Super Simple and Fast Spaghetti Sauce

I am not exaggerating when I say that I make this super simple and fast spaghetti sauce once per week. My 2-year-old, almost 1-year-old, and my husband love this and always request it. Willa calls it ba-shetty and I hope that never changes. Plus, at 2 years into this whole parenting thing, I don’t even flinch when it comes to kids eating red sauce anymore. That’s what baths are for, am I right?

This sauce is easy enough to make on a really busy weeknight. It’s mostly pantry ingredients, but you can definitely substitute fresh if you have it on hand. I’ll cover that later in the post. Plus, the sauce is pretty forgiving and you can be pretty creative with it. Add your own twist. Try some different spices. My husband likes Sriracha in his ba-shetty. I think he’s a lunatic, but who am I to judge?

Ingredients

1 to 1.5 lbs. lean ground beef
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried parsley
28 oz. can tomato puree
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper to taste
12 oz. pasta of your choice

How to Make Fast Spaghetti Sauce

1. Start by getting your beef cooking in a large skillet on medium-high heat. I use lean ground beef because it removes the step of draining it. But you could absolutely use regular ground beef and drain some of the fat off.
2. I add my garlic and onion powder, salt, and pepper to the ground beef to flavor it while it’s cooking.
3. Cook until the meat is no longer pink and starts to have some little brown bits. This will take about 5-8 minutes.
4. Pour in your tomato puree. I use puree because, again, it’s the best option for fast spaghetti sauce. You don’t have to wait for tomatoes to cook down. They’re already nice and smooth.
5. Add in your dried oregano and parsley. Stir in your Worcestershire sauce and let this simmer on low while you cook your pasta.
6. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. For an even quicker meal, you can use prepared fresh pasta from the refrigerator section at your grocery store. This pasta usually only takes about 3 minutes to cook.
7. We use spaghetti or penne most often. But you can even use elbow macaroni or broken-up lasagna noodles.
8. Serve the sauce over hot pasta. Or if you’re using smaller pasta like penne or macaroni, you can mix the sauce and pasta up in the pan, which my toddler loves.
9. Serve it up hot and with a bib!

Helpful Cooking Tools

For this recipe, here are a few tools that might be helpful. They aren’t necessary, use what you have on hand. But I use these regularly when I make this.

Ground meat chopper: I ordered one of these from Pampered Chef through a neighbor’s online party and am OBSESSED with it. I thought a wooden spoon did the trick, but one of these ground meat choppers really breaks down the meat so you have it perfectly dispersed throughout your sauce. Here is one I found on Amazon for $9.99.

Skillet with a lid: I love a lidded skillet for this sauce recipe. While it’s simmering, it can bubble and cause a mess. So keeping a lid on it helps keep your kitchen (and shirt) clean.

Pasta pot: A big pasta pot allows your noodles to cook evenly and quickly because they have all the room they need.

Colander: I like to use metal colanders with feet when I drain my pasta. I feel like the metal withstands the heat and the feet help it to drain quickly even if my sink is draining slowly.

How to Thaw Ground Beef Fast

The easiest and quickest way to thaw ground beef fast is by using the defrost setting in your microwave. Remove all packaging and place the frozen beef on a microwave-safe plate. Use the defrost setting for the correct weight of your ground beef and your beef will be defrosted in just a few minutes. Cook the ground beef immediately after defrosting.

If you have time to let the ground beef thaw overnight in the refrigerator that also works, but takes 12-24 hours. 

A third option is to place the ground beef (still in packaging) in a bowl of cold water. Replace the water every 30 minutes and the beef will thaw within 1-2 hours.

Using Fresh Ingredients in Fast Spaghetti Sauce

If you’ve got fresh ingredients on hand, by all means, toss them in! Here are some fresh substitutions for my fast spaghetti sauce.

• Use a small sweet onion instead of onion powder. Mince it and cook for 2 minutes before adding your ground beef to the skillet.
• Use 1-2 cloves of garlic instead of the garlic powder. Grate them into your ground beef just as it’s finishing up.
• Use fresh herbs. You can use fresh parsley or add some fresh basil. I would finely chop these and add them to the sauce just 1-2 minutes before serving. Top with some extra for color!
• You can use fresh tomatoes, but that will take the “fast” out of this recipe. They would need to be cooked down and peeled. I never have time for that. For a recipe using fresh tomatoes, try this one!

How to Freeze Fast Spaghetti Sauce

I like to make big batches and freeze some of this fast spaghetti sauce for later. After your sauce is finished, just let it cool completely. Pour it into freezer-safe zip-top bags and squeeze all the air out. Find a place it can lay flat in your freezer until it is frozen. Once it’s frozen, it will be a thin brick of frozen sauce that can easily be stored anywhere in your freezer.

More Weeknight Pasta Recipes

Here are some more pasta recipes I think you might enjoy!

1. Easy Homemade Mac & Cheese

2. One Pan Creamy Garlic Parmesan Shells

3. Penne with Vodka Sauce and Prosciutto

4. Simple Spaghetti Carbonara