This easy spaghetti recipe with meat sauce takes just a few minutes of prep and a low simmer on the stove for a deep, meaty-flavored, homemade spaghetti recipe ever.
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When I finished college and moved into my first apartment, I wrote down my mom’s recipe for our favorite family dinner and plopped it into my tattered recipe binder. But it never tasted quite as good as my mom’s. My sister texted me a picture of her copy of my mom’s spaghetti recipe, as seen below. I then realized I was missing one crucial ingredient that makes this spaghetti and meat sauce better than all the rest: Dried cloves! Cloves aren’t typically found in spaghetti sauce but they add so much flavor and shouldn’t be skipped. While I have several quick and easy spaghetti recipes like my pasta pomodoro, cacio e pepe, or spaghetti carbonara that are ready in minutes, this spaghetti and meat sauce recipe is the ultimate Sunday, long-simmer dinner. I promise you it’s worth the wait!
What’s in This Spaghetti Recipe
This spaghetti recipe is the type of pasta dinner recipe you can easily have at the ready thanks to a simply stocked pantry and a few foundation refrigerator ingredients I can always find at my local Smith’s Marketplace / Kroger store.
Here’s what’s in this spaghetti and meat sauce:
- Ground Beef. I use 85% lean ground angus beef for my sauce so it still has flavor but not a lot of fat. You could also use ground turkey.
- Tomato sauce. Use
- Diced tomatoes. You could use canned whole tomatoes and then crush them with your hands and fingers.
- Tomato paste. This gives the sauce body and also a little sweetness.
- Beef broth. Another layer of meatiness.
- Canned mushrooms. Typically I use fresh mushrooms in recipes, but this is one where I never, ever, ever do.
- A splash of wine. Mom says to use the empty mushroom can as your measurement guide. Purchase a variety that is of the same quality you’re willing to drink. I usually use a good boxed blend or Pinot noir in this spaghetti recipe.
- Onion, celery, and fresh garlic. They’re always lolling around the refrigerator crisper waiting to be used.
- Dried herbs, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, and a pinch of sugar for sweetness. Don’t skip out on the bay leaves, they make a huge difference.
- Dried whole cloves! My mom learned this trick from her friend Virginia, and adding a few whole cloves is her secret ingredient. She uses 5-6 cloves but my husband prefers four. The cloves give it an earthy, spiced flavor that’s not often easy to place.
How to Make This Spaghetti Recipe
Truly fantastic homemade spaghetti sauce is easier to make than you’d think, but it does take time.
- Brown the beef. Drain off any excess fat, then, throw in the chopped celery, onion, and garlic and cook until the vegetables soften.
- Boil and simmer. Dump the rest of the homemade pasta sauce ingredients into the pot and bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat and let it simmer on the stove for 3 hours. 3 hours sounds like forever, but that’s how long it takes to make a rich, flavorful meat sauce. Just do what the Italians do, and fuhgetaboutit.
- Cook your noodles. Once the homemade spaghetti sauce has had time to simmer, all that’s left to do is boil the spaghetti noodles according to package instructions and dish it up!
What is the Secret to Good Spaghetti
This spaghetti recipe is so easy to make, but there are a few key tips that make it extra good:
- Salt your pasta water generously. You want your pasta to have flavor on its own, so don’t be shy—salt that water like the sea!
- While the easy homemade spaghetti sauce cooks low and slow for 3 hours, stir it occasionally. You don’t want anything sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning, adding a bitter flavor to the meat sauce.
- Serve this meat sauce with regular spaghetti noodles. It would be just as good served with any other twirly pasta, tortellini, ravioli, or even as a filler for lasagna.
- This homemade spaghetti recipe makes a lot so it’s great for serving to a crowd or a big family. If you’re making for two or a few, it makes excellent leftovers for lunch all week long, or divide the sauce into gallon freezer and save for later.
Can I Omit the Wine?
