I’ve made a lot of variations of pasta sauce over my nine years of blogging, but I think this latest version wins the title of The Best Weeknight Pasta Sauce. Why? Because it’s incredibly easy and uses only a few ingredients, yet has a wonderfully rich and hearty flavor. I first posted this sauce in my Roasted Eggplant with Meat Sauce recipe, but the sauce itself was definitely the star of the show and deserves a post of its own. In fact, I loved this sauce so much that the last time I made it I found myself digging into the leftovers with a spoon, like it was some sort of chili. I skipped the pasta and just went straight for the good stuff. 🤷♀️
Looking for a vegetarian pasta sauce? Check out our Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce.
What is in This Weeknight Pasta Sauce
It’s SO SIMPLE, yet so very good. This pasta sauce includes: ground beef, olive oil, onion, butter, crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning blend, and salt and pepper. That’s it. No fancy ingredients needed to make it taste incredible, and totally approachable for a busy weeknight.
How to Use this Sauce
This sauce is, of course, awesome with any shape of pasta. Or over roasted vegetables! You don’t have to do a whole eggplant like I did in the past, I would love this sauce ladled over a pile of cubed roasted vegetables for a delightful low-carb meal (check out my Roasted Eggplant with Meat Sauce), or you can add a medley of summer vegetables and use it to make our Summer Vegetables in Red Sauce.
Why is it Good for Weeknight Dinners?
This sauce is incredibly simple and doesn’t require much attention as it cooks. What makes this sauce so good when it’s so simple? Two things: butter and a minimum 30 minute simmer. The 30 minute simmer is the key to dulling down the overly bright acidic flavors of the crushed tomatoes and helps caramelize the natural sugars into a deep, subtle sweetness. The butter adds body and a slight creaminess, which again, helps balance the natural acids in the tomatoes. You need both elements to make this sauce. Without one or the other you’ll just have a run of the mill red sauce and, well, that’s just nothing to write home (or blog) about.
The Best Weeknight Pasta Sauce
Servings 6 (about ¾ cups each)Ingredients
- 1/2 lb. ground beef ($2.65)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.13)
- 1 small onion ($0.32)
- 2 Tbsp butter ($0.13)
- 28 oz. crushed tomatoes ($0.89)
- 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning blend ($0.05)
- Freshly cracked pepper ($0.03)
- Salt, to taste ($0.02)
Instructions
- Add the ground beef and olive oil to a pot and sauté over medium until the beef is cooked through (about 5 minutes). If you’re using a higher fat content beef (10% or higher), you may want to drain the excess fat once the beef has browned.
- While the beef is cooking, finely dice the onion. Add the diced onion and butter to the cooked beef. Continue to sauté until the onion is soft and translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Next, add the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning blend, and some freshly cracked pepper (10-15 cranks of a pepper mill). Stir everything to combine.
- Place a lid on the pot and allow it to come up to a simmer. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low and let the sauce simmer for 30 minutes.
- After a minimum of 30 minutes simmering, add about 1/2 tsp salt, stir to combine, then taste and add more if needed. The flavor of the sauce will deepen and the complexities will pop once the salt is added. Serve over pasta or your favorite roasted vegetables.
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Nutrition
Video
Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Weeknight Pasta Sauce – Step by Step Photos
Start by adding 1/2 lb. ground beef and 1 Tbsp olive oil to a pot. Sauté the beef over medium until it’s cooked through (about 5 minutes). If you’re using a higher fat content beef, you may want to drain the excess fat once it’s cooked through. While the beef is cooking, finely dice one small onion. Add the onion and 2 Tbsp butter to the cooked beef, and continue to sauté until the onions are soft and translucent (another 5 minutes or so).
Next, add a 28oz. can crushed tomatoes, 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning blend, and some freshly cracked pepper. Stir until everything is combined, place a lid on top, and let it come up to a simmer. Once simmering, turn the heat down to low and let it simmer for at least 30 minutes.
After simmering for 30 minutes the sauce will be much less acidic and slightly more sweet, but to make the flavor really pop, you need to add salt. I would start with 1/2 tsp, give it a taste, then add more to your liking.
