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Meat Sauce for spaghetti in a pot with a wooden spoon on top.

The Best Spaghetti Meat Sauce

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Servings 8
Dinner
Italian
Keyword Spaghetti Meat Sauce

Ingredients
 
 

  • ¼ cup olive oil
  • 1 large onion minced
  • 1 tsp coarse salt
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 ¾ lbs ground beef
  • ½ tsp coarse salt
  • 1 6- oz 156 mL can tomato paste
  • 1 28- oz 796 mL can unsalted tomatoes (pureed)
  • About 1 1/2 tsp coarse salt

Instructions
 

  • Heat oil in a large saucepan or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and 1 tsp salt and cook until very soft, about 12 minutes. 
  • Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add beef and increase heat to high. Season with another 1/2 tsp salt and cook until well browned (it'll take a while).
  • Stir in tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until it darkens a shade and smells toasty, about 5 minutes.
  • Stir in pureed tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Taste and add remaining salt to taste. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 30 minutes or up to a few hours, stirring every now and then and keeping it at a bare simmer.

Nutrition

Calories: 374kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 20gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 835mgPotassium: 847mgFiber: 3gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 600IUVitamin C: 16mgCalcium: 68mgIron: 4mg
Keyword Spaghetti Meat Sauce