Meat Lasagna Tomato Sauce (From Scratch!)

Name: Meat Lasagna Tomato Sauce (From Scratch!)
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 120 min
Total time: 135 min
Ingredients: 2 lbs ground beef (90% to 95% lean); 52 ounces canned strained tomatoes (also known as passata); 1 large onion (finely diced); 2 medium carrots (finely diced); 2 celery stalks (finely diced); 6 cloves of garlic (crushed or minced); 10 kalamata olives (pit removed and diced); ½ cup red wine (or substitute water); 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 bay leaf

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This meat lasagna tomato sauce from scratch is the same sauce I use for Italian lasagna with bechamel. It's such a delicious lasagna tomato sauce, I thought to make this a standalone recipe itself.

meaty lasagna tomato sauce in a large pot.

I'm obsessed with this slow-simmered sauce, so much so that I've started using it as a pasta sauce. This sauce is chunkier than my homemade ragu sauce (also delish!).

What You Will Love

This homemade tomato sauce is the best red sauce for a classic lasagna recipe. You only need about 15 minutes of hands-on time to chop the vegetables and prepare the sauce. The rest of the time it's slow cooking. There's an option in the recipe card to use a slow cooker, which is great for making ahead or on busy days when you don't have extra time.

Ingredient Notes

ingredients to make Italian meat ragu sauce

Ground beef: I prefer lean ground beef with about 90% to 95% fat content.
Veggies: I use finely diced carrots, celery, onion, and minced fresh garlic cloves (not shown in the ingredients).
Olives: Use any kind of olive you have on hand. For this recipe, I use kalamata olives.
Blended tomatoes: Use blended and strained tomatoes, also known as passata. I buy canned or boxed passata to save time, but you can blend fresh tomatoes and strain them from scratch if you want. Substitute crushed tomatoes or plain tomato sauce. Many of the store-bought passata brands use san marzano tomatoes. Tomato paste is not a substitute.

See the recipe card at the bottom of the post for quantities.

Quick Overview

meaty lasagna sauce step-by-step overview

Steps 1, 2, & 3: Dice the vegetables. Sautee the veggies and meat.

Steps 4, 5, & 6: Add the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for two hours.

How To Make Lasagna Tomato Sauce

Peel and dice the onion and carrots. Mince the garlic. Finely chop the celery. Add the diced vegetables to a large bowl. Dice the pitted olives and set them aside.

diced carrots, onion, celery, and garlic in a pot with olive oil.

In a large saucepan on medium-high heat, add olive oil. Add the diced onion, carrots, celery, and minced garlic. Cook for about two to three minutes until the vegetables start to soften.

ground beef mixed with onion, carrots, and celery.

Add the ground beef, breaking up the clumps with a wooden spoon.

diced kalamata olives, salt, and bay leaf added to the lasagna meat.

Once the ground beef has turned brown, add the salt, bay leaf, diced olives, and wine (if using).

the lasagna tomato sauce before it slow simmers for two hours.

Pour the blended tomatoes into the meat mixture. Mix everything together and turn the stove to low. Cover the pot and slow-simmer for two hours.

Important: Stir the meat sauce about every 30 minutes. Add a bit of water if it's too thick.

chunky homemade lasagna tomato meat sauce.

Serve this sauce with spaghetti noodles or homemade gnocchi. Or, use it for lasagna.

Tips and Tricks

For the best results don't take shortcuts on the cooking time. That's what gives this sauce so much flavor!
For the best lasagna recipe, check out this Italian lasagna with bechamel sauce. It uses this same red sauce and gives the rest of the steps to make the entire lasagna dish. Thin layers of noodles are sandwiched between white sauce and meat sauce and topped with shredded Parmigiano Reggiano (or parmesan cheese).
For a good tomato sauce, use good tomatoes! The quality of ingredients matters, so use high-quality tomato puree for the best tomato sauce.

Variations and Substitutions

Make this sauce in a slow cooker. Follow the steps as written until the final two-hour cook time. Transfer the sauce from a stovetop pot to a slow cooker. Cook on high for 4 hours or on love for 8 hours.
Use tomato puree, plain tomato sauce, or crushed tomatoes in lieu of blended and strained tomatoes (passata). If making the tomato sauce fresh, the best tomatoes are Roma tomatoes from your local grocery store.
Substitute spicy Italian sausage (with the casings removed) for ground beef.
Use a food processor instead of dicing the vegetables. Pulse the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic with 8 to 10 short pulses, scraping down the sides.
Add fresh herbs, like fresh basil, or dried herbs like dried Italian seasoning.
Use dried red pepper flakes to make this sauce spicy.

Storage

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can freeze this sauce for up to 4 months.

FAQs

Do you put meat sauce at the bottom of the lasagna?

Yes, the bottommost layer of lasagna has meat sauce. Then add boiled lasagna noodles on top followed by another layer of meat sauce.

What is Italian meat sauce made of?

Italian meat sauce is comprised of ground beef, olive oil, onion, finely diced carrots, diced celery, olives, red wine, and pureed tomatoes.

How thick should lasagna sauce be?

The lasagna sauce should be thick enough for the lasagna to hold shape.

Do you simmer lasagna sauce covered or uncovered?

Simmer lasagna sauce covered on low heat.

Italian Cuisine

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