Slow Baked Spaghetti Sauce

Slow Baked Spaghetti Sauce incredibly delicious and EASY! Ground beef, sautéed finely minced carrots, celery and onion simmer with garlic, herbs and tomato sauce gently in the oven. It’s my new favorite way to make homemade spaghetti sauce.

Baking spaghetti sauce is the best thing to happen to me in 2021.

Well, so far. And I’m not sure what I love more – the incredible homey flavor? The way it makes my house smell like an italian restaurant? Or that it gives me 45 minutes to clean up any dirty dishes and throw a load in the wash.

Like a bolognese sauce, it starts with sautéing finely minced celery, carrot and onion. Throw in garlic, dried spices, crushed tomatoes and tomato sauce. Cover and slip into the oven where it will gently simmer. The flavors melding and giving off the most mouthwatering aroma.

Serve with crusty bread and parmesan. YUM!

To Make Slow Baked Spaghetti Sauce You Will Need:

• olive oil
• carrots
• onion
• celery
• garlic
• ground beef
• italian seasoning
• dried parsley
• dried basil
• crushed tomatoes
• tomato sauce
• sugar
• kosher salt
• black pepper

Move your oven rack to the lower third of your oven and preheat to 375℉ (or 190℃).

Drizzle 2 teaspoons oil into a large dutch oven and heat over medium to medium-low.

In the bowl of your food processor, fitted with the blade attachment, add 2 small carrots – roughly chopped, 3 short stalks of celery – roughly chopped and 1 medium yellow onion – peeled and quartered.

Secure the lid and pulse until finely chopped. You may need to scrape the sides of the bowl as you go.

Transfer the carrot mixture to the pot and season with a pinch of kosher salt.

Stir and cook until softened. About 5 to 8 minutes. To the softened veggies, add the 4 cloves minced garlic. Stir and cook 1 minute.

Next add in the lean ground beef. Use a wooden spatula or spoon to break up the meat. Cook until no longer pink. About 12 minutes.

To the veggie and meat mixture, measure and add in; 1 teaspoon italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and pinch or two of red pepper flakes. Stir and cook 1 minute.

Lastly, pour in 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes and 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce with a pinch of sugar. For the crushed tomatoes, I like Delallo or Tutterosso (not sponsored) because of the flavor and that there isn’t any large tomato pieces – which is just a personal preference.

Again, stir well to combine.

Cover and bake in the lower third of your oven for 45 minutes.

After 20 minutes have passed, bring a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling, stir in a palmful (roughly 2 tablespoons) fine sea salt to the water. Add the pasta and cook to al dente according to package instructions.

The sauce can ALWAYS wait for the pasta. Plus it will keep very warm in the dutch oven. With that said, after 45 minutes, remove the pot and keep covered until the spaghetti is done.

Once the pasta is cooked, remove the lid off the dutch oven and give the sauce a stir.

Your home will smell incredible.

Use tongs to transfer the pasta from the water and directly into the pot with the sauce.

Toss well to combine.

Would you look at that saucy deliciousness?!

Serve with freshly grated parmesan cheese, minced parsley and crusty bread. I made this easy bread recipe earlier in the morning.

So good.

Rustic. Robust. Ridiculously good.

Enjoy! And if you give this Slow Baked Spaghetti Sauce recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!

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Yield: 8 servings

Slow Baked Spaghetti Sauce

Slow Baked Spaghetti Sauce incredibly delicious and EASY! Ground beef, sautéed finely minced carrots, celery and onion simmer with garlic, herbs and tomato sauce gently in the oven. It's my new favorite way to make homemade spaghetti sauce.

Prep Time: 5 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 2 medium carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 to 3 short celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1-2 pinches red pepper flakes, optional
• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes (San Marzano or regular)
• 15 ounces canned tomato sauce
• 1 pinch sugar
• 1 pound dry spaghetti noodles, see notes
• parmesan cheese, freshly grated, for serving
• parsley, minced, for serving

Instructions 

• Move your oven rack to the lower third of your oven and preheat to 375℉ (or 190℃)
• Heat olive oil in large dutch oven.
• Meanwhile add roughly chopped celery, carrots and onion to a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Secure the lid and pulse until finely minced. Then add veggies to the dutch oven with a pinch of salt. Cook 5 to 8 minutes or until tender.
• To the softened veggies, add the 4 cloves minced garlic. Stir and cook 1 minute.
• Next add in italian seasoning, parsley, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, basil and red pepper flakes (if using). Stir to combine.
• Add in ground beef and use a wooden spatula to break it up into small crumbles. Cook until no longer pink. About 12 minutes. Drain and discard any excess fat.
• Pour in crushed tomaotes and tomato sauce. Add a pinch of sugar. Stir, cover and slide into your preheated oven for 45 minutes.
• After 25 minutes have passed, bring a large pot of salted water to boil*. Follow the package directions, cooking the pasta to al dente.
• Once the sauce has braised, remove and keep covered until the pasta is done. Use tongs to pull the pasta straight from the water and add it to the sauce. Toss to combine.
• Serve with grated parmesan and minced fresh parsley.

Notes

* I add a palmful of fine sea salt to the water before cooking the pasta.

Serving: 1g, Calories: 503kcal, Carbohydrates: 65g, Protein: 33g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g, Cholesterol: 68mg, Sodium: 542mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 6g

Author: Laurie McNamara

Course: Mains & Entrees

Cuisine: Italian