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This Italian spaghetti recipe is the kind many of us grew up with — rich, hearty, and full of familiar, comforting flavor. While it’s inspired by Italian cooking, it leans more Italian-American than strictly traditional, with a well-seasoned meat sauce that’s easy, satisfying, and perfect for family dinners.
The sauce is built with layers of flavor from tomatoes, garlic, and herbs, simmered until thick and rich with just a touch of sweetness to balance everything out. It’s the kind of classic spaghetti sauce that clings to every strand and keeps you going back for another bite.
Skip the jarred sauce and make a homemade version that’s simple, reliable, and packed with classic flavor. If you’re looking for more cozy spaghetti dinners, I hope you’ll try my TikTok Spaghetti, Best Creamy Chicken Spaghetti, Million Dollar Spaghetti next. And for even more easy, family-friendly favorites, browse my Spaghetti Recipes collection.
Let’s make some spaghetti!
What I Love About Italian Spaghetti Recipe
I love that this Italian spaghetti is so super simple to throw together, but it produces some intensely vibrant flavor. I never knew how easy it was to reproduce the rich aromatic flavors from Italian restaurants. I just love sharing this recipe! Here are some of its best qualities
- Quick easy prep
- Wildly delicious Italian flavor
- Simmer time lets you get other things done
- Wholesome pasta meal
- Easy break from holiday leftovers
Italian Spaghetti Ingredients
Making this awesome Italian spaghetti sauce starts with simple wholesome ingredients, which is the beauty of this recipe. No bland pasta sauce from a jar for this trendy mama! Here’s what you need.
- Tomato – You’ll be using crushed tomatoes and tomato paste to create this incredible recipe. This is where it all starts!
- Alliums – Minced garlic and grated onions help blend savory and slightly sweet for a balanced flavor profile. Besides, you can’t make spaghetti without garlic and onions!
- Spices – Lots of vibrant Italian spices make this spaghetti sauce intensely delicious. The delicate combination of rosemary, bay, and Italian seasonings brings the flavors of Italy right to your kitchen!
- Sugar – This recipe calls for brown sugar instead of white. Be sure to pack your brown sugar when measuring it out. The molasses gives your recipe a deeper more complex flavor instead of making it sugary sweet. It’ll just have those slightly sweet undertones that are oh-so-good!
- Pasta – Cooking your pasta just until al dente will keep it from getting mushy. It should still be just a little firm in the middle. You’ll also want to reserve some of the starchy pasta water after it has cooked, just in case you need to thin your sauce.
- It’s also important to sauce your pasta immediately. Don’t rinse it. The hot starch will help the sauce stick to the pasta and evenly coat it for the savory saucy flavor in every bite!
- Cheese – You can’t make an Italian spaghetti recipe without parmesan cheese!! Instead of sprinkling it on top, this grated parmesan goes into the pot with the sauce to help create that rich creamy texture.
Tips
There’s no need to make this delicious Italian spaghetti recipe vegetarian style because there’s no meat in it! That’s one of the reasons the prep is so incredibly simple, but the awesome Italian flavor doesn’t disappoint! Here’s how to coax it out.
Using a heavier gauged pot works best for this recipe because it helps distribute heat more evenly. You don’t want scorched sauce on the bottom of your pot, it’ll contaminate your whole dish!
Toss all ingredients in your pot except the spaghetti pasta and parsley. You’ll want to incorporate ingredients well and bring them just to a boil before reducing the heat. You’re looking for a gentle simmer over medium-low heat that barely bubbles. It’ll help build that lovely Italian flavor while protecting the integrity of your sauce.
Storing + Freezing + Make-Ahead
- How Long Can You Keep This In The Fridge? Your yummy spaghetti sauce will stay good in the fridge for up to 4 days when stored properly. The best part is that the intense flavor will continue to develop into something even more incredible as it rests in the fridge!
- Can You Freeze This? Yes and no. This Italian spaghetti sauce freezes really well and the flavor continues to develop as it thaws. You probably don’t want to freeze the pasta, or you’ll end up with a mushy mess. Pasta just doesn’t do well in freezing temperatures.
- Make Ahead Tips: This decadently delicious Italian pasta recipe is one that I always like to have on hand, especially during the holiday season and cold winter months. I like to make up a couple of batches of the sauce and toss it in the freezer as soon as the leaves start falling. I know I’ve got plenty of holiday cooking in the future and it just simplifies things to have this yummy sauce ready-made and in the freezer!
Serving Suggestions
Is there anything better with spaghetti than garlic bread? I think not! Well, copycat Olive Garden bread sticks are a tie in our house. A salad dressed with our balsamic vinaigrette or our our fully loaded Mediterranean salad works perfectly. If you’f prefer a cooked veggie we like this with Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Sage, roasted green beans withpancetta and shallots, our simple roasted peppers.
