This is the spaghetti sauce recipe my Mom has always made for us. We always laugh because in our family cookbook, it’s called “Spicy Spaghetti” but there’s really nothing spicy about it! So, we’ll just call it Spaghetti. This spaghetti sauce happens to be Whole 30 compliant and it’s delicious over carrot or zucchini noodles. I serve it over organic, whole wheat noodles for my kids, but I often make carrot noodles for myself. However, my children will not be fooled by any sort of creative name for the carrot noodles – they know pasta isn’t orange and no non-carb alternative is acceptable. The great thing about this sauce is everyone can eat it on whatever they want. Side note – I buy the carrot noodles in the freezer section from Trader Joes. Means very limited work for me, which leaves me no excuse to not go the healthy, Whole 30 compliant route. I actually prefer carrot noodles over zucchini noodles. I think the texture is more similar to real pasta and they don’t water down the sauce like zucchini noodles can.
I keep jars of this spice mix already mixed up in my pantry, right next to the cans of tomato sauce. It makes a quick weeknight meal. This sauce also freezes very well – just thaw and reheat in a sauce pan.
This recipe is so simple and takes just a few ingredients – tomato sauce, spices, onion, and ground beef. I get ground beef from Trader Joe’s or Butcher Box. I always buy organic, 100% grass fed beef. I suppose that’s a debate for another day, but over the last year, I’ve really learned a lot about the importance of 100% grass fed and eating organic whenever possible. Trader Joe’s has great prices for 100% grass fed organic beef!
To start, add the onion and ground beef to a sauce pan.
Once the beef is cooked through, drain the grease. Then add the tomato sauce and spices.
Stir to combine and let the sauce simmer on the stove for up to a couple hours. If you don’t have time to let it simmer, that’s okay. Just let it go while the noodles cook and you’ll be fine.
I like to serve this meal with my Parmesan and Roasted Garlic Bread and Apple Kale Salad (pictured above).
Spaghetti
Ingredients
1 lb ground beef
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 15-oz cans tomato sauce
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried oregano
Sprinkle of dried parsley
1/2 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp marjoram
1 lb spaghetti noodles, cooked and drained
Instructions
In a saucepan, brown the ground beef with the onion. Drain the grease. Add 2 cans tomato sauce. Add 1/2 can water. Add the spices and stir to combine. Let the sauce simmer, up to a couple hours if time allows. (If not, serve right away). Serve over spaghetti noodles.