Italian Sausage Sunday Sauce

5 from 19 votes

Make this Italian classic for a plate of Italian comfort and prove that everything is better homemade.

Course Main

Cuisine Italian

Keyword Italian Sausage recipe, Spaghetti in Sausage, Sunday Sauce

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 3

Total Time 3 20

Servings people

Calories 935

Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Pierce the sausages in several places with a fork (this keeps them from bursting when cooked) and add them to the saucepan.
Brown the sausages until they are a deep brown (being careful not to let them stick to the pan) Remove the sausages from the pan and set aside (disregarding all but 1 tablespoons of fat in the pan).
Heat one tablespoon of olive oil in the pan with the remaining fat from the sausage (if there was no leftover fat from the sausage, use two tablespoons of oil instead).
Add the onion and sauté over medium heat, stirring frequently until they start to look transparent (about 5 minutes).
Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
Add the crushed tomatoes and stir well to combine.
Add the herbs, and the browned sausage, and season with some salt and pepper. Stir to combine all the ingredients and bring the mixture to a boil.
As soon as the sauce comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 2-3 hours, stirring frequently to make sure the sauce doesn’t stick to the pan.
Taste the sauce before serving to make sure it doesn’t need more seasoning.
Bring a large pan of water to a boil and cook the spaghetti according to the package instructions being careful not to overcook.
Serve the sausage and sauce over spaghetti.

Follow the stovetop instructions through step 9. Then transfer to a slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours, stirring occasionally.
Taste the sauce before serving to make sure it doesn’t need more seasoning, season to taste, and serve over pasta.

Tips For The Perfect Spaghetti and Italian Sausage

Cook Slow and Low. The longer the sauce cooks, the better it tastes.
Don’t forget to stir! Be sure to stir your sauce every half hour or so to avoid sticking to the bottom of the pot.
During the cooking process, if the sauce looks too thick, add a 1/2 cup of water at a time until it’s your desired consistency.
If you like your sauce extra thick, you can add a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste to the sauce to thicken it.
If the sauce is too acidic you can add a teaspoon of sugar at a time to balance it out.
If the sauce tastes too sweet, you can add a teaspoon of red wine vinegar at a time (tasting in between) to cut the sweetness.
You can also cook this recipe in a slow cooker – Prepare on your stove up to the simmering step, and then throw everything into your slow cooker. Cook on low heat for up to 8 hours.