This Spaghetti and Meat Sauce recipe is the perfect Italian-style weeknight meal for the whole family – a rich, meaty sauce. It takes just a few minutes of prep and then a low simmer on the stove for a deep, meaty-flavoured, homemade spaghetti.

Ingredients
1 pound lean ground meat
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced (1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup water, broth or dry red wine
1 (28-ounce) can tomato pulp
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
Handful fresh basil leaves, plus more for serving
12 ounces dried spaghetti
1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese

Instructions

Sauce
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the meat and cook until browned, about 8 minutes. As the meat cooks, use a wooden spoon to break it up into smaller crumbles.
Add the onions and cook, stirring every once and a while, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, oregano, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring continuously for about 1 minute.
Pour in the water and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any bits of meat or onion stuck to the bottom of the pot. Stir in the tomatoes, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, and a generous pinch of black pepper. Bring the sauce to a low simmer. Cook, uncovered, at a low simmer for 25 minutes. As it cooks, stir and taste the sauce a few times so you can adjust the seasoning accordingly.

Cook Spaghetti
About 15 minutes before the sauce is finished cooking, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil then cook pasta according to package directions, but check for doneness a minute or two before the suggested cooking time.

Final touch
Take the sauce off of the heat, and then stir in the basil. Toss in the cooked pasta, and then leave for a minute so that the pasta absorbs some of the sauce. Toss again, and then serve with parmesan sprinkled on top.