This not-so-homemade homemade spaghetti sauce is the perfect mix of ease and effort. The store-bought marinara will save you the stress of creating that perfectly flavored, perfect consistency sauce, but chopping your own veggies and meat will take away the guilt of using marinara from a jar. This sauce boasts 4 types of meat, and is nothing short of mouth-watering goodness. The combination of different marinara sauces, pepperonis, kielbasa, and beef create a hearty meat sauce that even vegetarians would drool over. Served over your choice of pasta with a hot slice of garlic bread, this spaghetti sauce will hit the spot any night of the week! Plus, with its large quantity and ability to be frozen, you’ll have an easy weeknight meal for weeks to come!
For my fellow homemakers, sometimes the word “store-bought” can be taboo, and can bring on homemaking shame. Well I’m telling it to knock on someone else’s door, cause there’s nothing wrong with a little help from our friends Betty Crocker and Bob Evans. When it comes to this not-so-homemade spaghetti sauce recipe, rest assured you will be doing PLENTY of work! Whether you have store-bought shame or not, this not-so-homemade homemade spaghetti sauce will taste more homemade than not-so.
Gettin’ Into The Nitty Gritties
This guide will go through each step with you, and will even provide pictures with each step for a helpful visual!
Needed Equipment
-1 teaspoon
-Meat masher
-Chef’s knife
-Large pot
-Cutting board
Needed Ingredients
-1 yellow onion
-2 green peppers
-3.5 oz original pepperonis
-2 lbs ground beef, 85% lean
-12 oz beef Polska kielbasa
-12 oz turkey Polska kielbasa
-5, 24 oz jars of marinara sauce (flavors of your choosing)
-1 tsp oregano
-1 tsp Italian seasoning
-1/2 tsp ground pepper
-1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
Step One: Gather all the ingredients. Pour 1 tbsp of olive oil into your pot, and begin to heat. Add your beef and begin to brown.
In a large simmering pot or Dutch oven, begin browning the 2 lbs of beef. Use a meat masher to crumble it into bite-sized pieces as it cooks.
Step Two: Dice your onion and green peppers.
Add them to the pot with the beef and let simmer until the onion pieces are translucent, and the green pepper pieces soft; about 10 minutes.
Step Three: Add spices.
Sprinkle in the oregano, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Stir to combine.
Step Four: Chop the pepperonis, beef kielbasa, and turkey kielbasa.
Slice each pepperoni into four triangles. Cut the kielbasas into round slices, and cut each slice into four triangles. Chopping them in this way creates the perfect bite-sized pieces! 
Add everything to the simmering pot, and stir it together. Allow to cook for 5-10 minutes.
Step Five: Add marinara sauce.
Dump in the five jars of marinara sauce. Give it a good stir to combine all the ingredients. Allow sauce to simmer for as long as possible; three hours or longer. This will allow all the flavors to marinate together.
Step Six: Serve.
Generously pour over your favorite pasta, garnish with parmesan cheese, and enjoy!
The Origin Of This Recipe
For years, my mom and I have tried different spaghetti sauce recipes. These recipes were always made up of a homemade sauce with different tomato products. For whatever reason, the sauces would always end up too runny, too thick, too sweet, or just too bland. And this was how the not-so-homemade spaghetti sauce was created. Surely we were not the first people to think up this simple yet delicious concoction, but we love it nonetheless! The addition of the pepperonis and kielbasa sausages come from my great-grandmother’s spaghetti sauce recipe. These ingredients are not the most common of additions to spaghetti sauce, but let me assure you: once you try it, you will never make a sauce without them again!
How To Choose Your Marinara Sauce
With so many different brands and flavors of jarred marinara sauce available, it can sometimes be difficult to know which ones to choose. Personally, I love Bove’s. Bove’s is made in New England, so it may not be available all over the country. Whether you have this brand available to you or not, there is an easy formula to follow when choosing marinara: 1-2 brands, 2-3 different flavors. By mixing brands and flavors, you will create a sauce that will be far from bland!
Since this recipe boasts a variety of meat, I choose to stick with meatless marinara sauces for the base. I buy flavors such as plain marinara and cheese. When I make this recipe, I use 2 different brands: 4 jars of Bove’s, and 1 jar of Classico. I mixed two flavors; cheese and traditional marinara. Since this recipe calls for beef, pepperonis, and kielbasa, I steer away from buying marinara sauces that already have meat in it. I prefer to purchase plain sauces for the base, and add my own ingredients from there. You, however, are more than welcome to add a jar of meat marinara sauce for that extra meaty taste!
