Southern Spaghetti Sauce
20m prep 4h cook 4h ready
A rich, slow-simmered spaghetti sauce made with a variety of canned tomatoes, vegetables, and a touch of butter for richness. Serve over spaghetti with Parmesan cheese.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion diced
- 2 large green bell peppers cored, seeded, and diced
- 8 oz button or cremini mushrooms sliced
- 6 clove garlic smashed
- 3 tsp kosher salt divided
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper divided
- 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 3/4 cup dry red wine
- 3 tbsp sugar
- 1 can petite diced tomatoes
- 1 can whole peeled tomatoes
- 1 can crushed tomatoes
- 1 can tomato sauce
- 1 can tomato paste
- 1 oz whole basil leaves roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter
- 1 lb spaghetti noodles
- Freshly grated Parmesan for garnish
Nutrition (per serving, estimated)
Estimated based off 17 of 21 identified ingredients (per 100 g food data, scaled by amount).
Vitamins & minerals
- Calcium: 408 mg
- Iron: 6.69 mg
- Magnesium: 108 mg
- Phosphorus: 497 mg
- Potassium: 1413 mg
- Zinc: 3.52 mg
Let's Cook
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Step 1.
In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, heat the ¼ cup olive oil until shimmering. Add the diced onion and sauté until translucent, 5 to 6 minutes.
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Step 2.
Add the diced bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, smashed garlic, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Sauté until the peppers and mushrooms start to soften, 5 to 6 minutes more.
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Step 3.
Add the bay leaves, Italian seasoning, 1 teaspoon black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Sauté for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
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Step 4.
Pour in the ¾ cup dry red wine and sauté until the wine has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
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Step 5.
Add the sugar, all canned tomatoes (including the juice), tomato sauce, tomato paste, chopped basil, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1 teaspoon black pepper. Rinse each empty tomato can with a bit of water (about 1 cup total) and add that 'tomato water' to the pot. Stir to combine.
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Step 6.
Bring the sauce to a boil, then cover the pot halfway and reduce the heat to low. Gently simmer for 3 to 4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes or so. The sauce should be thick and rich.
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Step 7.
Just before serving, add the ½ cup unsalted butter to the sauce and stir until melted and incorporated.
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Step 8.
While the sauce simmers or after it's done, cook the spaghetti according to package directions until al dente. Drain well.
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Step 9.
Serve 1 cup cooked spaghetti with ¾ cup sauce. Top each serving with 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan.
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