This recipe for Slow-Cooked Oven-Baked Spaghetti Sauce results in a deeply flavored meat sauce that is perfect over any kind of "macaroni
The making of Slow Cooked Oven Spaghetti Sauce
Slow-cooked spaghetti sauce, just like Nonna used to make.
Wait, I don't have a Nonna.
"What I was going for here was a slow-cooked spaghetti sauce that was virtually hands-off AND didn’t stick to the pot."
But my German mother used to make a slow-cooked spaghetti sauce. And I'm pretty sure it was close to what Nonna would have made...onions, garlic, meat, tomatoes, herbs, mixed together and put on the "back of the stove" to simmer for a few hours, or more until it was rich, thick and full of flavor.
The only problem is, that sauce still needed attention as the "back of the stove" lost its slow cooking ability when we went from wood burning to gas or electric. Slow cooking on a wood-burning stove allowed the cook to find just the right place to position the pot of slow-simmering sauce. The heat source, not being direct, allowed the cook to set it and pretty much forget it. Even at the lowest temperature of a modern-day stove, the heat is direct and the sauce needs to be stirred to keep it from burning to the bottom of the pot.
Not much hands-off there.
I don't know about yours, but every time I lift that lid to stir, the simmering sauce would pop and sputter out all over my stove-top. And no matter how much stirring was done, or how low the heat, even if a diffuser was used, some of the sauce ALWAYS stuck to the bottom of the pot and that was a PITA to clean. Trust me, my sister and I were the ones who had to wash it - and "to soak overnight" was not an option in my family home, Dad wouldn't hear of it. ALL dishes must be done before we went on to other tasks. Scrub and moan, scrub and moan.
I've made slow-cooked spaghetti sauce in my slow cooker before, and it's good, but it still stuck to the bottom of the cooker.
I've made slow-cooked spaghetti sauce in non-stick pots, and while the clean-up was easier, I had to be very careful not to stir the stuck-on parts back into the sauce.
What I was going for here was a slow-cooked spaghetti sauce that was virtually hands-off AND didn't stick to the pot.
"Just like Nonna would make if I had a Nonna"
Tapping into my love of slow-braised meats, cooked in the oven at low temperatures for hours to develop rich flavorful gravies, I thought...why not? Why not bake spaghetti sauce? Why not indeed? What I ended up with was perfectly cooked, perfectly flavored, deep rich tomatoey sauce that did not stick to the bottom of the pot and it was virtually hands-free, except for the beginning part, you know, browning the meat, adding the onions, all that part.
There are a couple of really cool parts to this recipe for Slow Cooked Oven Baked Spaghetti Sauce. First off, you can do all the beginnings the night before, stick it in the refrigerator, and cook it the next day. Second, you could cook it faster at a slightly higher temperature or slower at a lower temperature. Like a crock-pot but without the crock-pot taste and sticking. Third and finally, it tastes friggin fantastic on whatever macaroni you put it on.
Any Pasta will be complemented with this Slow-Cooked Oven-Baked Spaghetti Sauce
Macaroni, as you know, is what true Italians call all pasta cuts. For us non-Italians, serve this sauce with any spaghetti, linguini, penne, shells, whatever your heart desires, Slow Cooked Oven Baked Spaghetti Sauce will make it yummy. Just remember, no matter what pasta you use, gluten-free, whole wheat, semolina, dried or fresh, use the sauce sparingly. You just want to coat the pasta with sauce, not drown it.
Can I freeze some of this sauce?
YES. This sauce also freezes beautifully, and what better than to have a batch of sauce in the freezer for those days you just want some slow-cooked spaghetti sauce without having to slow cook it? Not much.
Mangia bene.
Slow Cooked Oven Baked Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
- 1 - 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups chopped onion about 1 large onion
- 4 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- 1 teaspoon each dried oregano and thyme or 2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
- 6 ounces dry red wine measure with the tomato paste can
- 1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes in sauce (I like to use Italian tomatoes)
- 2 15-ounce cans tomato sauce
- 2 dried bay leaves torn in half
- 6 fresh basil leaves torn, or ½ teaspoon dried (although to be honest, I don't think dried adds much in flavor, so you could omit if you don't have fresh)
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley same as with the basil
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- A pinch of sugar if needed (I find most of the time I don't need to add sugar, but sometimes I do, so taste and add if it seems highly acidic or sour )
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 300°F.
- Heat a little olive oil in a Dutch oven, or other pot with a lid, over medium heat, add the ground meat and cook, stirring to break it apart until it is no longer pink; drain into a sieve. Set - aside.
