Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 10-18

Cuisine: Italian
Course: Main Course

Serve With: Pasta, Homemade Garlic Toast and Red Wine

Ingredients:

• 1 small to medium onion, diced
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon garlic-shallot puree (or 2 cloves of crushed garlic)
• 1 tablespoon dried basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 pound ground turkey (or beef)
• 1/3 cup sherry wine, optional
• Two (28 ounce) cans organic crushed tomatoes
• 15 ounces tomato sauce
• 6 ounces of tomato paste
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1 tablespoon sugar, to finish
• Parmesan shavings, fresh basil and homemade garlic toast

Directions:

This is the best spaghetti sauce recipe we've ever tried. In fact, this homemade spaghetti sauce is a staple in our home.

1. To begin this meat spaghetti sauce, heat a large stock pot over high heat. Pour in the extra virgin olive oil followed by the diced onion. Next, add the garlic-shallot puree or crushed garlic and stir to combine.
2. Next, add the dried basil and oregano leaves to the Italian spaghetti sauce. Crush with your fingers as you add the dried herbs. (You can certainly use fresh as well, but wait until later to add them.)
3. Stir this for about a minute until the onions soften, then add your ground turkey or beef. Break up the meat as you add it to the pot.
4. Continue to cook the meat all the way through, then add the sherry wine. Cook the wine off for about 1 minute.
5. Finally, add the crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce and tomato paste to this easy spaghetti sauce. Add the bay leaf, salt and white pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 1/2 hour, covered, over low heat.
6. After 30 minutes, you'll see the sauce is cooked down.
7. Before you serve, give it a little taste test. If it's still too acidic, add 1 tablespoon of sugar and stir well. You can a little more if needed.
8. Serve with parmesan shavings, fresh basil and homemade garlic toast.

Chef Jason's Notes: If you have any leftover sauce, you can easily freeze this for a future meal. This homemade spaghetti sauce is one of the most authentic spaghetti sauce recipes we've tried. This recipe uses ground turkey instead of beef, but vegetarians can omit the meat all together. You can also add mushrooms, pancetta, or your favorite ingredients to this sauce. For an Italian pink sauce, stir in a few tablespoons of heavy cream before serving.