Technically, yes, but I highly recommend adding it to the homemade spaghetti sauce since it adds so much flavor. Remember: the alcohol cooks out of the sauce and is only a flavoring. However, if you’re out of wine or are opposed to using it, you can add ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar instead to add a little acid and umami.
The Difference Between Spaghetti Meat Sauce and Bolognese
Bolognese (a slow-cooked ragu from the Northern Italian city of Bologna) is a mixture of ground beef and/or pork, tenderized with milk and sautéed with soffrito (an essential flavor base of most Italian recipes, consisting of a mixture of onion, carrots, and celery). While it does have tomatoes, it’s not as saucy or tomato-forward as spaghetti and meat sauce. A traditional bolognese is more meat-forward, less tomato-heavy, richer, and more delicate in flavor than most spaghetti and meat sauce recipes. And in case you’re wondering, I love them both equally, don’t make me choose!
How to Reheat Spaghetti
If you wind up with leftovers from this homemade spaghetti recipe, you can easily reheat them the next day. I recommend reheating leftover spaghetti in a covered saucepan over medium-low heat. You may need to add a splash of beef broth to loosen up the pasta.
How to Freeze Meat Sauce
Freeze the homemade spaghetti sauce separately and then make fresh spaghetti noodles when you’re about to eat it. Defrost the sauce in the refrigerator for 1 day, or, add to a large pot, cover, and heat on medium to medium-low until thawed.
To make this spaghetti sauce for meal prep, freeze the sauce in gallon freezer bags. Lay them down flat so you can stack them flat or upright side by side in the freezer.
What to Serve with Spaghetti
We always serve this with a super crunchy iceberg salad tossed with sliced cucumbers and tomatoes and dressed in my favorite red wine vinaigrette and a few slices of buttery garlic bread. If you’re looking for a little bit more, here are a few recipe ideas to make your meal.
- Caesar Salad With Garlic Croutons
- Killer Garlic Rolls
- Easy 5-Minute Parmesan Zucchini
- Arugula Salad With Shaved Parmesan Three Ways
- The Best Caprese Salad (Plus A DIY Caprese Salad Bar)
- How To Make Classic Tiramisu
- Wine. Plenty of wine.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating on this recipe below and leave a comment, take a photo and tag me on Instagram with #foodiecrusheats.
My Mom’s Spaghetti and Meat Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 pound 85% lean ground beef
- 1 yellow onion , chopped
- 4 stalks celery , chopped
- 4 garlic cloves , minced or pressed
- 1 29- ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 29- ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 6- ounce can tomato paste
- 2 7- ounce cans sliced mushrooms
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 15- ounce can beef broth
- 4-6 whole cloves
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley or 4 teaspoons dried
- 1 teaspoon basil
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 pound dried spaghetti noodles
- grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a large heavy-bottomed stock pot over medium-high heat, cook the ground beef until browned, about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the rendered fat and add the meat back to the pot.
- Add the chopped onion, celery, and garlic and cook until the vegetables soften, about 5-7 more minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients (except the spaghetti noodles and Parmesan), stir, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to simmer, stir and cover with a lid, and cook for at least three hours on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.
- Cook the spaghetti according to the package directions in generously salted water. Drain and mix into the spaghetti sauce.
- Serve with grated or ground Parmesan cheese and chopped fresh parsley if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
More Italian Recipe Ideas
- Pasta Pomodoro Sauce — the authentic sauce I learned how to make in Italy!
- Linguine Con Vongole (Linguine With Clam Sauce)
- Easy Homemade Pesto Pasta Recipe
- Gnocchi With Pomodoro Sauce — a total time saver made with jarred sauce
- Crab Spaghetti With Lemon Gremolata
- How To Make Homemade Chicken Parmesan
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Made this last night and it was fantastic. Didn’t have any cloves so will have to make again to see what that adds, but it’s terrific without them. Simmered for three hours and the sauce was thick and rich! Been looking for a good meat sauce recipe for forever and now that search is over ;)
Thank you for sharing, Kevin. We’re so happy you enjoyed it! :)
I don’t know how to work with cloves it taste super strong. Probably a fail for us.
