Meat Lover’s Spaghetti Sauce

Marie Overton
Feb 28, 2022
2 min read

Updated: Mar 21

The men in my life especially love it when I make a meal that includes my Meat Lover’s Spaghetti Sauce. This spaghetti sauce recipe is the ultimate time-saver. I don’t have to worry about thawing hamburger or cooking up meatballs. I just warm up the sauce and I am ready to go. This has so much meat in it that my boys, both young and old, absolutely love it. I have used it for making pizza roll-ups (Maybe I will share that recipe sometime in the future.), regular spaghetti, and sometimes I will dilute it with spaghetti sauce without meat to make a bigger batch. Since it is about 1.25 pounds per quart it has plenty of meat for a meal. This recipe tastes like your classic meaty spaghetti sauce.

Jar of tomato sauce beside ripe tomatoes in a wicker basket on a wooden table, against a blurred kitchen background.

Meat Lover’s Spaghetti Sauce

This recipe makes 4 quarts of Meat Lover’s Spaghetti Sauce.

Ingredients:

5lbs ground beef
4 pounds quartered tomatoes
2 chopped onions
1 chopped sweet pepper
24 ounces tomato paste
2tbsp brown sugar
2tbsp minced garlic
1.5tbsp salt
2tbsp vinegar
2tbsp parsley
1tbsp oregano
1tbsp basil
1/2tsp ginger
1/2tsp allspice

Preparing Meat Lover’s Spaghetti Sauce:

Soften the tomatoes by simmering in a large pot for about 20 minutes.

A hand adds minced garlic to a skillet with ground meat, diced onions, and bell peppers. Text reads "2 tablespoons Minced Garlic."

While this is softening, brown the ground beef in a large pan, drain excess fat, add garlic, onions, and peppers. Cook for 5 minutes then add the spices. Simmer for 5 more minutes and then set aside.

Cooking ground beef, onions, and peppers in a large pot on a marble countertop. A bowl of tomato paste is on the side. Cozy kitchen scene.

Ground beef, onions, tomato paste, and herbs in a metal pot on a speckled counter. Text reads "1 tablespoon Basil."

Process the soft tomatoes through a food mill.

Place the pulp in a large saucepot and add the meat mixture. Simmer until it is thick.

Canning Meat Lover’s Spaghetti Sauce:

Using a jar funnel, fill up the quart jars leaving 1-inch of headspace.

Woman in a maroon sweater stirring five jars of brown sauce on a granite countertop in a kitchen.

Use a wooden or plastic chopstick to de-bubble the jars. Use a damp cloth to wipe off the rims of the jars. Place the lid on top of the jar and add the ring. Tighten the ring to fingertip tight and process in a pressure canner for 75 minutes at 10 pounds of pressure if at sea level. Remember to adjust your pressure if you are above 1000 feet in elevation.

Hands adjusting a pressure cooker lid with a gauge reading numbers. Hexagonal tile background, gray tones. Text reads "Magic Seal."

Once your sauce has completed processing and the pressure is down to zero, remove the lid and allow the jars to cool for 10 minutes. Then, space the jars about an inch apart on a heat-resistant surface for 24 hours to cool and completely seal.

If your jar did not seal, then place it in the fridge and use it immediately. Store the sealed jars in your cool, dry, dark pantry to enjoy for the next 1-3 years. After three years the nutritional value of canned food diminishes. The quality is best in the first year.

A plate of spaghetti with meat sauce and grated cheese on a dark wooden table. A fork rests on the plate's edge.

Meat Lover’s Spaghetti Sauce

If you have any questions about canning with a pressure canner or how to adjust the pressure or processing time for altitude, take a look at my canning basics videos.