Site icon Candy Jar Chronicles

The Best Almost Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

The Best Almost Homemade Spaghetti Sauce is pure comfort. Loaded with vegetables and layers of spices, this sauce will fill your kitchen with the most inviting aroma. It's close your eyes and inhale worthy. Give this a try tonight, it'll be love at first bite.

The Best Almost Homemade Spaghetti Sauce is pure comfort. Loaded with vegetables and layers of spices, this sauce will fill your kitchen with the most inviting aroma. It's close your eyes and inhale worthy. Give this a try tonight, it'll be love at first bite.There are those dishes, the ones where you can tell what’s cooking as soon as you walk through the door; chocolate chip cookies, thanksgiving turkey, and this Best Almost Homemade Spaghetti Sauce. This is the spaghetti sauce I grew up on, the sauce I’ll pass on to my boys. It’s the spaghetti sauce that my mother-in-law couldn’t refused based on the aroma alone.

This sauce is my secret weapon when I feel the need to bring out the culinary big guns. It’s a semi homemade or almost homemade sauce. Yes, it uses store-bought jarred spaghetti sauce, but in defence of those jars, cthey are lifesavers for busy moms. And with this recipe no one will think it came from a jar, I promise.

I like a thick spaghetti sauce, rich in vegetables and flavour. This sauce packs loads of vegetables; onions, peppers, celery, tomatoes, and mushrooms, which I cut super small to hide from my husband who has a major hate for the tasty morsels! What he doesn’t know, won’t hurt him. On top of the vegetables is a power house of spices that take this almost homemade sauce to the next level!

A Secret Ingredient

Now, there’s one unusual spice in the mix but that spice pushes this sauce over the top. Cinnamon, it’s cinnamon! I know it sounds odd, seriously though, give it a whirl, expand that palette!

According to my father, who to cooks to impress (and this sauce is impressive), it’s a true Italian secret. It was passed on to my dad by a family friend, who still has an Italian accent after decades of living in Canada. Whether this is true, I’m not sure, but it’s the story I’ve always been told, and am passing it along to you. In all my Pinterest use, I’ve never come across a spaghetti sauce that contains cinnamon, but I guarantee you’ll enjoy its addition here!

Generally, I’ll make this on a weekend so I can let it simmer all afternoon, but I have started it after getting home from work and served it after an hour or so. I do love the idea of days of the week for specific meals; meatless Monday’s, taco Tuesday’s, spaghetti Sundays. I would happily devote Sundays to this spaghetti sauce.

One little thing before I get to the recipe. A warning if you will. Be prepared for your home to smell like pure comfort. I mean it, this sauce  will fill your kitchen with the most inviting aroma. This sauce is close your eyes and inhale worthy. It’s so good.

Ok, time for the recipe so you can try it for yourself.


If you love this Best Almost Homemade Spaghetti Sauce, check out these other delicious side dish recipes, I’m sure they’ll hit the spot:


If you get a chance to make this or any other recipe on the blog and want to share. Please feel free to tag @candyjarchronicles or use #candyjarchronicles on Instagram, so I can see your post. I’d love to see what you’re cooking in your kitchen!

Want more?  Subscribe to Candy Jar Chronicles to be amongst the first to know about new content, delivered right into your inbox! To subscribe please enter your email in the subscription box located on the right hand side of this page and press subscribe.

4.67 from 6 votes
Print

The Best Almost Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Start with a jar of store-bought sauce, add ground beef, select veggies and a surprising spice and this spaghetti sauce becomes impressive. No one will know it started from a jar.

Course Main Course
Cuisine American, Italian
Keyword almost homemade, Italian, jarred, meat sauce, secret ingredient, spaghetti sauce, store-bought, vegetables
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 45 minutes
Servings 8 servings

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 lb ground beef browned
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 2 stalks celery chopped
  • 1 green pepper chopped
  • 4 oz mushrooms finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
  • 24 oz jarred spaghetti sauce I use Prego, but your favourite should work
  • 1.5 cups water
  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 tbsp oregano
  • 1 tbsp basil
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp salt and more to taste
  • 1 tbsp sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

  1. In a dutch over or large sauce pan over medium heat brown ground beef.

  2. Stir in vegetables and cook until softened, about 10-12 minutes.

  3. Add tomatoes, jarred spaghetti sauce, water, butter and spices, stir until mixed and cover

  4. Reduce heat to low and let simmer for an hour or more, stirring regularly.

  5. Serve over spaghetti or your favourite pasta.

Exit mobile version