Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Ground beef simmered with crushed tomatoes, onion, and garlic over spaghetti — no heat, no frills.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
Heat oil in a wide skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it apart, until browned — about 8 minutes. Drain excess fat.
Add the onion. Cook 4 minutes until softened.
Add garlic, oregano, and basil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute.
Add the crushed tomatoes. Season with sugar, salt, and pepper. Stir to combine.
Reduce heat to low. Simmer uncovered 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions. Reserve 125 mL pasta water before draining.
If sauce is too thick, stir in a splash of pasta water. Serve sauce over drained spaghetti.
Medium ground beef at $19/kg is used here. Lean ground beef adds about $0.35 to the total — not worth it for a tomato sauce.
- 350 g of beef feeds four because the sauce volume stretches with the tomatoes. Do not reduce the tomato amount.
- This sauce freezes well. Double the sauce batch while the pasta pot is going and freeze half.
Estimated values per serving.
This recipe can be made gluten-free with substitutions.
- Replace spaghetti with gluten-free pasta (same weight) (GF pasta costs roughly $3–4 more; pushes recipe near budget limit)
The meat sauce itself is naturally gluten-free. Serve over rice instead of pasta to keep costs down.