoes reduce and concentrate flavor.
❄️ Storage, Reheating & Make Ahead
Storage: Keep Ragu Spaghetti Sauce in an airtight container in the fridge up to 5 days or freeze up to 3 months.
Reheating: Warm on low heat with a splash of water or broth to loosen the sauce.
Make Ahead: Cook fully, cool, and portion. Freeze flat in bags for easy thawing and faster reheats.
🥗 Side Dishes or Pairing Ideas
Serve Ragu Spaghetti Sauce Recipe with garlic bread, a green salad, roasted vegetables, or spaghetti squash. It also works well with ravioli, baked spaghetti, or stuffed shells.
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❓ Ragu Spaghetti Sauce Recipe FAQs
Ragu sauce is a type of red tomato-based sauce used for pasta dishes. It's packed with meats and flavors and very similar to a bolognese sauce but without the red wine and long cook times. This sauce is super simple to prepare at home and tastes great with anything from spaghetti to ravioli and cooked squash.
Leftover sauce can be cooled down and placed into an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Reheat to use as needed.
Yes, this sauce freezes very well. After the sauce has cooled, place it into an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. You can place it in a large covered pan or pot over medium-low heat to thaw and warm the sauce up or thaw it for a few hours in the fridge before warming.
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🐝 If you tried this Ragu Spaghetti Sauce Recipe, please leave a ⭐️ star rating and share your buzz in the 💬 comments below. I'd truly appreciate it!
📖 Recipe
Ragu Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil - ($0.42)
- 1 cup onion, chopped - ($0.91)
- ½ cup carrot, finely chopped - ($0.36)
- ½ cup celery, finely chopped - ($0.42)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced - ($0.10)
- 1 pound ground beef - ($4.97)
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning - ($0.24)
- salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 can (28 ounces) crushed tomatoes - ($1.52)
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped - ($0.20)
Optional
- Parmesan cheese, for serving
Instructions
- Sauté vegetables. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook for 5 to 8 minutes, until softened.
- Add garlic. Stir in the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Brown beef. Add the ground beef and cook until fully browned, breaking it into small pieces as it cooks. Drain excess grease and return the pan to heat.
- Season. Stir in the Italian seasoning along with salt and ground black pepper.
- Simmer sauce. Add the crushed tomatoes and parsley and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 15 minutes, or up to 1 hour for deeper flavor.
- Serve. Serve over cooked pasta and top with Parmesan cheese, if desired.
Notes
- Substitutions. Use diced tomatoes or about 3 cups fresh chopped tomatoes instead of crushed. Add a pinch of sugar if using fresh tomatoes.
- Simmering. Longer simmering improves flavor. This sauce tastes even better the next day.
- Scaling. Recipe can be easily halved or doubled using a larger pot.
- Storage. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 7 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutritional Information
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