We’re sorry to hear this didn’t work for you, Cindy! Feel free to leave it out next time–it’s not for everyone.
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe. I just made it for dinner and we loved it! I used a tea strainer bag for the cloves, and it worked great. We will add this to our dinner rotation for sure!
Thanks for taking the time to try this and for leaving a comment, Margie. We’re so glad to hear you and your family loved it!
I had planned making saghetti when we visit my brother-in-laws family next month. I have never heard of putting cloves, carrots or celery in spaghetti, my mother always did put some pickle juice in it though. I will use this recipe with the cloves, carrots and celery – and think I will use some sausage too. The men in our families appreciate food, and are always willing to try new things so I am anticipating a positive response. Thanks for the ideas to make something a little different!!
Thanks, Susan—we hope you love it! Please do let us know what you think!
This is my family’s favorite meat sauce. Just love it!! We double the amount of meat just bc my guy likes it meaty. As a result I’m heavy handed with the spices. Sometime in the future I might add some Italian sausage along with the beef to switch it up. It really takes the 3 hours to bring out the flavors. I read some of the comments about fishing out the cloves. I think the cloves add so much to this recipe but it’s not fun if you bite into one. I was wondering if I first heated the beef broth with the cloves if that would impart enough of the clove flavor, though it might take a while for the clove flavor to incorporate into the broth. Your thoughts on this?
Hi Sally! Thank you for sharing, and we’re so happy you and your family love this! Hmm, we haven’t tried just steeping the cloves in the hot beef broth before, but think it’s worth a try. Maybe let them steep for just 15 or 20 minutes? If you try it, definitely let us know how it turns out!
Similar to my mom’s spaghetti sauce – except she’d cook hers all day. Makes such a difference.
Mom knows best! :)
I followed exactly what the recipe says but mind came out very watery..just didn’t look like spaghetti sauce to me..so not sure what went wrong.
Let is cook down – I cook mine for hours. Makes it nice and thick and really melds the flavors.
very cute looking spaghetti
I’ve never EVER made bolognese sauce from scratch in my life because A. I’m lazy B. Didn’t think I could whip up something truly magical with my current skills so I always added few extra ingredients to the bottled sauce and was happy with that. What a true eye opener this recipe is! Its truly easy and tastes absolutely phenomenon! Thank you for sharing your mums recipe and this has given me more confidence in the kitchen!!
I’m happy you enjoyed and it was a success!
We’re so happy you loved it, Duckie! thanks for giving it a try!
Smells and tastes superb so don’t think it will disappoint, although I’ll keep the cloves a secret, cause my wife’s not a fan!
I tried this recipe in a Dutch oven yesterday. Exactly as specified. I have been trying to find a dish like I used to eat and enjoy, and remember. And I’m still looking. What I found to be true, is that almost all spaghetti recipe’s seem to use the same ingredients, and they all are missing what I want, whatever that is.
And they all taste pretty much the same, as did this one. I’m glad so many people enjoyed it, but still not what I want. I’ll keep looking, or just give up. This was not great and not bad, so I’ll rate it in the middle.
try Worcestershire sauce! trust me….it’s the missing secret ingredient that u r searching for!
As I was reading through the recipe and the ingredients I began thinking to myself that with the addition of finely chopped Carrots this would make a very good meat part of a Cottage pie. Then I came to the Bolanaise/Spagetti Sauce bit.
This looks wonderful. I tend to Batch Cook, eat one portion and freeze the reaminder in portions. This is a great candidate. Thank you.
How would it turn out without beef broth, I brought some but it’s missing and still want to make it
Very flavorful but it came out too watery:/
I made this recipe exactly as posted so not sure what went working…
If you don’t have beef broth, try vegetable broth, chicken broth, or even water.