- In the same pot, heat about 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil over medium heat; add the onions and sauté for about 3 - 4 minutes or until translucent (do not brown, if they begin to brown, reduce the heat); add the garlic slices along with the oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes; sauté for 1 - 2 minutes, then add the tomato paste. Stir and cook the tomato paste for about 3 minutes, then add the wine; mix well. Add the whole tomatoes breaking them apart with the spoon; then add the tomato sauce, reserved drained meat, dried bay leaf, basil leaves, parsley, and some salt and pepper. Stir well, bring to a simmer, cover then transfer to the oven and bake for 2 to 2 ½ hours. Remove the pot from the oven, taste and adjust seasonings; adding a pinch of sugar if needed. Serve over your favorite pasta.
Sheri says
I found your recipe several months ago, and have been making it every2-3 weeks since. We love it, and I love that it makes enough to send home with family members. We use a mix of ground beef and a locally made Italian sausage. So good! Thank you for sharing
Linda Baker says
Sounds wonderful, I love local products and use them when I can. Glad you liked the "technique' and Happy Cooking! Cheers ~ Lindy
Jerry says
Hello Lindy! Back in the day, tomato sauce used to be nothing but that---tomatoes.
Today, it means something very different. The only way I can get what we grew up with as canned tomato sauce is tomato puree. Is this what you are referring to?
If not, what brand of tomato sauce do you recommend? They are quite different in what and how much seasonings are added to them.
Thank you!
Linda Baker says
Hey Jerry, first of all, I want to say I love your moniker for email...secondly, I hear you. Now, all my tomato products are "just tomatoes" I use are Centro Whole Tomatoes, Tomato sauce 100% tomatoes with salt, and tomato paste,100% organic with salt. I get them all from Trader Joes. Just make sure to get Italian whole tomatoes, and check the labels for extra added enhancements (in their mind not mine). Cheers and Happy Cooking ~ Lindy
Windy Rossi says
I married an Italian man. Whew, the standard is high for sauce. The first year of our marriage, his mom taught me her sauce recipe. After cooking on the stove all day for years, I came across your recipe. The ingredients are the same, but, the measurements are different. So, I follow your recipe but use her measurements for each ingredient. I have a cast iron Dutch Oven. 2 hours in the oven at 300 degrees is perfect. After 25 years of marriage, thank you!!!
LindySez says
Congratulation on 25 years! Sauce (gravy) is very important, and yes, the method will work with any favorite recipe. Even Mama's. Cheers ~ Lindy
Avondarcye says
I have an induction cooktop. I want to make my sauce in my Glass Dutch oven. I also have clay. Can o just toss the ingredients with meatballs and let it cook in the oven. Should I cover or not. Thank you
LindySez says
I would use the glass Dutch oven rather than clay which I think would absorb too much tomato sauce/acid. Yes, you can just put it all in the pot and put it, covered, in the oven to cook. Cheers ~ Lindy
Joyce Trono says
Hello! Our neighborhood is planning a spaghetti dinner for about 50 people and this sounds like a great way to do the sauce. How can we adjust the measurements and do you have any other suggestions? Thank you
LindySez says
This would be a great way to make a large batch of spaghetti sauce. The recipe is written for 2 Quarts, that's 8 cups.Figure how much you need for 50 people, I think 1 cup per person is a bit high, but maybe you love your sauce. I would think 1/2 to 3/4 cup PP. Then once you figure how many quarts you need, print the recipe and adjust the # of quarts with the + indicator at the top. The recipe is automatically adjust with all proportions you need. Have a great Pasta Party. Cheers Lindy
Carmen says
Hello! I was wondering if I could make my regular Sunday gravy with meatballs, bracciole, etc in the oven in a big aluminum baking pan? I’m having 16 people for thanksgiving and I don’t think I’ll be able to fit enough meat and sauce in my pot.
Thank you!
LindySez says
Absolutely! You can make any of your favorite sauces using this technique. Happy Thanksgiving. Cheers Lindy
Christine Schwartz says
Lindy, always looking for the "perfect" gravy recipe. Will this be as good without the meat? Over here we prefer our meatballs to meat sauce 🙂
LindySez says
Hi Chris, Yeah, meatballs would work; I think you could just drop them in and bake or brown them up a little first. Either way the flavor should still get into the sauce and be yum! ~ Cheers
Ann T Davis says
I just made a huge turkey roaster pan of homemade spaghetti sauce
with some homegrown tomatoes, hamburger and Italian sausage. Baked it in the oven for two hours at 400 degrees F and reduced the sauce by about 1/4. AMAZING!