How to Make a Good Pasta Sauce

Make a simple tomato sauce to serve over pasta.

You can make a simple tomato sauce that you can serve with pasta or use in baked dishes such as ziti or lasagna. Slowly simmering the sauce allows the ingredients to meld together.

Things You'll Need

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large cans of crushed tomatoes
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 small onion diced
• 1 16-ounce can of tomato sauce
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1 tablespoon crushed basil
• 1 pound Italian sausage (optional)
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. In a large pot add olive oil to the bottom of the pan. Add the chopped garlic and onion and stir until the onions are translucent.

2. Add the ground beef to the onions and garlic and stir until meat begins to brown, about three to five minutes. Add the dry oregano and basil to the mixture. As the beef begins to brown, add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and tomato sauce.

3. Turn the heat down to low until the sauce is just simmering, stirring the sauce occasionally. You can also add to the sauce the Italian sausage. The simmering sauce will cook the sausage.

4. Boil water In a separate pot. When the water is briskly boiling, add salt and a pound of spaghetti. Stir to make certain noodles don't stick together. When the pasta is done, drain it over the sink in a colander. Serve the sauce over the pasta. Top with grated cheese. Serve with fresh Italian bread or garlic bread.

Tips & Warnings

• Instead of the ground beef, you could add meatballs to the sauce as it cooks.

References

• Simply Recipes: Basic Tomato Sauce
• All Recipes: Tomato Sauce