Semi-Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

Updated on June 12, 2024

Semi-Homemade Spaghetti Sauce. Make this delicious recipe for spaghetti sauce to serve over your favorite pasta. It tastes homemade but is easier to make.

Many years ago, I thought it would be fun to make spaghetti sauce from scratch. It was so difficult and I could never get it to taste very good. So, I took the original recipe and altered it to make my spaghetti sauce semi-homemade. I still use about a half a jar of store-bought sauce, but the rest of the recipe is from scratch. And it is completely delicious!

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• Onion
• Garlic cloves
• Vegetables – mushrooms, peppers, etc (optional)
• Sausage
• Tomato paste
• Tomato sauce
• Store bought spaghetti sauce
• Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper
• Sugar (optional)

Start by heating about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch Oven over medium-high heat. Chop 1/4 cup onions and 4 – 6 cloves of garlic. (We like a super garlic-y sauce, but you can definitely add less if you don’t like garlic as much.)

Cook the onions and garlic in the oil until softened. 

Note: This is the time to add any extra vegetables to the sauce you may want. Good add-ins are fresh mushrooms, green pepper, or red peppers.

I always use Johnsonville sausage. Our favorite is the sweet variety, but you can also get it in a mild or hot variety. I use the sausage links, but you can also use the ground sausage variety.

If using sausage links, I always remove the casings. Using a small, sharp knife, cut into the casing the length of the sausage, and peel the casing off.

I then chop each one into five pieces. These end up being like little meatballs in the sauce.

Add the chopped sausage pieces to the onion and garlic. Cook sausage until no pink remains – about 7 – 10 minutes.

Add 1 can diced tomatoes with juice, 1 can tomato paste and 1 can tomato sauce. Then add half a jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce. My favorite is Ragu Garden Combination.

Add 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Add salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine.

Note: I always add about 2 teaspoons of sugar to my sauce. This helps to cut down on the acidity of the tomatoes. This step is completely optional.

Heat until the sauce is boiling.

Reduce heat to a simmer, place the lid on the pot, and cook for 10 – 15 minutes.

Serve over your favorite pasta.

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Semi-Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

A simpler way to make spaghetti sauce that tastes like homemade, but is much easier.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 onions, chopped
• 4 – 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup add-ins – mushrooms, green peppers, red peppers, etc. (optional)
• 1 lb sausage links or ground sausage
• 6 oz. tomato paste
• 8 oz. tomato sauce
• 14.5 oz. canned diced tomatoes, with juice
• 12 ounces store bought spaghetti sauce, 1/2 jar
• 1 tsp Italian seasoning
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 – 2 tsp sugar optional

Instructions

1. Start by heating about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pot or Dutch Oven over medium-high heat.
2. Cook the onions and garlic in the oil until softened.
3. Add any extra vegetables to the sauce, if you want and cook until softened.
4. If using sausage links, remove the casings. Chop each one into five pieces.
5. Add the chopped sausage pieces (or ground sausage) to the onion and garlic. Cook sausage until no pink remains – about 7 – 10 minutes.
6. Add chopped tomatoes with juice, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and store bought spaghetti sauce.
7. Add italian seasoning, salt and pepper to taste., and sugar (optional). Stir to combine.
8. Heat until the sauce comes to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, place the lid on the pot, and cook for 10 – 15 minutes.
9. Serve over your favorite pasta.

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