My family loved the spaghetti recipe but I added some things to it bell peppers Italian seasoning tomato basil sauce Garlic Salt tony’s seasoningI will be cooking this recipe again and I will be giving this recipe to many friends and family
Im sure its good but that much time and work ,I could do a pot roast. Guess I was looking for something easier. Keep up the good work and time. If I didn’t have a job, I’d be all over it…
I made this the other day and must say it was delicious! The cloves add a really nice spice to the sauce. I added 3 small carrots since I needed to use them up and it worked well! Thanks for the recipe!
Happy you enjoyed Ana!
Hi. Made this sauce last night. Not only does it tastes great But also smells delicious. I made in in a Dutch oven and did the three hours. I did not add mushrooms, not my favorite. Unlike a lot of comments, I am not too crazy about the cloves. The smell and taste not quite the smells of Italian food (oregano, garlic, etc) but next time I am not leaving them out but will use maybe 4 instead of the six? And see how that works. Can’t imagine leaving them totally out. Anyways, thanks for sharing it, it is truly great. My wife and son loved it.
So happy your family loved it Gus!
I love this recipe! My boyfriend keep asking me to remake it! I had to leave a review!! Best Recipe ever!
I’m glad you both enjoyed it!
Tried this and it is awesome! Thank you so much because I would have never thought of using cloves
Fixed this for my hubby tonight. He said that the recipe was a keeper. Forgot the wine and will try it with wine next time. I am not a pasta or italian food eater but enjoy making it since it is my husbands favorite.
Thanks for the recipe. Looking forward to trying more recipes.
So glad you and your hubby enjoyed it Lynne!
I love a good spaghetti so this one I’ll make for sure. I’m going to tie the cloves up in a little cheesecloth pouch to keep from breaking a filling though
This recipe looks soooo good, I can’t wait to try it! Can I use ground cloves, so I don’t have to “fish out” the whole cloves? If so, how much do you recommend?
Thanks!
Yes you definitely can! I would modify the amount to about 1/2
This looks so INVITING and DELICIOUS!! I am starving now! And the pictures are beautiful! Everything coated nicely, and the noodles so happy and twirly!
OMG! Your mother’s recipe is amazing! So I’ve been cooking spaghetti and every time I cook it it turns out worse than before This recipe makes spaghetti taste like it’s supposed to! Thank you for posting!
I am so glad you love it! Thanks Cassondra!
Cloves in spaghetti sauce wasn’t really a secret in our family. My Italian g/mother taught Mama how to make spaghetti sauce from scratch and I was always the only child peeking over Mama’s shoulder when she cooked. When I invited Mama for a visit (when I was 24 yo) and had homemade spaghetti sauce, she tasted it and looked surprised. She asked me how I knew she put cloves in the sauce, so I told her. ;)
That is so sweet! I love food related memories like this! Thanks for sharing.
Cloves, yes! I learned many years ago that cloves enhance any beef dish. They are great in pot roasts, beef stews, stroganofs, anything beef!
I love cloves too!
Very similar to mine. Replacing the ground beef with a mixture of ground sweet and mild or medium Italian sausage is another version. My husband taught me this
Great idea Mary. Sausage adds a bit more savory to the sauce. You could also do half sausage and half ground beef.
Love this recipe. I had friends for dinner tonight and everyone agreed best they had ever had. Had to use ground clove as I did not have whole on hand and turned out fantastic. Probably abou 1/2 teaspoon. Thanks so much for sharing.
This recipe is absolutely delicious and I LOVE that it makes a ton! Was able to feed my family and send some up to my mom who broke her arm so that she can enjoy!
Yay! I hope it becomes a family staple in your house like it is in ours.
I would suggest putting the cloves in a small piece of cheesecloth tied then will be easy to find. That is what I plan on doing because the recipe sounds fantastic
I have made this twice. The first time I forgot the salt!!!! So it wasn’t as good.
But this time I added everything except the wine and mushrooms. It was very good!!! But darn, finding those cloves at the end is HARD.
Yes it is haha! I am so glad you love this one!
