Spaghetti with meat sauce was a staple of staff writer Aaron Hutcherson’s childhood, and this recipe is an homage to his mother’s version. It features a mixture of ground beef and Italian sausage, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and – for a touch of sweetness – brown sugar. It’s designed to make a lot with plenty of leftovers, but you can freeze it – either just the sauce or the finished pasta – for smaller households.
Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days. Freeze either just the sauce or the finished pasta with sauce for up to 3 months.
Ingredients
Servings: 6–8 (makes about 12 cups)
Directions
Active:
30 mins|
Total: 40 mins
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Step 1
In a large Dutch oven, pot or saute pan over medium-high heat, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the onion, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion starts to brown around the edges, 2 to 3 minutes.
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Step 2
Add the beef, sausage, Italian seasoning and garlic powder and cook, stirring and breaking the meat into small chunks with a spoon or spatula, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes.
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Step 3
Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until evenly combined and the tomato paste slightly darkens, 1 to 2 minutes.
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Step 4
Stir in the crushed tomatoes, water (swirl the water inside the can to get out all of the tomatoes) and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer, until the sauce reduces and the flavors come together, 15 to 20 minutes. Taste, and season with more salt or pepper as desired.
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Step 5
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook until just shy of al dente, 1 to 2 minutes less than the package cooking instructions. Transfer the pasta to the sauce (using tongs or by draining and pouring in) and cook, stirring frequently, until combined and the pasta is al dente, about 2 minutes. Divide among bowls, top with cheese, if using, and serve hot.
Substitutions
Ground beef and Italian sausage >> Any ground meat or plant-based alternative.
Brown sugar >> Barbecue sauce, granulated sugar, molasses, maple syrup or other sweetener.
Spaghetti >> Your favorite dried pasta shape.
