Spaghetti Bolognese Sauce (Beef and Italian Sausage)

Submitted by Pokey in San Antonio

"I've been working on this recipe for years--tweaking and fussing, and I believe it is about ready. My family and friends love it. I also use it as meat sauce filling for lasagna."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 30mins
• Ingredients: 22
• Serves: 6-8

ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb link Italian sausage
• 3 (8 ounce) cans tomato sauce
• 2 (8 ounce) cans tomato paste
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes (drained)
• 1 1⁄2 cups onions (diced)
• 1 cup bell pepper (diced)
• 1 cup mushroom (sliced)
• 1 cup red wine
• 3 garlic cloves (minced)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 -2 tablespoon sugar
• 3 teaspoons basil
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons marjoram (dried)
• 2 teaspoons thyme
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons mozzarella cheese (grated)
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (grated)
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon water

directions

1. Brown ground beef, season to taste with salt and pepper, drain and set aside.
2. Cut link sausage up into meatball size pieces, brown, drain, and set aside. I use Thomasville Hot. If making sauce for lasagna, remove sausage from casings and brown with the ground beef.
3. Sauté garlic, onion, and bell pepper in olive oil, just until the onions are translucent.
4. Add meat, tomato sauce, tomato paste, diced tomatoes, herbs and spices, mushrooms, sugar, and wine. I use fresh mushrooms, and a red burgandy for a deeper earthy flavor. Omit mushrooms if making sauce for lasagna.
5. Simmer on medium low for at least one hour, stirring occasionally.
6. When ready to serve, mix corn starch with water and add to sauce, along with both cheeses to thicken.
7. When cheese is incorporated, and sauce has thickened, serve over your choice of pasta or use as a meat filling for lasagna.

Reviews

[Kelly-Mom2Girls]

Subbed smoked sausage for the italian sausage, canned mushrooms for fresh and added 3 shredded carrots. Absolutely the best "homemade" spaghetti sauce I've ever made. Thanks!

 

[duluth26ga]

This sauce is a near perfect recipe. You usually end up having to tweak other recipes a bit, but I followed all the measurements exactly and after simmering for a half hour found that it didn't need anything AT ALL. It was perfectly seasoned and wasn't overpowering in any way. I used white wine instead of red and canned mushrooms instead of fresh. I also added 2 tablespoons of butter and 1/3 cup of the water that I boiled the pasta in at the end. The only thing I would do different the next time around is add some diced carrots and red pepper flakes for more of a kick. I've tried SO many different bolognese recipes over the years and have finally found "the one". Thank you so much!

 

[heatherhopecs]

Great recipe! I used turkey italian sausage to cut the fat content a bit. The result of this recipe is a thick, rich sauce that is wonderful on a hearty pasta like penne or linguine. The flavors are very complex yet not overpowering. I served this dish to a large potluck crowd and several people asked for the recipe. Someone even emailed me for the recipe months after the potluck, stating she was craving the sauce and wanted to make it... guess it is a memorable dish!

 

[jcvalenti]

Fabulous recipe. I make a lot of sauces, but I was looking for a heavy meat sauce to use up some leftover sausage and ground beef in the fridge. Found this recipe and am glad I did. Only change was using crushed San Marzano in place of diced tomatoes (didn't have any). This is a perfect rich sauce for a winter weeknight.

 

[NNChick]

I joined food.com just to post to you! Your recipe is so close to mine I couldn't believe it! I have been perfecting this recipe all my adult life! <br/><br/>I use both bell and sweet red peppers, more oregano, some red hot pepper flakes which gives it a subtle bite to it.... I also find that the cheap red merlots do really well with this variation of spices.. no need to spend a lot of $$ on the wine for cooking (I know the great chefs argue that)... <br/><br/>I just made it this morning and added the cheese and cornstarch to the sauce.. that I had never done before.. and it came out wonderfully!