Not-So-Homemade Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
This hearty, meat-filled, flavor-packed spaghetti sauce is a not-so-homemade spin on homemade spaghetti sauce! Still a time-consuming endeavor, the base of this sauce is made up of store-bought marinara, ensuring the perfect consistency. With all the meaty additions and chopping, this not-so-homemade spaghetti sauce is homemade in its own way.
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!