Italian Sunday Sauce, an all-day affair that is worth every minute of your time.
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Sunday Sauce or gravy depending on where you are from in Italy was something I always looked forward to as a kid. My Nana/Mom's recipe is actually really simple, just time-consuming.
I have already done a version of this using the instant pot to speed things up but sometimes you need to go old school.
Only a handful of ingredients
There really are not that many ingredients to this recipe so it is important to use quality ingredients. The most important thing is to use the right tomatoes.
Dad is a San Marzano or bust kind of guy. They just taste better. After that make sure you are making your own meatballs and not using that frozen junk.
Making your own Italian meatballs is so easy and makes a huge difference in the final result. Use Dad's easy Italian meatball recipe, you won't be disappointed.
Step 1 - Hand crush the tomatoes
Empty two 28 ounce cans of peeled plum San Marzano tomatoes into a large heavy-bottomed pot. Crush them with your hands.
Make sure you are "popping" the tomatoes with your hand submerged in the liquid or you will have a huge mess on your hands.
Place the pot on a burner over low heat.
Step 2 - Fry the meats
Now you need to fry your sausage and meatballs in a high sided saute pan or large frying pan.
Frying them will give them a nice color and provide you with some extra flavor in your pan for the next step.
Fry your sausage first a couple of minutes per side in a pan with some olive oil over medium heat.
Take the sausage and put it in the pot with the tomatoes.
Now it is time to fry the meatballs. Add some extra olive oil and let them go for a couple of minutes per side until they are nice and browned.
Take the meatballs and put them in the fridge. We will get back to them in a few hours.
Step 3 - Cook the tomato paste
After you have fried your meats add 2 tablespoon of minced garlic to the pan. This is the first tweak Dad does to his Nana's recipe.
She just used dried spices but Dad loves garlic so he added the minced garlic. Stir it and scrape the pan to release all the bits from frying the meats.
Now add in two cans of tomato paste. Scrape and stir to mix everything into the paste and flatten it out a little bit. Let it cook for a few minutes.
Dad's Mom's instructions to say to "let it almost burn". Once you have a nice color on the paste fill one of the tomato paste cans with water and add it to the pan.
This is to deglaze the pan and get all of the goodness from it out. Pour the entire mixture into the pot with the tomatoes and sausage.
Step 4 - Season and simmer
At this point you add in the 1 teaspoon of onion powder, 1 tablespoon of garlic powder and salt and pepper to taste.
Dad adds in 1 tablespoon of sea salt to start and does a few turns of a pepper grinder. This is where Dad makes his second tweak to his Nana's recipe.
Dad likes to add some dried, or fresh basil if he has it, to the sauce. 1 tablespoon will be enough. Dad likes the flavor it adds to the sauce.
Step 5 - Stir, stir, stir
Cover the pot and simmer on low for 3 hours. Make sure you are stirring it every 15 -30 minutes and that your heat is not too high.
This is also where a good heavy bottom pot is important to prevent the bottom from burning.
If you do not watch and stir this and it burns the bottom it will seep through the whole pot and make it bitter and terrible tasting. It sucks, but it is what you have to do.
Step 6 - Meatball time
After the 3 hours is up it is time to add the meatballs to the party. If you added them when you started the sausage the would end up disintegrating by the time the 5-hour cook is up.
You have another chance to taste the sauce and adjust any seasoning you want. Add more salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, or basil to your taste.
Simmer for an additional 2 hours uncovered. You still have to watch it and make sure you are stirring every 15-30 minutes.
Time to eat!
It has been a 5-hour adventure and now is the moment of truth. Taste the sauce and do a final seasoning adjustment. Dad's tip is to make sure you add enough salt.
Dad usually ends up doing the initial tablespoon and an additional teaspoon or 2 of salt. A sauce with not enough salt will just taste wrong. Serve it over the pasta of your choice.
It gets better as time goes on
This is one of those dishes that the leftovers improve over time. Dad loves making sausage and meatball sandwiches with it or using it to make a baked pasta dish.
This is Dad's all-time favorite meal and it brings him back to his childhood.
Traditional Italian Sunday Sauce Recipe
Equipment
- Heavy Bottomed Pot
- Larger Frying Pan
- Can Opener
- Spatula - Metal or Hard Plastic
Ingredients
- 2 28 oz cans of San Marzano peeled plum tomatoes
- 2 6 oz cans of tomato paste
- 5 Italian sausages
- 9-12 Italian meatballs Recipe in Notes
- 1 teaspoon Onion powder
- 1 tablespoon Garlic powder
- 2 tablespoon Minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon Dried Basil
- Sea salt To taste (Start with 1 tbsp)
- Black pepper To taste
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Empty two 28 ounce cans of peeled plum San Marzano tomatoes into a large heavy-bottomed pot. Crush them with your hands. Make sure you are "popping" the tomatoes with your hand submerged in the liquid or you will have a huge mess on your hands. Place the pot on a burner over low heat.
- Add some olive oil to a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the sausage for a couple of minutes per side. Take the sausage and put it in the pot with the tomatoes.
- Add some extra olive oil to the pan and fry the meatballs for a couple of minutes per side until they are nice and browned. Take the meatballs and put them in the fridge.
- Add 2 tablespoon of minced garlic to the pan. Stir it and scrape the pan to release all the bits from frying the meats.
- Add in two cans of tomato paste. Scrape and stir to mix everything into the paste and flatten it out a little bit. Let it cook for a few minutes. Let it almost burn. Once you have a nice color on the paste fill one of the tomato paste cans with water and add it to the pan. Scrape and mix well so you get everything from the pan. Pour the entire mixture into the pot with the tomatoes and sausage.
- Add 1 teaspoon of onion powder, 1 tablespoon of garlic powder, 1 tablespoon of dried basil and salt and pepper to taste. Start with 1 tablespoon of sea salt to start. Add as much pepper as you like to make it as spicy as you like.
- Cover the pot and simmer on low for 3 hours. Make sure you are stirring it every 15 -30 minutes and that your heat is not too high. This is also where a good heavy bottom pot is important to prevent the bottom from burning. If you do not watch and stir this and it burns the bottom it will seep through the whole pot and make it bitter and terrible tasting.
- After the 3 hours is up it is time to add the meatballs. This is also where you can taste the sauce and adjust any seasoning you want. Add more salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder or basil to your taste. Simmer for an additional 2 hours uncovered. You still have to watch it and make sure you are stirring every 15-30 minutes.
- When the two hours are up taste the sauce and do a final seasoning adjustment. Dad's tip is to make sure you add enough salt. Dad usually ends up doing the initial tablespoon and an additional teaspoon or 2 of salt. A sauce with not enough salt will just taste wrong. Serve it over the pasta of your choice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Tried this recipe?Mention @DadGotThis or tag #DadGotThis!Did you know Dad is on YouTube?
Go check out Dad's youtube channel for all kinds of great cooking videos and food-related content.
Dad Got This YouTube Channel
Dad's Italian meatball recipe
Dad's Italian Meatball Recipe is a must for using in Sunday Sauce.
