Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce
I jazzed up the jarred stuff to make an easy Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce recipe.
“Mom, can you just make regular spaghetti just with the jar of sauce?” was the question my son asked last week.
Sure, buddy, but I’m adding stuff to it.
“Bet!” was his response….which is a new word still trying to figure out the meaning, but I think it meant something like “Ok, great!” 😉
I guess my kids are somewhat spoiled in the way we eat, which revolves around my crazy imagination of coming up with meals that are not necessarily “normal”.
But sometimes I forget how wonderful a classic dish like spaghetti is still needed and appreciated.
So this recipe is basically my way of making regular jarred pasta sauce a little more tasty, but not going too crazy with major changes.
How to Make Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce
First, set a large soup pot over medium heat and add a pound of ground Italian sausage.
Cook the sausage for 5 to 7 minutes, breaking it apart as it cooks.
Then remove the sausage from the pot and place it on a plate lined with paper towels.
Set that same pot back on the stove over medium heat and add some olive oil, a diced onion, diced red bell pepper, kosher salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes.
Let that cook for about 5 minutes, then add some minced garlic.
Cook the garlic for a minute and then add the cooked sausage, a large jar of pasta sauce, Italian seasoning, and red wine.
If you have any fresh herbs feel free to add those in too!
Once the sauce starts to bubble, reduce the heat to low and let it cook for 20 to 30 minutes.
Helpful hint…it may bubble and splatter before it gets to that nice and low setting, perfectly normal for any tomato sauce. Stir it as you wait for the burner to be set to low.
And have a lid ready juuuuuust in case 😉
Serve Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce over your favorite cooked pasta!
Top with some parmesan cheese and fresh basil if desired.
And a loaf of garlic bread for the perfect side dish 🙂
If you like Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce, you might also like these recipes…
Pesto Cream Sauce and Roasted Tomato Pasta
Italian Sausage and Orzo Soup
One Pot Chicken Caesar Pasta
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Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce
Italian Sausage Pasta Sauce is so easy, basically we are improving already jarred marinara sauce with lots of flavors and Italian sausage
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground Italian sausage
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion diced
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- kosher salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 45 oz jar tomato pasta sauce (I used Prego)
- 1/2 cup red wine (optional)
- 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
- cooked pasta of choice
- Optional: fresh basil, parmesan cheese
Instructions
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Set a large soup pot over medium heat and add the ground Italian sausage. Cook 5 to 7 minutes, breaking it apart as it cooks. Remove the sausage and place on a plate lined with paper towels and set aside.
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To the same pot over medium heat add the olive oil, diced onion, bell pepper, kosher salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Cook 5 minutes, stirring a few times. Add the garlic and cook 1 more minute.
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Add the cooked sausage back into the pot and the pasta sauce, red wine, and Italian seasoning. Wait until it bubbles and lower the heat to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring a few times.
Note: Sauce will most likely bubble/ splatter over so keep a lid on it until it reaches the point where it will not bubble/ splatter. Stirring also helps and keeping the burner all the way on low will help.
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Taste for seasoning and add more kosher salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, and/or Italian seasoning if needed. Serve over cooked pasta of choice and top with parmesan cheese and fresh basil if desired.
Note: This makes a large amount, if you have extra you can put the leftovers in a plastic container with a lid and freeze for up to 3 months.