How about my classic tiramisu or strawberry tiramisu for dessert!
How To Make Italian Spaghetti
- Add all Italian Spaghetti ingredients to the pot.
- Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 2 hours.
- Pour the sauce over cooked pasta.
- Toss to combine
- Serve.
***See the full instructions below.
Recipe Variations
This recipe for Italian spaghetti is so totally flexible and easy to customize. Tweaking it to suit just about any meal plan is simple and that deep complex flavor of the sauce just keeps getting better and better. Here are a couple of easy suggestions to change things up a bit.
- Add your favorite veggies to up the nutrition ante
- Serve it over spiralized veggies instead of noodles
- Try using different cheeses in the sauce
- Toss some meatballs into the sauce as it simmers
Can I Add Meatballs?
Yes, you can!! If you’ve just got an Italian spaghetti and meatball kind of family, you can always go with a spaghetti and meatballs recipe that will blow their minds! This is one of my long-standing favorite recipes but sometimes I’ll make instant pot spaghetti and meatballs in a pinch.
More Spaghetti Recipes
There are so many different ways to make spaghetti, its almost impossible to count them all. This yummy Italian spaghetti is just the beginning. You can easily build off this recipe and tweak it to suit your family’s preferences and meal plan. Here are some of my best spaghetti dishes you can also try.
- Taco Spaghetti
- California Spaghetti Salad
- Spaghetti Pie
- Baked Spaghetti
- Chicken Spaghetti Casserole
- Instant Pot Spaghetti
- School Cafeteria Spaghetti
- Cowboy Spaghetti
Italian Spaghetti
Ingredients
- 2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
- 1 (12-ounce) can tomato paste
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup grated onion
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons dried rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 16 ounces spaghetti
- 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
Instructions
- In a large pot, stir together the crushed tomatoes (2 cans), tomato paste (1 can), 1 cup water, onion (1/4 cup), garlic (1 tablespoon), salt (1/2 teaspoon), black pepper (1/2 teaspoon), brown sugar (1 tablespoon), Italian seasoning (1 tablespoon), rosemary (2 teaspoons), bay leaf (1), and grated Parmesan cheese (1 cup). Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally for 2 hours.
- Cook the spaghetti (16 ounces) according to package instructions just to al dente. Drain well, reserving 1 cup of pasta water, and return to the pasta pot. While spaghetti is still hot, add 1/2 the sauce and toss to coat. Add more sauce as desired. If the sauce is too thick, thin with reserved pasta water. Turn pasta out onto a large serving platter, sprinkle with parsley (2 tablespoons), and serve.
Fans Also Made:
Notes
- Using a heavier gauged pot works best for this recipe because it helps distribute heat more evenly. You don’t want scorched sauce on the bottom of your pot, it’ll contaminate your whole dish!
- Toss all ingredients in your pot except the spaghetti pasta and parsley. You’ll want to incorporate ingredients well and bring them just to a boil before reducing the heat. You’re looking for a gentle simmer over medium-low heat that barely bubbles. It’ll help build that lovely Italian flavor while protecting the integrity of your sauce.
Nutrition
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I love the is sauce. I added mushroom and Italian sausage to it. My family eat it all, No leftovers!
Yum! That’s great, Sherry! Thanks for sharing 🙂 So happy you like this!
I so love this recipe.I not a fan of spaghetti but when i tried this i just got get over it.my all time fav.thank you so much for sharing this🥰
Yaaay! I’m so happy you like this spaghetti! Thank you so much for your positive feedback 🙂
The amount of rosemary needs to be reduced, it’s a little overwhelming (for us anyway) and tastes a bit bitter. Add Cheyenne pepper and red pepper flakes 1/4 tsp. Each and it’s a wonderful tasting recipe!
as a hrm students it really helps me with the simple and easy to buy some of the ingredients that is available here in the philippines
Hi, Bebang! Thank you so much! I’m glad you like this spaghetti. Study well! 🙂
OMG, I’ve always had my own but I found this today and I shall use this forever…… The brown sugar and rosemary was a PLUS…. Tye family loved it!
Thank you….
Amazing! Thank you so much for your positive review, Cher! 🙂
I’m gonna make this bur with 1 pd of hamburger and 1 pound of Italian sauage an proceed with the rest of the recipe.
It sounds AWESOME!!!!!
THAnks, Jan
Sounds delicious, Janet! Enjoy <3
I used this recipe yesterday to make Valentine’s Day dinner for my family and it is delicious. I didn’t use 3 of the ingredients but aye it cane out well.
So happy you enjoyed this, Nelli! It’s such an easy recipe for supper! 🙂