I found this recipe last year on your web site and was so excited! Been craving my moms sauce recipe too! She made this almost exactly with a few changes: chopped garlic, chopped carrots (instead of sugar), chicken broth (but I’m trying beef next time as I’m positive it will leave a much richer flavor), lots of Italian seasoning and cooked it for a long time to make it more like a “gravy”. I always make large batches and freeze. Thanks so much for this! Yummy!
That sounds amazing. I like the idea of freezing too. ENjoy!
Can I use ground cloves?
You bet!
No Lisa, stick with the whole cloves. The flavor isn’t as heavy that way, and you can fish them out at the end of cooking.
This is quite similar to my moms recipe. The difference is she uses cream of mushroom and adds table spoon of flour. She still adds the can mushrooms and juice no red wine. Delicious! Trying your moms recipe tonight!
Oh wow Summer. Adding cream of mushroom sounds like it would make a creamy version, maybe more like a stroganoff.
So yummy! Thanks for giving this one a shot. How did it turn out?
I love this recipe… make as described except use fresh mushrooms not canned … have cooked 5 times now and double recipe so have plenty to freeze … really delicious thank you!!
So glad you like it Di, and yes, you can definitely use fresh mushrooms if you like.
Almost a replica of my mom’s. We add an extra onion, few pinches of sweet basil, a can (or two) of rotel spices it up real good. We use a large pot for 2 lbs of hamburger, a package of Johnsonville sweet Italian sausage, four 16 oz. cans of tomato sauce, four 8 oz cans of tomato paste and fill each of the tomato sauce cans halfway with water. We need the water because we go 5 to 6 hours. Yes, the celery is a must. So good who needs to add noodles.
I use three ground meats, veal, beef and pork. Never canned mushrooms. Fresh are much better and simple. No need for broth.
The Toscanna
Thanks for sharing, Marie!
I love mine with extra meat, so I add a pound of Jimmy Deans hot sausage, also would suggest using diced San Marzano Style Plum Tomatoes.
Hello! Do you drain the canned mushrooms, or just add the mushroom juice?
No, don’t drain the juice….just add it in with the mushrooms
Sara, I drain the juice but if you didn’t it wouldn’t hurt anything.
Wow… An excellent recipe! I did add peppers.Though I was hesitant about adding the gloves, I did. They are the magic ingredient, in my opinion. Thank you!
Nice Ed! Peppers would be tasty!
I’m making. It now smells yummy
Nothing like a simmering sauce to make the house smell awesome.
Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe! It’s the BEST sauce EVER!
So glad you agree Shelly!!
If you don’t put the spaghetti in the sauce, the left over sauce makes good manwhiches!
For sure JD. Or you could always make spaghetti tacos :) too
oh, SO good! I have never cooked with cloves before and wasn’t sure what to expect. WOW, do they add flavor! I doubled the recipe and used 1 lb ground hamburger and 1 lb ground sausage. Made for my new man friend – which his mom’s spaghetti is his favorite. Thanks for helping me into his heart :-)
Hi, any substitute for the wine? Would love to try this recipe but we really do not like wine and I know I will just make an epic fail choosing the right one for this recipe since I don’t drink at all.
Paulina, instead of wine, add 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar to add a little acid and umami. But also remember, the alcohol cooks out of the sauce and is only a flavoring.
Oh no!!!! I accidently did 1/2 cup!!!!
Have ground cloves in pantry. Will that work?
I was wondering the same if you should use whole or ground
Use whole cloves, not ground, then fish them out after.
No, use whole cloves instead.
Do you chop the mushrooms before cooking? Excited to try this one!!
Hi Morgan, no I don’t chop them, I just leave them sliced. I like the big mushroom bite.
I tried this recipe for your mom’s spaghetti sauce, and it was perfect ! I’m Italian and was taught many years ago how to make a good sauce. But over the busy years, it started not tasting so good, and it seemed okay to just buy a nice jar already prepared. But after reading your recipe which was very close to my mom’s, and being inspired to try again, now I’m hooked and loving it. Thank you for turning my “cooking” back on !!! This is a great recipe !
