I LOVE tomato meat sauce. It is nearly impossible to find a tomato sauce that does not have added sugar, on Pinterest or in the grocery store so I resorted to creating my own! This version of my favorite comfort food is gluten free, Whole30 compliant and paleo!
I typically serve this meat sauce over roasted spaghetti squash. A few other delectable pairings are:
- Zoodles (zucchini noodles)
- Sweet potato noodles
- Quinoa pasta
- Cooked veggies (I put leftover sauce on top cooked veggies – cauliflower and asparagus – so good!)
- Pasta
I think I’ve tried about every pasta or pasta ‘imitation’ (chickpea, quinoa, etc) and I always come back to spaghetti squash. Most imitation pastas get mushy, especially as leftovers. Spaghetti squash has a little bit of crunch, even reheated, which I like.
For this version of sauce, I used organic grass-fed ground beef. However, I have made this recipe with ground bison and it turns out equally as delicious. I always look forward to dinner when this is cooking on the stove, I hope you’ll do the same!
WINE PAIRING ALERT: Barahonda Campo Arriba 2014. This red wine blend is about $10 at Costco. It MUST be aerated for 30+ minutes before consuming.
Whole 30, Paleo friendly homemade tomato meat sauce. Serve over spaghetti squash!
- 1 tsp avocado oil
- 1 yellow onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 3 tbsp italian seasoning
- salt and pepper [to taste]
- 1 package ground beef [mine was 1.34 lbs]
- 28 oz crushed tomatoes
- 6 oz tomato paste
- 28 oz water
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Heat pan on medium-high and add oil. When oil is hot, add chopped onion. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally
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Add italian seasoning and garlic powder. Mix seasoning well with onions. Add ground beef to the pan. Salt and pepper the meat, to taste. Break up meat pieces into small chunks with wooden spoon
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Cook until meat is brown, approximately 6 minutes, stirring once or twice. Reduce heat to low. Add in crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. Mix well
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Fill the crushed tomato can with water (28oz) and add to sauce (The sauce may seem watery but will thicken as it cooks). Put splatter screen over the top and go do other things, letting the sauce cook
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Stir about every hour and add more water if necessary (see note below). Cook sauce for 3 hours or longer (you can probably get away with cooking for 45 minutes to 1 hour, if you do this method, ensure your meat is almost fully cooked before turning down the heat and letting simmer). The longer the sauce cooks, the more the flavors develop. Serve over desired based & enjoy!
If the sauce seems to thick to you, add more water. This will depend on the consistency you like your sauce. If you like thinner sauce, add more water. If you like thick chunky sauce, add less water. Also the longer this sauce is cooked, the more water you may need to add.
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