The Old-School Spaghetti Sauce Recipe I Can’t Get Enough Of

Spaghetti sauce is one of those go-to recipes. It’s great to always have in your back pocket because it’s relatively simple to make and oh-so comforting. Many of us have nostalgic memories of pasta night and might even be tempted to compare other sauces to our own beloved family recipe. The Kitchn editors certainly fall into that camp, which got us thinking — what’s the secret to making a great spaghetti sauce? The kind of sauce that gets cooked over and over again at family tables and passed between home cooks, many of whom learned at the elbows of parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles. 

To find out, I solicited treasured family recipes from our editors and cooked them side by side to learn what makes them so special, what lessons I could take back into my own kitchen, and, of course, which one I want to add to my rotation. All three of these recipes were impressive in their own right, and super tasty. I was delighted by the smart techniques and timelessness of truly good home cooking from people who have been at the stovetop for years. I picked up some ideas that I’ll be employing in my own kitchen, as well as one recipe that I’ll be returning to over and over again.

Each of these recipes was sourced from family members of The Kitchn’s editors. The sauces can all be made in a single day, and have a base of shelf-stable (tinned or jarred) tomatoes — but that’s where the similarities end. I wanted to test recipes with different approaches to the wide umbrella of “spaghetti sauce.” Is a simple marinara the way to go? Or is it better to include a meaty element? Should spaghetti sauce simmer for hours? These are three very different takes on spaghetti sauce, and I was excited to dive into preparing each one. 

• Grandma Adele’s spaghetti sauce. This pared-down marinara comes courtesy of The Kitchn’s Editor-in-Chief Lindsay Funston’s grandmother. It has a short ingredient list that includes an old-school shortcut and a quick-ish cook time.
• Tiny’s spaghetti sauce. This sauce recipe comes straight from the kitchen of Food Editor Patty Catalano’s father-in-law, Vince, aka Tiny. It includes two kinds of meat and takes a classic low-and-slow approach. 
• Louisa’s spaghetti sauce. Senior Recipe Editor Christine Gallary shared a cherished spaghetti sauce recipe from her childhood: her mom Louisa’s weeknight take. It utilizes a combination of pantry staples and fresh ingredients to make a hearty sauce that comes together in under an hour.

• I purchased all the ingredients from the same grocery store on the same day. All of the ingredients were purchased at a local grocery store on the same day, except for one that I had to order online because it wasn’t available for me locally.
• I cooked all of the sauces on the same day. I loaded up my stovetop and made all three sauces over the course of a single day.
• I tasted them side by side. I tasted all three sauces, both on their own and tossed with (what else?) spaghetti.
• I cooked all of the sauces in heavy-bottomed pots on a gas stove. Two of the sauces were cooked in Dutch ovens, and one was cooked in a heavy-bottomed pot that was a bit larger to accommodate the large volume of ingredients.

I’ve been a professional cook and recipe developer for over a decade. I spend my time thinking about what makes recipes foolproof and perfecting them in the kitchen for home cooks. I’ve written recipes for many varieties of tomato sauce, from classic Italian sauces, to simple everyday sauces, to more complex sauces with longer ingredient lists and cook times. I’m also a lifelong home cook who has made more than my fair share of spaghetti sauce. I don’t have a particular personal preference for any one approach to spaghetti sauce or think that any specific ingredients must be included. 

Food Editor Patty Catalano’s family sauce (from the kitchen of her father-in-law, Tiny), starts with sautéing chopped onions in olive oil and butter before adding chopped carrots, celery, and garlic, and cooking until everything is tender and beginning to brown. Add 1 pound of ground meat (Tiny calls for either ground beef or mild Italian sausage — I opted for beef) to the pot and cook until browned. Next, stir in 6 (14.5-ounce) cans of diced tomatoes as well as a bay leaf, dried herbs (oregano, basil, and marjoram), and 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about two hours over low heat, stirring occasionally to keep the heat evenly distributed. Once the sauce reduces, add 1 pound of hot Italian sausage links (which Patty listed as “optional, but not really” 😆) and continue to simmer until the sausages are cooked through. I opted to let the sauce simmer for another hour. 

This sauce embodies what I think of a classic “on-the-stove-all-day” sauce. It was the thickest of the three sauces I tested with the cleanest tomato flavor, which surprised me because there was no tomato paste in the recipe (an ingredient that’s typically added to sauce to provide a backbone of concentrated tomato flavor). Despite the other ingredients in the sauce, they all managed to blend together while also highlighting the tomato base. When I asked Patty about it she mentioned that the sauce was made for lasagna, which it seems perfect for because it’s chunky and hearty — a real stick-to-your-ribs affair (I mean that in a good way). “My husband Vince’s grandfather, Augustine (better known as Tiny), was the one to make the sauce. His wife took on building the lasagna. Vince’s mom (Angie) learned how to make it later on into married life. When I joined the family, Angie would always have the lasagna ready when we came to visit. She shared the recipe with me and now I make it often, but it’s become our Christmas Eve tradition.” This is the perfect sauce for a special occasion, like cooking for the holidays or a gathering. It takes a while, but it’s worth every minute.

What I love: This sauce is a meal unto itself. Just toss with pasta and you’ve got a cozy dinner. It also has the ideal consistency for lasagna (which sounds incredible).