Love your site for recipes – your chicken Thai soup in the crockpot is one of our go-to recipes. Many people in our family suffer from reflux but still love to indulge in a good spaghetti sauce (like your recipe) from time to time. Unfortunately, tomato paste is a huge trigger for reflux. While I know it would give this recipe a lot of flavor, do you have any suggestions on how to tweak this recipe to avoid using tomato paste? Would love to hear your thoughts :)
This was very tasty but I found it to be a bit watery. Maybe an extra can of tomato paste or less broth/wine?
I just made this yesterday and mine too looked really watery at first! But I cooked it for the recommended 3 hours and with the lid slightly ajar and a lot of it evaporated/soaked in, creating a thicker sauce :)
You’re right Shauna, it cooks down to a rich sauce over time. The hardest part is not burning the roof of your mouth with all of the taste testing samples.
I’ll never forget my Mom’s spaghetti sauce the day I got my wisdom teeth out- I couldn’t resist- everyone was coming over for a party. I had the spaghetti sauce and it was so hot I burned the stitches right out – totally worth it tho- had to go back and get stitches the next day. Your sauce is same as my moms-including canned mushrooms
So glad you liked it Donna, and that it brought back memories even if they weren’t the best ones :)
Heidi, Delicous recipe! I used 5 cloves and I think my husband agrees with yours- I’ll use 4 next time. As with many red sauces, the flavor the next day was even better! My husband said he could eat it with a spoon like a chili. Thanks as always for sharing your family best!
I’m so glad he liked it Kristen! I’m with your husband on the eating it like chili part, it’s even great on leftover french bread like a sloppy joe!
Love your receipts Can you tell me a good red wine and white wine to cook with. Thank you
Thanks Jo. Really any decent cooking wine will do. I’ll often buy a good boxed wine to store in the cupboard so I can use just a bit at a time as needed. Then you don’t have to open a whole bottle, unless you’d like to. I tend to use chardonnay or sauv blanc for the whites and a blended red or Pinot noir for the reds. I feel like a cabernet is just a bit too robust for this recipe, but if it’s all you have, I’d rec’d using 3/4 cup instead.
Can I put this in the slow cooker after I do the meat on the stove first?
I haven’t made it in the slow cooker before Fransje, but I’m pretty sure you could. Let me know how it turns out if you do.
I came here to ask that!
I love that your mom measures the wine in the mushroom can… my mom does the same thing!!
Isn’t that funny! Glad to hear she has a sister-in-measuring-arms. :)
Is it possible for me to freeze the rest of the sauce?
HI Maria, absolutely! We do just that quite often!!
so many canned products. apart from tubed tomato paste and canned tomatoes as it is often hard to buy tomatoes ripe enough to cook on the day I use fresh ingredients..home made stock, tomato sauce, fresh mushrooms and fresh spaghetti…just lie mother used to make. Do approve of yous sisters use of stevia instead of cane sugar. s
This looks so INVITING and DELICIOUS!! I am starving now! And the pictures are beautiful! Everything coated nicely, and the noodles so happy and twirly!
I do not drink wine so i have no idea how to pick a good one. What wine do you use, like exactly ?
Hi Zila! The key to cooking with wine is to purchase one that is of the same quality you’d be willing to drink, but since you don’t drink that might be hard to tell. I’d say look for a bottle around $10 or so. I tend to use chardonnay or sauvignon blanc for the white wines because they’re what I like to drink, or a blended red or Pinot noir for red wine. You could also check to see if your store offers splits of wine so it doesn’t all go to waste.
We don’t care for mushrooms in my house. Anyone tried it without? I’m always on the hunt for a good sauce and have never found one that’s just right. I love making a bunch and freezing it. Makes crazy weeknights easier.
If you aren’t a fan of mushrooms, you can certainly leave them out :)
Looks so g ood, I I will try it soon. Love reading all your Mother’s ideas
! Thanks so much.