And that’s all! Seriously, SO easy. And while the sauce is simmering away for its 30 minutes, you can prepare your pasta or whatever else you plan on eating with your sauce that night. ;)
It’s the only sauce I need and really, I only need the sauce. Pasta optional. 😂
I literally just got through making this and it was so easy I kept feeling like I was missing a step. Lol. I added oregano and bay leaves and fresh garlic to the sauce but this was an amazing first time experience, making my own sauce and I will never buy jar sauce again. I love it
Ha! That’s okay! And happy to hear you enjoyed it!
This is great – and so quick and easy! Everyone loved it! I will make a point to always have the crushed tomatoes on hand. I used ground turkey since that what I had on hand, but otherwise stuck to the recipe as written. Mr Shiny said ‘you’re going to make this again, right?’ – which is high praise from him :)
Oh yes I love it! Happy to hear it’s going on the repeats!
Looks yummy but can’t have onions etc. Do you have any suggestions for low FODMAP meals?
We don’t have a specific tag for Low FODMAP, but did you know you can search our site for recipes by ingredient? There you can select the ingredients you can have such as artichokes, berries, and gluten free.
Easy, cheap and delicious. This really hit the spot! I followed the recipe to a T and I wouldn’t change a thing. I always think of red pasta sauce being an hours long ordeal if you want something really good, but this recipe proved me wrong! Thirty minutes and you have something great.
Happy to hear it Rachel!
amazing presentation ;) loved it
thank you so much..will definitely try this
I’ve made this pasta sauce several times, and it always turns out perfectly. Sometimes, I make changes, like adding chopped kale or peas (or both). Usually, however, I stick to the recipe, and everyone loves it. Thanks for posting.
Easy, delicious, and fast! Will definitely make again.
Can I use fresh tomatoes vs. can crushed tomatoes?
I don’t think it will turn out quite the same. Crushed tomatoes seem to have a lot more juice and a different flavor and texture than fresh tomatoes.
I love this sauce. It is simmering on the stove now and I can’t wait. I have made this at least a half dozen times so far. I once tripled it for a crowd and it still came out perfect. Thank you, thank you!!!
Super simple nice sauce without any fuss. Perfect for when you like, really don’t want to cook but you gotta.
This was fantastic! I’ve never liked pasta sauce enough to eat it with a spoon, but I did pretty much eat a large chunk of sourdough bread with this sauce and had no room left for pasta :) I’ve made it twice and the second time accidentally got diced tomatoes instead of crushed and it was much more watery, so I will definitely make sure to get crushed tomatoes next time. I was able to add a little cornstarch to thicken it up but it wasn’t as good as the first time! I’m now making my third batch of this to try with your Eggplant Parmesan!
Would it be possible to turn this sauce into a one-pot meal, that is, to cook the pasta in the sauce like your American Goulash recipe? I like the concept of the butter in this and I like the one-pot…ness of the Goulash, I’m just not sure how I’d combine the two (this sauce would need to be liquidier I imagine so the pasta could release starch and thicken it up.)
You would definitely want to simmer the sauce by itself first, because it needs at least 30 minutes for the tomatoes to sweeten up, and that would be way too long for the pasta. Then you could add more water and the pasta to simmer until the pasta is cooked, but then it will all take twice as long and you’ll probably get better results just cooking the pasta separately while the tomato sauce is doing its 30 minute simmer. :)
I LOVE this sauce! I have made it a bunch of times! It is the only spaghetti sauce I make now! I added a little bit of red pepper flakes for a kick.
I looked at the eggplant meatsauce post. Do you feel like bella mushrooms or white would work better for subbing in for the ground meat here?
I think bellas would work best. :)
What brand of crushed tomatoes did you use? I tried this out tonight and it seemed to be very bland and watery, but i feel that could be due to the kind of crushed tomatoes that i used.
I’m pretty sure it was just the Kroger generic brand. You can try simmering without a lid for 10 minutes or so to help reduce the sauce if it seems too watery for your liking. :)