Homemade Meat Sauce (Slow-Simmered)

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This slow-simmered homemade meat sauce is rich and hearty, with tender beef, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and Italian herbs.

There’s something wonderful about a big pot of homemade meat sauce simmering on the stove for hours. The house smells amazing, dinner is practically taking care of itself, and when you’re finished you have enough sauce for tonight’s meal—and hopefully plenty left to tuck into the freezer.

This particular sauce came about because I had some beef stew meat that needed to be used. Instead of turning it into another pot of beef stew or gravy, I decided to brown it and let it simmer for hours in a homemade tomato sauce.

What a great decision that turned out to be!

Homemade Sauce. . .The Perfect Comfort Food!

The beef became incredibly tender and soft without completely shredding apart. There are still little bites of beef throughout the finished sauce, but they practically melt in your mouth.

And surprisingly, one of the stars of this recipe is the onion. A whole diced onion goes into the pot, and after that long, slow simmer, it cooks right into the tomatoes. Add plenty of garlic, Italian herbs, tomato paste, and beef broth, and you end up with a thick, rich sauce that tastes like it has been cooking all day—because it has!

This isn’t meant to be an authentic Italian Sunday gravy. It’s simply a really good, hearty homemade meat sauce that can be used in all sorts of ways.

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Ingredients

You will find a full printable recipe card at the bottom of this post but here's a quick peek at what you're going to need to make this delicious homemade pasta sauce. These are such simple ingredients. You might already have most of them in your pantry or refrigerator.

• 1½ pounds beef stew meat
• 1–2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes with basil
• 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can beef broth
• Refrigerated Italian herb seasoning, to taste
• Salt, to taste
• Black pepper, to taste

A Note About the Italian Seasoning

I used a refrigerated Italian herb seasoning for this batch, but there’s absolutely no need to buy a special product just to make this recipe. Use whatever Italian herbs you normally keep on hand. Dried Italian seasoning works beautifully, or you can use a combination of basil, oregano, parsley, and other herbs you enjoy. This is the kind of sauce that welcomes a little improvisation.

How to Make Slow-Simmered Homemade Meat Sauce

Step 1: Brown the Beef

Add the olive oil to a large Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat.

Add the stew meat and brown it well on all sides. You don’t need to cook the meat completely through at this point. You’re simply building that first layer of flavor.

Step 2: Cut the Meat into Smaller Pieces

Once the meat has browned, cut any large pieces into smaller, bite-sized chunks.

This is important because we aren’t making beef stew. We want small pieces of tender beef distributed throughout the finished pasta sauce.

Step 3: Add the Onion

Add the diced onion to the pot and allow it to cook until it begins to soften.

Don’t be tempted to cut back too much on the onion. During the long simmer, it will soften tremendously and cook right into the tomatoes.

By the time the sauce is finished, you won’t feel like you’re eating chunks of onion. Instead, that onion adds wonderful savory sweetness and depth to the entire sauce.

Step 4: Add the Garlic

Stir in about 2 tablespoons of minced garlic and cook briefly until fragrant.

If you’re a garlic lover, feel free to adjust the amount to suit your taste.

Step 5: Build the Sauce

Add both cans of crushed tomatoes, the tomato paste, and beef broth.

Stir well, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.

Add your Italian herbs, salt, and black pepper.

Step 6: Let It Simmer

Bring everything to a gentle simmer, then reduce the heat to low.

Now comes the easy part.

Let the sauce simmer for at least 2–3 hours, stirring periodically.

You want a gentle simmer rather than a hard boil. The tomatoes will slowly reduce, the onion will cook into the sauce, and the beef will become increasingly tender.

If you have the time, you can let it cook even longer.

Step 7: Taste and Adjust

As you get closer to serving time, taste the sauce and adjust the seasonings.

Add more Italian herbs, garlic, salt, or pepper if needed.