My daughter gave me a couple envelops of powdered mushrooms that she got at a farmers market and I am going to try using some of that powder when I make this sauce for my husbands brother and family’s visit in April. I think that you would not recognize the mushrooms as mushrooms that way, just an added bit of flavor.
This seriously looks like the best spaghetti recipe ever! Love the cloves – such a brilliant idea that I’m sure adds major flavor. Can’t wait to try this!
such a great site
So hungry for some of that yummy sauce. Thanks for the feature. It’s so easy to forget a prime ingredient when you make something so many times. It just shows it’s a favorite.
Still one of my all time favorites!! And yes- the cloves are definitely the stand out ingredient! I love it over zucchini noodles (zoodles) also.
We must be long-lost relatives, other than my mom’s spaghetti recipe, I’ve never seen anyone else use dried cloves! And of course canned mushrooms.
That is awesome to know there are “others” of us out there Kari! Where did you grow up? Maybe its a regional thing?
My ex-mother-in-law made fantastic spaghetti sauce. The family did not like onions, so she took a whole peeled onion and stuck a bunch of cloves in it, and cooked it submerged in the sauce. The cloves really added a nice flavor.
That’s a cool idea Robin. Then you can just fish out the onion at the end if you don’t like onions but like the flavor.
Your mom’s sauce is ALMOST identical to mine but I did pick up some ideas from yours – chopped celery and cloves. And, yes, it goes well on any pasta and super in lasagna. I would just omit the celery or chop it much finer or use ground seed – sparingly. Oh, lasagna – do not skimp on the cheese in the layers. Yum!! :-)
Dave! Isn’t it a great, solid recipe?!! You gotta try it with the cloves, and let me know what you think! Super good idea to chop the celery finer for lasagna, and yes, CHEESE! Always cheese! Thanks for the comment!
Aren’t Mom’s recipes the best? I did the same thing you did, I made my mom’s spaghetti and meatballs over and over and eventually it just didn’t taste the same anymore. A couple years ago I made her write it all down for me and now it’s perfect every time! This looks so good, we’re definitely going to try it! I bet the cloves give the whole sauce such a nice warmth.
Hahaha! I’m glad I’m not the only one Nicole. I swear, I thought I had it down since I’d made it so many dang times!!! XO
I’m making a 3lb beef version of this right now. I don’t F around. What has me was the cloves. My mom used to make it that way until my dad bit into a whole clove and it wrecked him. He was having dental issues and apparently it was very unpleasant. He banned cloves from the house. He still brings this up decades later.
I’m pretty sure the cloves mean cloves of garlic! LOL
no it is cloves and it is delicious in meat sauce and put on roasts ( beef and pork) just very little 1- 4 at the most. I can’t even think of gulash without cloves. I got that from my mother 50 years ago and she got it from hers !
Hello Heidi,
I’m planning to make your delicious spaghetti and meat sauce this coming week.
In order to not leave any cloves in the sauce, the hubby wouldn’t like to bite into one, could I use ground cloves? And if so could you tell me about how much?
Thank you for your wonderful recipes.
Hi Linda, I’ve never made it with ground cloves so I’m not sure how it would taste. Let me know if you try it and how it turns out.
I’m making. It now smells yummy
Ha, your poor dad. My husband gets on me too if there are a few too many cloves slipped into the sauce. But they do make this sauce extra special.
I tried your recipe and found it to be very good. I had to leave certain items out because my husband doesn’t eat mushrooms. I also used Italian seasoning which had your same ingredients except for the bay leaves. Instead of two tlbs of sugar I used 4. I didn’t do the 3 hours, but zi did let it simmer for 1 hour. Anyway, it was very delicious. I am printing this out and put it in my file. Had rolls and a salad with it
I never used cloves in my sauce until I tried this recipe. I made it just like the recipe the first time and it was great. Of course we all add our own twists to recipes, I add some Italian Sausage and throw in some Fennel Seeds now. But what a wonderful recipe. I had never put celery in my sauce before. I have this printed and make it up and freeze it for quick dinners when I’m too lazy to cook.