Grandma’s Sunday Sauce: The Perfect Meat Sauce for any Pasta Dish

SAUCE, MEAT SAUCE, PASTA SAUCE

Grandma’s Sunday Sauce

This authentic Sunday sauce comes straight from my grandmother’s kitchen in Puglia, Italy. A true all-day simmered meat sauce, this recipe is rich, flavorful, and deeply comforting.

One of her secrets? Adding bones from meals throughout the week creates a depth of flavor that’s both hearty and distinct. The result is a sauce that instantly brings back memories of overflowing pasta dishes and family gatherings.

You can make this in a Dutch oven or slow cooker, but for the best flavor, let it sit overnight before serving. This allows the sauce to develop even richer, deeper flavors, making it even more delicious the next day.

Serve over pasta with plenty of Parmesan and fresh bread—because no drop of this sauce should go to waste!

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 1/2 pounds hot Italian sausage links with casing removed

  • 1 pound organic ground meat

  • 1 6 ounce bone in pork chop cut length wise and with bone

  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste

  • 2 teaspoons dried Italian herb mix

  • 6 cloves garlic smashed and chopped

  • 6 sun-dried tomatoes, preferably not oil-packed

  • Three 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes

  • 2 large onions, chopped

  • 4 bay leafs

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

  • In a Dutch Oven cook the ground beef just until it is no longer pink making sure you break it up into little pieces. Remove the meat and set aside and drain the pain.

  • Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in the pan and sauté the sausage and the pork until just cooked. Remove and set aside. Do not remove the oil.

  • Cook the onions in the oil from the sausage and cook until translucent. Add salt and pepper and cook the garlic until fragrant. Add the tomato paste, the herbs and bay leaves and cook for three minutes.

  • If you are using the Dutch Oven to finish the sauce you can add the three cans of tomatoes and all the meat. Cover and cook over a low heat for four hours - the sauce should barely break a bubble. You want it to cook but not to burn.

  • If you are cooking in a slow cooker add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and place on slow cook for ten hours.

  • Allow to thoroughly cool before refrigerating. This is a lot of sauce and you could freeze half.

  • To serve, heat gently in a saucepan until hot. Serve with either Bucatini, large shells or large ziti. You can also use this sauce as a basis for a lasagna.

  • Sprinkle generously with Parmesan cheese.

Honestly, this is is the type of recipe that is so simple but somehow tastes as though your Italian uncle has been slaving away for days to make you a century old family recipe. That’s how good it is. There aren’t many ingredients and it’s so simple - it just take time and attention. We can’t explain how decadent and flavourful and absurdly mouthwatering this turned out and you just have to make it!!!

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RECIPES, FOOD, EAT PREETYSuzanne MooreSauce, Black Pepper, MeatComment