5. 15-Minute Meaty Marinara Sauce
Plain tomato spaghetti sauce is great, but we prefer a meal with a meaty sauce. Traditional Italian recipes require an even mix of beef, veal, and pork for the recipe.
We realize that some people may have an ethical issue with consuming veal – and that’s fine, eliminate it from the recipe and replace it with extra beef and ground pork to make up the difference, the meal with still taste terrific without the veal.
Don’t forget to visit your local butcher for top-quality meat for your recipe. The quality of the meat makes all the difference, so ensure you’re using grass-fed beef, pork, and veal.
If this sounds like your ideal Italian meal, then follow this recipe guide for the best spaghetti meat sauce you can make – in only 15-minutes. It’s the perfect meal for a busy weeknight when you’re feeling hungry, but you’re short on time to make an extravagant feast for the family.
The total preparation time for this meal is under 3-minutes, with the cooking time at 12-minutes, and the ingredients serve a family of four, with a little extra for seconds – because you’ll most likely want seconds of this tasty spaghetti and meat sauce.
INGREDIENTS
½-lb. Ground beef.
½-lb. Ground veal.
½-lb. Ground pork.
8-oz. Whole-wheat spaghetti.
2-tablespoons light olive oil for frying.
2-cloves minced garlic.
1-large onion – diced fine.
1-can peeled whole plum Serena tomatoes.
1-teaspoon raw honey.
1-teaspoon organic balsamic vinegar.
1-teaspoon chopped basil.
Crushed Himalayan pink salt.
Cracked black pepper.
METHOD
Place a saucepan over high heat and add 4-cups of water – bring to the boil. Add the pasta and reduce the heat to simmer for 12-minutes until al dente. It’s important to note at this stage that adding oil to the water won’t keep it from sticking together – so don’t bother with that right now.
When the spaghetti finishes cooking, drain with a colander, rinse with water to remove the starch, and set aside to steam dry.
Place a crockpot over medium-high heat and add the oil. When it starts to shimmer, add the onions and the garlic – sauté for 2-minutes until the onions turn translucent and the garlic becomes fragrant.
In a medium mixing bowl, blend the ground meats to achieve an even consistency of the beef, pork, and veal. Add it to the crockpot and cook for 5-minutes until it’s no longer pink. In a separate mixing bowl, add the tomatoes and crush with a potato masher. Reduce the heat to medium and add the crushed Serena tomatoes – simmer for 5-minutes.
For the final step, add the basil along with the honey and the balsamic vinegar – stir to combine and simmer for a minute. Add the pasta to the crockpot and toss to combine.