What I would tweak: Not too much! This sauce starts with a classic mirepoix, but cooks the onions before the celery and carrots. To streamline, I might cook all three simultaneously.

This vegetarian sauce was submitted by Editor-in-Chief Lindsay Funston. It’s her grandmother Adele’s sauce recipe, which I transcribed from a photo of a handwritten recipe card, so you know this sauce is legit. Grandma Adele starts by sautéing chopped onion in olive oil. To the pot, add 1 can of whole tomatoes (she specified Hunt’s brand, so that’s what I used), 1 (6-ounce) can of tomato paste (I also opted for Hunts here, to keep things consistent), and water — she specified to fill the tomato can, which is a good way to get the residual tomato juice from the can while also adding a measured amount of water without needing a measuring cup (so clever!). Bring this to a boil and then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer, cover, and let simmer for 1 hour and 10 minutes (she was specific about the extra 10 minutes). Once the sauce has simmered, uncover the pot and add a package of spaghetti sauce seasoning mix and then continue to simmer for another 20 minutes. 

This sauce really stands out for its simplicity. It’s the only vegetarian sauce in the lineup, is very tomato-forward, and relies on an old-school store-bought seasoning packet for flavor and ease. Grandma Adele’s recipe card called for Schilling’s Spaghetti Sauce Mix, which is unfortunately discontinued (although I was able to source its modern equivalent from McCormick). I typically tend to shy away from this kind of pre-mixed seasoning blend, as I prefer to season dishes to my own taste, but I must admit that this sauce was solid. It was easy to make, extremely pantry-friendly, and came together in only an hour-and-a-half. It’s basic enough that you could build on it in any way you want to, which is a big advantage in my book. Stir in some cream, add some herbs, or toss with cooked ground beef or sausage. 

I must admit I was a little skeptical of this sauce. It forgoes almost all fresh ingredients (save for half an onion) in favor of an almost completely store-bought approach. That’s not surprising, given this is a recipe from the kitchen of an elder stateswoman of cooking. If you go back a few decades, home cooking was an entirely different undertaking with different priorities. Home cooks (read: women) were heading into the workforce for the first time. Women were expected to work on top of running a household, which meant that convenience products — like a package of pre-mixed spices for your tomato sauce — made life much easier.

The sauce is deeply savory with a familiar and nostalgic flavor that reminded me of my own childhood right away. I would never have added this seasoning packet to my own sauce on my own, but Grandma Adele reminded me that just because an ingredient is convenient doesn’t mean you should pass it by. Sometimes smarter, not harder, is the right way to go.

What I love: This sauce is simple, easy to make, and meat-free. It’s the most pantry-friendly of the sauces I tested, so it’s perfect for those “what can I make with what I have already?” moments. It’s also very easy to build on — you can add any ingredients you have on hand to make a heartier sauce or just build on the flavor profile. It’s maximally flexible.

What I would tweak:  I would sauté the tomato paste with the cooked onions before adding the whole tomatoes to the pot. Tomato paste benefits from some extra cooking to really bring out its tomatoey flavor. 

The final sauce I tested comes straight from the childhood of Senior Recipe Editor Christine Gallary, courtesy of her mom Louisa. It starts by sautéing diced onion and sliced mushrooms in olive oil with a bit of salt until they start to brown. To this, add a few cloves of minced garlic and 1 pound of ground beef and continue to cook until the beef is browned. Next, stir in 1 pound of diced beefsteak tomatoes, cooking for a few minutes until they release their juices, followed by a (24-ounce) jar of Prego Traditional Italian Sauce and 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar. Bring the sauce to a simmer and continue to cook for an additional 15 minutes.

When I asked Christine to tell me about her mom’s sauce, she said this, “Even though my mom is Chinese, she made a mean spaghetti sauce. She’d make it in a wok, and it was one of my favorite meals. Her recipe doctored up jarred pasta sauce with fresh vegetables (the key is fresh tomatoes!) and beef before letting everything simmer together quickly. My sister and I would argue about whether or not to toss the sauce with the pasta or keep them separate, and she would always win. The leftovers, however, were also combined together and I would be so excited to eat them that they usually became my hearty breakfast before school the next day (always with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese from the green can)!”

Of all the sauces I tested, this is the one I can see finding its way into my weeknight rotation. 

It’s truly the best of both worlds, as it combines fresh ingredients with a store-bought staple to make a sauce that tastes like it has simmered for hours (but is ready in under an hour). It feels like a little magic trick. 

What I love: This sauce is delicious and I would happily eat it any night of the week. I love that it combines a convenience product with fresh produce to give you the flavors of a slow-simmered sauce in a fraction of the time.

What I would tweak: This one had the most umami-forward flavor, but also the most prominent sweetness — which I assume is from the combination of the sugar added at the end and the jarred sauce itself. If I were to make it again, I would skip the sugar just because I think the jarred sauce has enough sweetness on its own.

Although my personal favorite was Louisa’s Weeknight Wonder, every sauce I tested was a delectable take on classic spaghetti sauce. I was reminded of how many different ways there are to make this simple dish. I learned something from each one — that you don’t need tomato paste to get big tomato flavor in sauce, that pre-mixed seasoning packets are a great workaround for a well-seasoned sauce, and that using jarred sauce in combination with fresh ingredients can mimic the flavor of a long-simmered sauce quite well.