Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Why oh why have I never made fresh spaghetti  sauce? I mean, it’s something everyone should at least know how to make right? It’s not like it’s complicated or requires any expert know how. The thing that I think has always intimidated me about homemade tomato sauce are the expectations. Even when you say “homemade spaghetti sauce”, it brings to mind great Italian cooks and secret family recipes. And I guess I’ve just always been afraid that if I were to try my hand at it, the results would be a total failure and I’d go right back to my jar of sauce.

That’s why when I first saw this recipe on Chelle’s blog quite a while ago, I was just too afraid to try it. But I’ve heard great reviews about  it and have seen it on a few other blogs so I figured what the heck. I know she is Italian so it must be good! I made a pot today while I was off work and just a few minutes after it started simmering, my mouth was watering. I had planned on just making the sauce today and using it later this week to make spaghetti, but when I smelled it I decided to move spaghetti up on the dinner list for the week. And am I glad I did! This recipe is really fantastic. I had to make a few changes based on what I had in the pantry but overall it’s the same basic concept. I wasn’t in the mood for meatballs so I just added cooked ground beef to the sauce and made a meat sauce instead. Either way, it’s a great sauce recipe that I’ll be using again in the future.

Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large sweet onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 28-oz. can tomato puree (I pureed one can diced tomatoes because I didn’t have any puree)
1 28-oz. can tomato sauce (I used one can diced tomatoes because I like chunks of tomato in my sauce)
2.5 teaspoons dried parsley (I used 3 tsp fresh parsley)
1/2 teaspoon dried basil (I used 2 tsp fresh basil)
Water from rinsing extra sauce and puree from inside of cans
2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons sugar

*I added 1 tsp fresh chopped oregano.

1. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium-low heat until onion is tender.

2. Add tomato sauce, tomato puree, parsley, basil, water, salt, and sugar. (and oregano)

3. Stir and lower heat to a slow simmer. This best if it’s left to simmer for at least 2 hours.

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