On the menu tonight, Italian Meat Sauce!
I’ve made plenty of Italian red sauces, but not a lot of meat sauces. This is a great general purpose meat sauce you could use for spaghetti, lasagna… you name it. While my opinion is biased, this is one of the best sauces I’ve made.
I used some ground beef, mild Italian sausage, and all the other things you would expect in an Italian red sauce.
One of the great things about this sauce, is it would freeze really well or just make it as you need it. I hope the next time you need a sauce for spaghetti, ziti, or lasagna, you’ll try my sauce!
Italian Meat Sauce
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading...Italian Meat Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 lb Italian sausage
- 1 Tbsp dried oregano
- 1 Tbsp dried Thyme
- 1 Tbsp dried parsley
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Vidalia onion, diced
- 1 Green Bell Pepper, diced
- 4-5 garlic cloves, minced
- 3/4 cup white wine
- 28 ounce can Crushed tomatoes
- 8 ounce can tomato sauce
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano Regiano cheese
Instructions
Pre-heat a large Dutch oven over med-high heat
Break up the ground beef and sausage in the Dutch oven, cook until browned on all sides
Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and set aside
Leave about a tablespoon or two of the fat and discard the rest
Add a little olive oil if necessary, then add the onions, and bell pepper
Cook for about two minutes and add the garlic
Cook for another minute or so, don't let the garlic burn
Add the wine and let it reduce for about two minutes
Add the tomato paste, let it cook for about a minute or two before adding the crushed tomatoes, and tomato sauce
Stir to combine, then add the salt, oregano, thyme, Italian seasoning, crushed red pepper, and bay leaves
Stir to combine and once it all comes to a boil, reduce to a simmer
Let it simmer, occasionally stirring, for about one hour. If it is getting too thick, add a little water or chicken stock
After an hour, add the chopped or dried parsley and Parmigiano cheese.
Stir to combine and let it simmer for another 30 minutes
Once finished, you can use this sauce over spaghetti, ziti, lasagna... you get the idea.
Notes
If you're making lasagna, you just need a few more ingredients, lasagna noodles, shredded mozarella, ricotta cheese, shredded Parmigiano Regiano, one beaten egg, and some Italian seasoning. In a med to large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, the beaten egg, about a Tbsp of Italian seasoning, mix to combine. Boil the lasagna noodles for a few minutes, don't fully cook them, they will finish in the oven with the sauce. In a 13x9 baking dish, put down a little bit of the sauce, a layer of lasagna noodles, dollop about half the ricotta mixture evenly over the noodles, add some sauce, sprinkle about half the shredded mozzarella and half the Parmesan cheese. Add another layer of noodles, repeat with the rest of the ricotta mixture, more sauce, the rest of the cheeses. Bake at 350 degrees for about 40-45 minutes or until the top is golden brown. I like to finish it under the broiler for a few minutes.