Cooking Tip
As store-bought marinara jars can be pricy, I let no drop go to waste! Once you dump the majority of each jar into your pot, put the lids back on and flip upside down for 5-10 minutes. This will allow for the sauce stuck to the jar to make its way to the bottom. Once all the sauce is at the bottom of the jars, dump what’s left into your pot. This will ensure you don’t waste any!`
What Else Can I Add?
As I like to stick with the traditional onion and green pepper, you can add any veggie you want! The beauty of this sauce is how adaptable it is. You literally cannot mess it up. Mushrooms? Sure. Spinach? Great. Anything goes. For meats, you may choose to add or replace an ingredient. You could also try sweet or spicy sausage. You can follow this recipe word for word, or you can add/replace certain ingredients to your liking! I will say, this recipe includes only the best ingredients. But, I may be biased.
What Do I Serve With This Spaghetti Sauce?
As this sauce boasts a hearty flavor, its deliciousness will shine through when served over any pasta! My personal favorite for this dish is thin spaghetti. Don’t forget to serve bread with this meal; cause really, what is pasta without bread? If you’re gonna do carbs, DO carbs. For a fresh and healthy addition, serve with a side salad of your choosing.
Fair Warning… SALTY!
This sauce is salty. In attitude, and in flavor. So proceed with caution. As this salty sauce is DELICIOUS, I know not everyone likes their sauce this salty. To reduce the salty flavor, you can exclude/reduce the pepperonis, exclude one of the kielbasa sausages, or choose sodium free marinara sauce. Even just having 3 of the 5 sauce jars be sodium free will give you a less salty experience. Doing these things will lower the salt content (and possibly the happiness factor) for those of you who don’t like a salty flavor, or who are watching their salt intake.
Leftover Spaghetti Sauce
Since this sauce provides 12 servings, you WILL have leftovers (whoot whoot). Once your sauce is done simmering and you have eaten what you wish from it, take it off the stovetop until the pot slightly cools down. Transfer into the fridge on pot holders (to absorb any heat), and let it cool overnight. The next day, you can portion it out into freezer bags. Flatten the sauce, and store flat for easier thawing. Date your sauce, and enjoy it for weeks to come!
Not-So-Homemade Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Equipment
- 1 Simmering pot Any large pot or Dutch oven
- 1 Handheld Meat Crusher
- 1 Cutting Board
- 1 Chef's knife
- 1 Teaspoon
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion Or another onion of your choice
- 2 green peppers
- 3.5 oz original pepperonis You can double this if you desire
- 2 lbs ground beef 85% lean
- 12 oz beef Polska kielbasa
- 12 oz turkey Polska kielbasa
- 5 24oz jars marinara sauce Flavors of your choosing
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- ½ tsp ground pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- In a large simmering pot or Dutch oven, begin browning the 2 lbs of beef. Use a meat masher to crumble it into bite-sized pieces as it cooks.
- While your beef is cooking, dice your onion and green peppers. Add them to the pot with the beef and let simmer until the onion pieces are translucent, and the green pepper pieces soft, about 10 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the oregano, Italian seasoning, and pepper. Stir to combine.
- While the beef, onion, and green peppers are cooking, chop the pepperonis, beef kielbasa, and turkey kielbasa. Slice each pepperoni into four triangles. Cut the kielbasas into round slices, and cut each slice into four triangles. Add everything to the simmering pot, and stir it together. Allow to cook for 5-10 minutes.
- Dump in the five jars of marinara sauce. Give it a good stir to combine all the ingredients.
- Allow sauce to simmer for as long as possible; three hours or longer. This will allow all the flavors to marinate together.
- Serve over your favorite pasta, garnish with parmesan cheese, and enjoy!
Notes
- Choosing your marinara sauce: this is an easy formula to follow when choosing marinara: 1-2 brands, 2-3 different flavors. By mixing brands and flavors, you will create a sauce that will be far from bland!
- To reduce the salty flavor: exclude/reduce the pepperonis, exclude one of the kielbasa sausages, or choose sodium free marinara sauce.
- Optional additions: the beauty of this sauce is how adaptable it is. You literally cannot mess it up. Mushrooms? Sure. Spinach? Great. Spicy sausage? Go for it. Anything goes.
- Leftovers: once your sauce is done simmering and you have eaten what you wish from it, take it off the stovetop until the pot slightly cools down. Transfer into the fridge on pot holders (to absorb any heat), and let it cool overnight. The next day, you can portion it out into freezer bags. Flatten the sauce, and store flat for easier thawing. Date your sauce, and enjoy it for weeks to come!