The finished sauce should be thick and rich, and the beef should be extremely tender. The pieces of meat don’t need to completely shred apart. In fact, I loved that mine remained intact enough to give me tender little bites of beef throughout the sauce.

Why Use Stew Meat in Pasta Sauce?

This may not be the first meat you think of when you’re making homemade pasta sauce, but it works beautifully. Stew meat is designed for long, slow cooking. Give those tougher pieces of beef plenty of time in a simmering tomato sauce and they gradually become soft and tender.

It also creates a very different texture from a traditional ground beef sauce. Instead of tiny crumbles of beef, you get small, tender pieces of meat nestled throughout the tomatoes. The beef also adds flavor to the sauce itself as it cooks.

And if you happen to find a package of stew meat hiding in the freezer? Now you know you don’t necessarily have to make stew with it!

The Secret Ingredient Might Be the Onion

Okay, onion isn't exactly a secret ingredient.

But I think it deserves special mention in this recipe.

I used a whole large yellow onion, diced fairly small. After several hours of simmering, that onion had cooked right into the sauce.

That long-cooked onion gives the tomatoes a wonderful savory sweetness and adds another layer of flavor without making the finished sauce taste overwhelmingly like onion.

Between the onion, garlic, herbs, beef, and tomatoes, this is one of those recipes where simple ingredients become something much greater after spending a few hours together.

Ways to Use Homemade Meat Sauce

This is exactly why I like making a big batch instead of enough sauce for a single dinner.

Once you have homemade meat sauce in the refrigerator or freezer, you’ve got the beginnings of all sorts of meals.

Try it:

• Spooned over spaghetti, rigatoni, penne, or your favorite pasta
• With cheese tortellini or ravioli
• Layered into a cheesy tortellini bake
• In baked ziti
• In lasagna
• Over breaded chicken with mozzarella and Parmesan for an easy chicken Parmesan
• With homemade or frozen meatballs
• With stuffed shells
• In a pasta casserole
• Spooned over garlic bread for an easy open-faced meal
• Anywhere you would ordinarily reach for a jar of pasta sauce

One batch of sauce can become several completely different dinners.

Make It Once, Eat It Later

This is one of my favorite kinds of recipes because I don't have to eat the same meal for days just because I made a big pot.

Use what you need for dinner and freeze the rest.

Allow the sauce to cool completely before transferring it to freezer-safe containers or bags. I like the idea of freezing it in meal-sized portions rather than one enormous container. That way you can thaw exactly what you need.

For best quality, use frozen meat sauce within about three months.

Thaw it overnight in the refrigerator and reheat it gently on the stove. If it has thickened considerably, add a splash of water or beef broth while reheating.

Frequently Asked Questions

What to Serve with Homemade Meat Sauce

Of course, pasta is the obvious answer.

But add some garlic bread or focaccia and a simple salad and you’ve got a hearty family dinner.

You can also use this sauce to turn breaded chicken (like our DIY Shake-and-Bake) into a quick chicken Parmesan. Crisp the chicken first, spoon the warm sauce over the top, add mozzarella or Parmesan, and let the cheese melt.

And if you have cheese tortellini on hand, layer it with this sauce and plenty of cheese for a simple baked tortellini casserole.

Once this sauce is in the freezer, dinner suddenly gets a whole lot easier.

Thanks for Stopping By!

If you make this delicious slow-simmered sauce and love it please let us know in the comments. We would love it if you would leave a review. And before you go, please pin some pictures to your Pinterest boards!

About the Cook

Janice Thompson is a Texas baker, home cook, and recipe developer who believes some of the best recipes come from looking at what you already have and figuring out something delicious to do with it. At Backyard Texas Grill, she shares hearty family meals, Southern comfort food, grilling favorites, and practical recipes designed for real home kitchens.

This slow-simmered homemade meat sauce started with a package of stew meat that needed to be used. After a few hours with tomatoes, onion, garlic, and herbs, it turned into a sauce worth making again on purpose.